In May this year, a pastry named Cronut was launched by Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York. It’s a croissant-doughnut hybrid which is rolled in sugar and filled with cream. Almost overnight, stories about its popularity has reached worldwide notoriety. People line up as early as 5:30am to be able to buy at least one of the 250 pieces made available everyday.
Because of this media attention, it’s not surprising that the Philippines has caught on with the craze and local bakeries are now offering their own incarnations of the Cronut.
Through the help of this guide (from ABS-CBN News), I tagged along with my brother and did a little Cronut Hunt. Our mission? To visit at least 2-3 establishments and try out the infamous croissant-doughnut. We decided that a Makati-Fort combo was the way to go since about 3-4 stores were relatively close to each other and it had the most likelihood of success. Let’s begin!
YAMATO BAKERY CAFE
Jupiter Street, Makati City
Price: Php110-120
Our first stop was Yamato Bakery Cafe along Jupiter. We were able to buy the Vanilla Cronut. It is a flaky pastry with cream in the middle. It has a thin coating of sugar outside, topped with thin powdered sugar glaze and drizzled with chocolate.
I liked this one; because it merged the flakiness of the croissant and the fried nature of the doughnut without being too oily. The cream filling is rich but not too sweet. Most importantly, the topping does not overpower the overall taste of the pastry.
On a side note: I do recommend that you try out Yamato’s Choux Cream and Green Tea Choux Cream. It reminded me of the Beard Papa I ate back in Japan. They used fresh cream and it isn’t too sweet. The green tea version has (obviously) green tea flavored cream and red beans, which is a pleasant surprise. It’s a yummy must-try item.
LE COEUR DE FRANCE
San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park, Makati
Php89
Our second destination was in San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park. We bought the Parmesan Cheese Croughnut (left) and the Mixed Berries with Cream Cheese Croughnut (right) from Le Coeur de France. It’s relatively smaller compared to the one from Yamato. Also, this one is more like a croissant made to look like a doughnut. It has the flaky layers but doesn’t seem to have been fried (though that’s just my opinion). It is also filled with cream (lesser compared to Yamato) and isn’t too sweet, which is how I like it.
WILDFLOUR CAFE + BAKERY
Net Lima Building, The Fort, Taguig
Php120
From Forbes Park, we headed to BGC looking for Wildflour. It is said to have been the first to offer a version of the Cronut in the Philippines. They call it croissant-doughnut. Unfortunately, there weren’t any more available when we got there. They said reservations should be a day in advance. If we were to wait for the next batch, however, they weren’t sure what time it would be available.
Anyway, I was able to take a picture of the Dulce de Leche Croissant-Donut through the window. I just assumed this is a reserved batch. Oh well, there’s always next time… maybe when the hype dies down.
THE JEEPNEY BAKERY, INTERCONTINENTAL MANILA
Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Price: Php130
We went back to Makati and passed by InterCon Manila for one last Cronut purchase. The Jeepney Bakery had the most number of options for us; so we bought all 5 Cro-nut flavors that were available: Red Velvet, Sugar Cinnamon, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Vanilla Cream, and Cheesecake.
At first, I thought there is no cream at all. But for InterCon’s version, only pockets within the pastry are filled with cream. I could also make out the oil which may mean it was fried at some point. The base of the pastry is the same for all variants. The sides are simply wrapped in whatever flavor it is (i.e. chocolate/almonds or red velvet crumbs, etc.). There’s also a thick powdered sugar topping. I think these are the biggest of the three products I tried. However, I found the Cro-nuts a bit sweet. I think the sugar glaze overpowered the pastry and it was all I could taste. However, that’s how some people might like it.
Despite not being able to try Wildflour’s Croissant-Donut, I think our Cronut Hunt was a success. I got to clue in on what the original Cronut might taste like and what its basic components are. It’s not something I would actively seek out on a regular basis. Its fried nature is not that appealing for me. (I’d rather come back for that choux cream in Yamato). Still, it’s a new and interesting product that’s definitely worth a try… a welcome addition to the range of breakfast pastries we enjoy.
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