MANILA, Philippines - Universe, you had me fooled. Just when I thought cookie butter would peer victorious as 2013’s oversaturated food trend, croughnuts surpassed it by several hurdles, and caught me completely by surprise. Sure, Zagu, cupcakes, milk tea, and salted caramel had their own respective moments, but the idea of this pastry hybrid has intoxicated the world so quickly, that remnants of it thrive from Berlin, to Sydney, to Singapore. If the zombie apocalypse manifested itself in food, this would probably be it. Introduced by Dominique Ansel at his SoHo bakery just three months ago (May 10, 2013 to be exact), Manila was one of the first cities to catch on to the craze. With copycats existing everywhere from Divisoria to Greenhills, can they blame us?
While we don’t all have the luxury of lining up with more than a hundred people for Ansel’s $5 trademarked Cronuts, here are a couple of places around the metro that attempt to bring the experience here.
Wildflour
G/F Net Lima Bldg, 4th Ave. cor. 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City; 856-7600
Cronut Variation: Croissant-Donut
Price: P120
Availability: 3:30 onwards, until stocks last
Flavors: Dulce de Leche, Tiramisu, Mixed Berries, Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Plain
Donut Diameter: 3.5 x 2 inches
Bread Talk: Wildflour’s variant is the Holy Grail of all local croughnuts. It’s Manila’s golden standard, and rightly so. Each layer is lovingly folded together, while a quivering mound of custard cream rests silently in between. Of all the places in the city, Wildflour is the only place that serves a naked croughnut; filled with cream, and rolled in sugar. Simple, yet sinful.
‘‘Café jeepney
G/F Intercontinental Hotel, 1 Ayala Ave., Makati; 793-7000
Cronut Variation: Cro-nut
Price: P130
Availability: Anytime during store hours (6 a.m.-12 midnight)
Flavors: Red Velvet, Sugar Cinnamon, White Chocolate, Cheesecake, Dark Chocolate with Vanilla Cream
Doughnut diameter: 3 x 1.5 inches (height)
Bread Talk: The guys over at Café Jeepney hit two birds with one stone, combining the red velvet trend of two years ago with this year’s ultimate pastry. Clever idea that fell short in its execution. The consistency of the cro-nuts is misleading, coming off as buttery to the bite, but truthfully oozing with oil.
Designer blooms café
Cluster 2, Unit 11A, Molito Commercial Complex, Madrigal Ave., Ayala Alabang; 808-9569
Cronut variation: Croughnut
Availability: 3:30 p.m., and 7 p.m., until stocks last
Flavors: Belgian Chocolate and Custard, Nutella and Cream
Doughnut Diameter: 4 x 1.5 inches
Bread Talk: Not as light as a croissant, though not as dense as a doughnut, their croughnuts sport a good bite to them. Bless them for powdering the pastry with just a small amount of sugar, but slathering the top bunk with a heaping mound of Nutella.
Dolcelatte
1616 Quezon Ave., South Triangle, Quezon City; 332-3407
Cronut Variation: Croughnut
Price: P110
Availability: Limited stocks for walk-in customers at 3 p.m., best to reserve two days in advance
Flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Almond Caramel, Blueberry Creamcheese, Chocolate Macaroon, Custard Cream, Custard Creamcheese, Lemon Meringue, Nutty Nutella, Peanut Butter Crisp, Raspberry Creamcheese, Valrhona Crunch
Donut Diameter: 4 x 1.5 inches
Bread Talk: I was reluctant to head over to Dolcelatte at first, because driving from Manila to Quezon City through a heavy downpour is no bloody joke. I originally intended to get just one piece, but the two-hour drive over proved a good excuse to get a box. How to choose just six among their ridiculously good-looking assortment of flavors though? Will power. Or, submission; order two boxes. The croughnuts, on their own, flaunt a crisp outer body, with an airy inner web of dough. When you add things like cream cheese filling and Valrhona chocolate, it gets even better. Of the brood, the Peanut Butter Crisp, and Lemon Meringue — topped by a torched soft meringue crown, and filled with a pleasantly tart blanket of lemon curd — have proven to be my personal top contenders. Would I drive through hell and high water for these croughnuts again? Yes.
Le Coeur de France
Cronut variation: Croughnut
Price: P89
Flavors: Double Belgian Chocolate, Parmesan, Berries and Cream
Donut Diameter: 2.5 x 2.5 inches
Bread Talk: Delicately layered, Le Coeur de France’s pocket-sized servings are just the right size to keep the sweet tooth satiated. Opt for the Double Belgian Chocolate, as its bittersweet kick counters the sugary cream filling.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Cronut Variation: Croissant-Donut
Price: P75
Flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Choco Almond, Choco Bavarian, Cranberry Strawberry
Donut Diameter: 3.5 x 1.5 inches
Bread Talk: A part of me felt guilty snubbing my usual Boston Kreme, for DD’s take on the croughnut fad. While I do admire them for keeping up with the times, their Croissant-Donut variant rendered a soggy center, with a chewy, almost gummy, crust. Stick to the classics, Dunkin Donuts, those munchkins will never go through life without a fan base.
Chatime
Chatime at Pioneer Center, 8006 Pioneer corner United Sts., Pasig; 584-7221
Cronut Variation: Kronut
Price: P55
Availability: From 11a.m. until supplies last
Flavors: Glazed Dark Chocolate, Sugar-Raised
Doughnut Diameter: 2.5 x 1.5 inches
Bread Talk: Do-nut. They’re small and disappointing. Have one of their 74 drinks instead.
Park avenue desserts
#7 G/F Maga Center, 7 Santiago Street, Magallanes Village, Makati; 852-6141
Cronut Variation: Cronut
Price: P85
Availability: Every Friday to Sunday
Flavors: Pistachio, Strawberry, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate
Donut Diameter: 4 x 2 inches
Bread Talk: I adore the pastries at Park Avenue Desserts, but their attempt at producing a croughnut wasn’t as successful as I was hoping it would be. My pistachio-flavored pastry came in a shade of Shrek green, which looked, and tasted, just like a regular sugar doughnut. Going home with PAD’s lemon bars were my consolation—those babies deserve their own love letter.
Yamato bakery café
22 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City
Cronut Variation: cronut
Price: P130
Flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Matcha Green Tea
Donut Diameter: 4 x 2 inches
Bread Talk: Yamato’s croughnuts are probably the only ones that don’t even try hiding the fact that croughnuts make use of two pastry pieces. The filling just slices all the way through, like a burger patty between a bun. Of all the other brands, the bread of Yamato’s croughnuts can stand on its own; It has the buttery texture of a croissant combined with the consistency of a freshly baked doughnut. Be warned though, the kick of their Matcha Green Tea cream filling is so strong that it borders tasting like a bouquet of flowers, and roasted seaweed wrapper.
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