The Cronut Turns 10
Dominique Ansel’s pastry, a cross between a croissant and a doughnut, sent people spinning when it debuted. Here, a look back on how the flaky, cream-filled delight changed the pastry game.
Photo courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery
The Cronut is officially entering tweenhood.
On May 10, 2023, Dominique Ansel’s croissant-doughnut hybrid will officially celebrate its 10th birthday, marking a decade since a single pastry took New York City by storm.
To celebrate, a limited-edition box of Cronut holes featuring five fan-favorite flavors — dark chocolate and raspberry chambord, caramelized banana and brown sugar, lychee rose and pistachio, brown butter and caramel and strawberry and hojicha — will be available at Dominique Ansel Bakery’s original Soho location between May 5 and 7 (perhaps not surprisingly, nationwide shipping has already sold out). The Las Vegas and Hong Kong outposts will also have their own box of unique flavors.
Photo courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery
A recap of the Cronut’s story for the very few who may not be familiar with the game-changing pastry. On May 10, 2013, Ansel — a French pastry chef who worked at Fauchon and Daniel before opening his eponymous shop — debuted the flaky laminated, cream-filled creation after three months of tinkering in his bakery’s tiny 100-square-foot kitchen. It wasn’t long before it went, as we say today, viral.
Brent Herrig Photography © 2016
Over the next few days, hundreds of people lined up for a taste of the then-$5 pastry (a steal!). But with just Ansel and two other pastry cooks making the laborious Cronut — it requires a full three days of work — only a limited number was available daily. News of the Cronut’s greatness spread and crowds continued to show up in the early hours hoping to snag the coveted pastry. Scalpers sold them at a ridiculous markup. Fights broke out. It got so intense, Ansel had to hire a bouncer at one point.
“Those early days were tough, when we had a staff of just four people and there were 200 to 300 people outside waiting every day,” recalls the award-winning pastry chef. “I remember sleeping two to three hours a night. Sometimes I even slept at the shop.”
With its first flavor, Rose Vanilla, a bonafide hit, the pastry chef began to iterate on the global sensation, launching a new version every month and adding to the Cronut’s ellusiveness. Since May 2013, there have been 121 unique combinations of glaze and cream, none of which have been repeated.
The Cronut has achieved quite a lot in its short decade of life. It was named one of TIME’s top inventions of 2013, became a Harvard Business School case study and even got the NFT treatment. But perhaps most importantly, it ushered in an era of ’grammable food: over-the-top milkshakes, crazy burgers and, of course, no shortage of hybrid pastries seeking to be the “next Cronut.”
But for Ansel, the most memorable moments have been seeing how the pastry has touched the lives of his customers.
“The Cronut has been there for engagements in the line, for birthdays and wedding days, graduations, for after-school treats for kids, for giving back to charities that fight against hunger, and feeding first responders and hospital staff during the pandemic,” says Ansel.
Photo courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery
For those who can’t make it to any of Ansel’s shops this weekend, there’s another way to join in on the festivities. Find your Cronut match by taking this fun little quiz.
While the Cronut’s birthday will no doubt be seared in Ansel’s memory, there’s another reason why May 10 holds a special place in his heart. The chef’s son, Celian, was born on the very same date in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic. And there’s no sweeter birthday gift than that.
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