For years, I’ve been fascinated by the cruffin, aka croissant dough shaped like a muffin. The tall, flaky-crispy shell is filled with a flavored pastry cream through its core that pokes out of the top like frosting on a cupcake, and they are often coated in chocolate, sugar or other toppings.
Over the years, the once-trendy cruffin became a staple on bakery menus across the country, and it’s been interesting to watch its progress from trend to tradition. When I see a cruffin on a menu today, I think it’s more of a considered choice. It doesn’t carry the same history as your grandmother’s recipes, but it’s also no longer the trendy thing to bake. Now, cruffins have made their way to the classics shelf with the likes of chocolate croissants, danishes and morning buns.
The croissant cube is an exciting and innovative viral pastry that can be found locally at Black Box Bakery insidein a variety of rotating flavors such as Cherry Almond, Pistachio, and Peach Pie. Here, even the classics on the menu are reinvented. “The core to our brand and who we are as bakers is constant experimentation,” notes co-owner Arielle Israel. The savory selection at Black Box proves to be innovative, too, with options like the Cheez-It Choco Danish and Reuben croissant.