Cuckoo for Cronuts: a few fun facts about the insanely popular New York confection

Cuckoo for Cronuts: a few fun facts about the insanely popular New York confection

Cronut
(Image: Dominique Ansel Bakery)

The blogosphere has exploded over the half-doughnut, half-croissant hybrids from tiny Dominique Ansel Bakery in Manhattan, and the hype keeps growing. Even stodgy mainstream publications, like the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Guardian, are joining the media frenzy. Here, four crazy things you probably want to know about the latest Internet food sensation.

• They’re being scalped on Craigslist for $40

Desperate New Yorkers are shelling out forty big-ones for a single pastry. The retail price: five bucks.

• They’ve acquired a celebrity fan base

Hugh Jackman and CNN’s Anderson Cooper are cronut convertees. Even New York Mayor and anti-obesity campaigner Michael Bloomberg has placed an order.

• Imposters are popping up worldwide

Bakeshops as far-flung as the Philippines have added cronut copies to their menus. Alternative names for the sweet treat: doissant and fauxnut.

• The entire thing is a strange, happy accident

Cronut inventor Dominique Ansel didn’t do any marketing at all around the novel dessert. It became the latest foodie fad through word-of-blog alone.