Blueberry & Cream Cronuts

New York Capital Of Food

Posted by Murdoch Books

About

Time magazine named cronuts, a trendy pastry creation by Dominique Ansel,
among its ‘25 best inventions of 2013’. Adding a filling of airy whipped cream and
a topping of blueberry frosting and crunchy pistachio sprinkle makes for a particularly fresh and summery take on this doughnut and croissant hybrid.

Makes 4–6 (depending on size)

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You Will Need (12 things)

  • About 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Puff Pastry (frozen)
  • 
150 g (1 cup) fresh Blueberries (alternatively frozen blueberries, defrosted)
  • 
About 150 g (11⁄4 cups) Icing Sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
  • 
Zest of 1⁄2 small Lemon 

  • 2 tbsp –3 tablespoons pistachio Pistachios kernels, chopped

  • 150 ml (generous 1⁄2 cup) Cream
  • 
1 tsp –2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 
1 tbsp –2 tablespoons Sugar
  • 
1 pinch Ground Cinnamon

  • Also:

  • Flour for dusting
  • 
About 1 litre (4 cups) neutral Vegetable Oil for deep-frying

Steps (5 steps, 120 minutes)

  1. 1

    Dust your worktop with a little flour. Place the puff pastry sheets next to each other, pushing them together with your fingers to seal the joints and create one long strip of pastry. Halve the pastry lengthwise and place one half on top of the other. Press firmly together. Repeat this process to end up with one thick strip of puff pastry. Roll out to about 1 cm (1⁄2 inch) thickness with a rolling pin. Use a large cookie cutter or glass to cut out 4–6 rounds, then use a 2 cm (3⁄4 inch) cutter or shot glass to cut out circles from the centre of each round.

  2. 2

    Heat the oil to about 175°C (350°F) in a deep fryer or saucepan. Dip the end of a wooden spoon or skewer into the oil. The oil is hot enough when bubbles rise immediately around the stick and the oil starts to sizzle. Carefully place two dough circles into the hot oil at a time and deep-fry over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Don’t let the cronuts get too dark! Remove the cooked cronuts from the oil with a slotted spoon. Shake off excess oil, drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool fully. Repeat with the remaining pastry.

  3. 3

    Gently wash the blueberries and pat dry. Blend a third of the blueberries with a stick blender and pass through a fine sieve. Stir just enough icing sugar into the blueberry purée to make a thick, spreadable frosting. Whisk in the grated lemon zest.

  4. 4

    Carefully halve the cronuts horizontally. Glaze the upper halves with the blueberry frosting, sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and set aside to firm up on a wire rack. Meanwhile, whisk the cream until stiff, gradually adding the vanilla sugar, sugar and cinnamon. Add more sugar to taste. Transfer the cream into a piping bag with a round nozzle.

  5. 5

    Pipe the vanilla cream evenly onto the bottom cronut halves, sprinkle with the remaining blueberries and top with the iced cronut halves. These cronuts are best served immediately.