Waffle Donuts, Cronuts, and the Hybrid Dessert Craze

Posted in America, Illinois, North America, On the Ground

If you have any doubt that we’re living in a globalized world, look no further than Dominique Ansel’s “Cronut,” the croissant-doughnut hybrid that set the food world (and regular world, really) abuzz a little over a year ago in Ansel’s Manhattan Bakery. What’s a cronut? First of all, we need to get some internet in that cave you’re living in. Second, it’s a doughnut made of croissant dough that’s flaky and fried and sweet and possibly induces diabetes after your third bite.

The Cronut took the world by storm. Within weeks, there were not only block-long lines outside of Ansel’s bakery, but imitators far and wide. I stayed at the historic (and wonderful) Palmer House Hilton in Chicago last summer and my welcome amenity? Their version of a cronut (sorry for the blur):

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In trips to Thailand and Hong Kong, I saw them, too. Now, almost every bakery in LA offers some version of the cronut (although with a different name because Ansel trademarked the term). Hybrid desserts didn’t stop there, though. Doughnuts have melded with biscuits and burgers and now… waffles.

Thrillist reports on Chicago’s newest trend: the Wonut, a waffle that gets the doughnut treatment soon after baking. It looks, well, magnificent. It also looks a lot like the liege waffles you can get in Belgian (aka real Belgian waffles,) that are more dessert than breakfast. In any case, doughnut technology is clearly advancing and it’s going to be interesting to see how far it goes. Have you traveled anywhere internationally lately and seen these Dessert Frankensteins? Have we reached Peak Hybrid Dessert?

All I know is that it’s a pretty sweet time to be alive.

h/t Thrillist

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Comments

  1. We have a place here in Cincinnati called Tom N Chee which serves gourmet grilled cheese and tomato soup and one of their signature foods is a “Grilled Cheese Donut”. Sounds kind of weird but it’s quite tasty!

    • Whoa. That sounds incredible. Hold on a second — my doctor’s calling on the other line. I wonder what he wants…

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