The Cronut name blends “croissant” with what word?

The name Cronut blends “croissant” with “doughnut.” It describes a pastry that combines croissant-like laminated dough with the shape and frying method associated with a doughnut.

French pastry chef Dominique Ansel developed the Cronut in New York in 2013. The pastry is made from layered dough, fried in grapeseed oil, filled with flavored cream, and finished with a glaze or sugar coating. It is therefore not simply a doughnut with a croissant name: its flaky layers are central to the concept.

Ansel introduced it on May 10, 2013, at Dominique Ansel Bakery in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. A Grub Street report quickly spread online, and a line of more than 100 people formed outside the bakery within days.

The word itself became commercially important. Ansel filed for a trademark for “Cronut” within nine days of its debut, helping distinguish his pastry from later croissant-doughnut hybrids sold under names such as cruffin, doughssant, and zonut. Those imitations may resemble it, but only the original name supplies this particular portmanteau.