Salted Chocolate Cronut Recipe
Prep Time:
6 hours, 35 minutes
Cook Time:
10 minutes
Servings:
16 Pieces
Ingredients
  • 7 ounces heavy cream
  • 8 ¾ ounces dark chocolate, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
  • 3 tablespoons fine sugar, divided
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 egg white
  • 9 ounces butter, softened, plus 3 tablespoons melted butter, divided
  • 1 ½ pounds flour
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
  1. To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream over medium heat until it starts to simmer.
  2. Break 7 ounces of chocolate into pieces and pour the cream over the chocolate, adding ½ teaspoon salt. Allow the mixture to sit for a minute until the chocolate softens, then stir everything together until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. To make the cronut dough, heat the water and milk until just warm, but don't allow the liquid to boil.
  4. Combine the warm milk mixture with the yeast and 1 teaspoon of fine sugar, then let this rest for about 5 minutes until it becomes foamy.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast mixture with the vanilla, egg white, melted butter, and the remaining fine sugar and salt.
  6. Add the flour to the mixture and knead it using the hook attachment of the stand mixer until it forms a soft dough.
  7. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it 3 times on a floured surface.
  8. Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  9. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.
  10. Spread half of the softened butter over the middle third of the dough, then fold over one of the outside thirds and spread the other half of the butter on top. Fold the last third of the dough over the top, then cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
  11. Roll the dough out into a ¼-inch rectangle and repeat the process of folding it into thirds (without buttering it). Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
  12. Repeat the process of chilling, rolling, and folding the dough 2 more times.
  13. Roll out the dough to a ¾-inch thickness.
  14. Cut out the cronuts into rounds using a cookie cutter or glass, then cut out a smaller round hole in the center of each. Place the cronuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let them rise for 1 hour or until they are almost double in size.
  15. To fry the cronuts, heat a pot full of oil to about 350 F.
  16. Fry the cronuts for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown, working in batches. Drain the fried cronuts on paper towels until slightly cooled.
  17. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon and toss the warm donuts in this mixture until they are completely coated.
  18. Use a piping bag, fill the cronuts with the chocolate ganache by piping filling into each quarter of each cronut.
  19. Melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cronuts.