Cronuts

Makes 15 l Takes 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients

For the fold-in butter

180g soft butter

30ml (2T) cake flour

15ml (1T) cornflour

For the cronuts

500g (31/3 cups) cake flour

10g packet instant dry yeast

60ml (¼ cup) sugar

8ml (½ T) salt

50g butter, chopped

210ml (¾ cup + 2T) lukewarm water

vegetable oil, for deep frying

For the Chantilly cream

180ml cream

15ml (1T) vanilla essence

30ml (2T) icing sugar

For the glaze

1 egg white, beaten

500ml (2 cups) icing sugar, sifted + extra

squeeze of lemon juice

Method

For the fold-in butter, combine all the ingredients well. Spread out onto a piece of baking paper and top with another sheet. Roll out into a 1cm thick square. Freeze until hard.

For the cronuts, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and butter together. Make a well in the centre. Add the water, mixing until a stiff dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes until smooth. Cover and chill until firm.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until 1cm thick and place the chilled fold-in butter on top. Fold into thirds on top of each other to enclose the butter and roll out until 1cm thick. Fold into thirds again, cover, and freeze for 20 minutes until firm. Repeat the folding process and freeze for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out until 1cm thick and cut circles using a 6cm round cookie cutter, then cut holes from the centres of each using a 2cm round cookie cutter. Pack onto a greased baking tray, cover lightly and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size.

Heat enough oil for deep frying over medium heat. Fry the cronuts in batches for about 10 minutes until golden and puffed. Drain on kitchen towels and cool completely.

For the Chantilly cream, beat all the ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Cut the cronutsinto 3 layers and pipe the cream in between the layers.

For the glaze, whisk the egg white and icing sugar to form a stiff paste. Add enough lemon juice to make a glaze that’s stiff enough to set, but runny enough to dip. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe on top of the cronuts. Allow to set. Serve immediately

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