Homemade Cronuts

The cronuts are an innovation in gastronomic matters, popular since 2013 they are a production of chef Dominique Ansel. It was he who started creating delicious donuts with croissant dough.

Today this hybrid can be found in bakeries around the world. However, we give you the recipe so you can make them from your home.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of wheat flour (125 g)
• 1 cup of bread flour (125 g)
• 2 tablespoons of icing sugar (30 g)
• 4 tablespoons of milk (60 ml)
• 1 teaspoon of dry baker’s yeast (6 g)
• 4 tablespoons of hot water (65 ml)
• ³⁄4 cup of cold butter (150 g)
• 1 teaspoon of salt (5 g)
• Olive oil
• Vanilla sugar
• Custard cream

Utensils

• A small measuring spoon
• Pastry bag with small nozzle
• Medium bowl
• Chopping board (if you have a kneading surface you can skip it)
• A roll of plastic wrap
• Round pasta cutter or thick rim mug
• Frying pot
• Kitchen paper

Recipe for making cronuts

Preparation of the dough

• Mix the milk and water in a bowl.
• Sift the yeast and add it to the previous mixture.
• Dice the cold butter.
• Put the butter cubes in the blender (it can be a blender at low speed) together with the wheat flour and the strength flour, the result should be a floury dough.
• Once you have the right texture, add it to the milk and water mixture.
• Add the icing sugar and a teaspoon of salt.
• Stir until you have a compact dough.

Kneading process

• Flour a cutting board or a smooth surface and knead until the mixture is homogeneous.
• Put the dough in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it to ferment for at least two hours.
• After two hours take the dough and put it on a surface, knead it until you have a rectangular sheet one centimeter thick, twice as long as it is wide.
• From the short ends, fold the dough into three parts, making the first fold from the edge to the middle of the dough and then from the other end to the middle of the dough.

• Fold the result in half and knead with the rolling pin until it is thin again.
• Repeat the operation, but now turning the dough 90 °.
• Put the dough on a tray, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 5 hours, although ideally you should leave it overnight.
• When the refrigeration time has passed, roll out the dough until it is two centimeters thick.

Preparation of cronuts

• Cut the dough with a round pasta cutter, remember that you must make a hole in the center so that it has the shape of a donut.
• Once you have cut them, cover it with a clean cloth and let it sit for an hour at room temperature to increase the volume.
• Put in a frying pan olive oil, enough to let the cronuts turn, and when it is hot, start frying them.
• You should fry them on each side until they are puffy and golden brown.
• When they’re done, remove them from the oil and drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

• Fill the sleeve with the pastry cream, it is better to use a small and thin nozzle, and introduce the cream in the cronuts at 5 different points without going to ruin them.
• Finish by sprinkling with a little vanilla sugar while they are hot. And there you go, your homemade cronuts ready to serve!

Additional data

• The level of preparation of this recipe is medium, as it will require knowledge in the handling of pastry products, respecting the resting times, in addition to the use of the oven. So don’t worry if you don’t succeed the first time, remember that practice makes perfect.
• For this recipe, the butter has to be cold, as this is the secret to achieving the texture of the dough.

• If you prefer to do it manually, you can add the flours after sifting them into the butter with a fork.  This will take longer but will give a better result.