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Cronut Creator Creates Magical Portable Soufflé
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 5, 2013
Modified Sep 5, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 5, 2013
Modified Sep 5, 2013
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Photo by Sam Horine/Gothamist
Dominique Ansel, the man who created the Cronut, has unveiled his new item: The Magical Soufflé. The creation is basically a portable soufflé that you rip apart with your hands before delicately shoving it into your mouth. 2 out of 2 Jens at Gothamist thought it was "decadent and delicious"—while it won't debut until this coming Saturday, the Chef was kind enough to let us try it out this afternoon.
Photo by Jen Carlson/Gothamist
Ansel is mum on his secret process, saying he uses chocolate, sugar, and egg whites, but "the techniques are where the magic comes in." There's "no molecular gastronomy. There’s no spherification or adding strange hydrocolloids. I believe in using the same classic ingredients, but combining and cooking it in different ways.”
The outcome is a triple-textured edible cube, made up of a crispy toasted orange blossom brioche shell, fluffy chocolate soufflé—complete with gooey molten center—and a hint of Grand Marnier. He notes that the flavors, orange and chocolate, "capture Fall for me.”
As with many of the bakery's items, this one comes with instructions on how to best enjoy:
1. Eat immediately while warm.
2. Do not refrigerate as that causes the brioche to turn stale from the humidity.
3. Do not reheat as the soufflé is cooked perfectly to feature a moist and slightly
molten center.
4. Bite directly into or cut delicately with a serrated knife as the soufflé is very tender.
We hear a few lucky people in the Cronut line tomorrow will get one of these (and maybe even a free Cronut) from Ansel himself, who tries to surprise his sleepy Cronut fans from time to time.
Stay tuned tomorrow for even MORE from our visit to Dominique Ansel's bakery, where you'll get some much better pastry porn from photographer Sam Horine. Following that, we'll try to have a new post for you every week until the end of time.
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cronut
cronuts
dessert
dominique ansel
magical souffle
pastry
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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