Move over cupcakes, New York City has spawned a new craze that is being admired by bakers around the world – the croissant-doughnut hybrid aptly named the Cronut.

the creation is the brainchild of Dominique Ansel, a well-known executive pastry chef in New York. Dominique’s bakery, Dominique Ansel Bakery, introduced the creation in May and has since sold out every day.

according to US publication New York’s Serious Eats, New Yorkers are falling in love with this inexpensive treat, which, as the name suggests, is made from thin layers of croissant dough deep-fried and infused with a light Tahitian vanilla cream.

Nonetheless, Dominique is quick to say the Cronut is not simply croissant dough that has been fried.

“[It is] made with a laminated dough similar to a croissant, but with a different ratio of ingredients, different thickness and a different number of folds. the Cronut is first proofed and then fried in grapeseed oil at a specific temperature,” he said.

“One cooked, each Cronut is flavoured in three ways: one, rolled in sugar; two, filled with cream; and three, topped with glaze.”

Dominique’s Cronuts, which are made fresh daily, feature a flavour of the month. May’s inaugural flavour – rose vanilla – featured rose sugar, tahitian vanilla ganache and a light rose glaze with crystallised rose petals. a lemon variety is currently featured on Dominique Ansel Bakery’s menu in June, with a dulce de leche version set for July.

For Cronut rookies, dominique has some simple advice.

“eat immediately. Cronuts have a short shelf-life of about six hours and should not be refrigerated as that causes it to go stale,” he says.

“t ry peeling off the layers one by one like a mille crepe cake!”

Melbourne’s MoVida Bakery, which is already well-known for its doughnuts, has released its own version of the pastry – the dossant.

the name was devised through a twitter competition, with baker and pastry chef Jo Barrett saying the treat is becoming a popular item on the menu.

“It is based on the same concept as dominique ansel’s Cronut – flaky laminated croissant dough cooked like a doughnut, coated in cinnamon sugar and filled with custard,” she said.

“We have spoken with dominique and have his ok to make our version. he has said he will even drop into the bakery when he visits australia and bring us an original Cronut to try.”

Like the Cronut, MoVida Bakery’s dossant is the result of trial and error.

“In the first couple of days they were not cooking properly. they raised crookedly then separated when fried. however, we have since perfected the dossant and they are flying out the door,” Jo said.

“We change the filling according to what fruit we get in, or flavours we think match. the texture is similar of that of a great croissant, crisp and flaky, but once covered in cinnamon sugar and filled with custard the doughnut characteristics show.”

the dossant version of New York’s latest food fad are topped with freeze-dried strawberries, raspberries or plums and are currently selling for $5.

Editor’s note: Dominique Ansel Bakery is currently trademarking the name Cronut internationally.