7 croissant hybrids to try on National Croissant Day

Are you brave enough to try a croissant hybrid on National Croissant Day on 30 January? Here are 7 different takes on the classic pastry – and at least one is not for the faint-hearted

No French breakfast would be complete without a flaky croissant covered in butter and jam and yet some people are considerably more adventurous when it comes to eating this popular pastry. It all started with the Cronut and since then the croissant hybrid craze has taken off in a big way, although some of the results have proved more successful than others. Could you be convinced to give these a try? Bon appétit!

CRONUT

When French-born pastry chef Dominique Ansel invented a croissant-donut hybrid in 2013, it became a world-wide phenomenon and was included in TIME magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of the Year. People queued around the block when the Cronut was added to the menu at the Dominque Ansel Bakery in New York’s Soho neighbourhood, and the London branch now sells one special flavour per month (January’s is coconut and Tonka bean milk chocolate).

CRUFFIN

A cross between a croissant and a muffin, the cruffin is made by baking croissant dough in a muffin mould and is filled with jam, cream or curd. The first known cruffin can be traced back to Lune Croissanterie in Melbourne in 2013 but was made popular by American bakery Mr Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco and went on to become an Instagram sensation.

CROSSUSHI

Some thought it could be the biggest food trend of 2018 but not everyone could stomach the idea of a croissant/sushi combination. While the cruffin was a big hit for Mr Holmes Bakehouse, the bakery’s crossushi concept – a classic croissant was filled with salmon, seaweed, ginger and wasabi and served with a side of soy sauce – didn’t go down quite as well.

TACRO

“We’re all about pushing the boundaries,” said San Francisco’s Vive La Tarte bakery when it combined tacos and croissants to create the Tacro. The traditional taco shell is replaced with a folded shell of croissant pastry and it became another big hitter on Instagram, selling out in two hours when it was launched in 2018.

CRAGEL

Described as “a delicate, flaky, buttery croissant baked into a flavourful bagel,” the half-bagel half-croissant cragel was created by The Bagel Store in Brooklyn.

CROIFFLE

The latest hybrid to try and give the Cronut a run for its money is the croiffle, served at Godiva café in New York City’s Pennsylvania Station. It’s a cross between a croissant and a waffle but is basically a croissant that has been pressed on a waffled iron, and can be filled with a sweet or savoury filling.

CRUPCAKE

Looking for something new to cross-breed with croissants, Nick Chapman of DudeFoods decided cupcakes were the obvious choice and came up with the crupcake. After a failed first attempt, he perfected the recipe by baking the croissant dough first and then pouring the cupcake batter on top.

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