Cronuts, duffins – and now the waffogato
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Version 0 of 1. Dominique Ansel is at it again. The Heston Blumenthal of the New York bakery scene, who previously brought us the cronut – half-croissant, half-doughnut – has unveiled his latest hybrid: the waffogato. A cross between a waffle and affogato (an Italian dessert of ice-cream with an espresso poured over it), it comprises a waffle-shaped block of ice-cream to which a hot maple syrup espresso is added, so that the ice-cream melts, liberating pieces of Belgian waffle and, erm, tapioca. "It's a little like a milkshake at the end," Ansel told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, before unveiling the waffogato at a fundraising dinner. It goes on sale at his eponymous SoHo bakery from 9 May. You may raise a sceptical eyebrow at all this, perhaps feel a little queasy at the mere mention of tapioca, but do not be surprised if, this time next month, waffogato variations are everywhere. Not all Ansel's ideas translate – for instance, serving milk in edible chocolate cookie "glasses" was a bit too Happy Days to go global – but Ansel's cronut inspired a worldwide wave of genetic baking mutations, not to mention a flurry of controversy. London bakery-cafe Bea's of Bloomsbury got in on the act with its townie (a dastardly, diet-busting chocolate brownie tart), before, to its owner Bea Vo's dismay, Starbucks launched the duffin (a jam-filled muffin-shaped doughnut), a creation that Bea's had been baking for years. That spat died down, after Starbucks, whose supplier Rich Products had trademarked the name, promised not to put the squeeze on Bea's. Meanwhile, Greggs launched its own cakey combo, the Greggsnut, with the outrageous suggestion that this was "the most exciting thing since the birth of the sausage roll". Greggs was joking. You hope. But its jocularity flags-up a distinct problem with all this portmanteau patisserie: it is very cute and gooey. That is fine if you have a sweet-tooth, but where can you find such cut'n'shut creativity in the savoury realm? Indeed, why are we taking our highly calorific cues from the US? Why aren't British chefs fusing our favourite UK dishes? M&S is doing its bit; it recently launched a fish and chip-topped pie. And, of course, in the UK, there is a proud tradition of doner kebab pizza. But where is the "chausage", the chunky chip that encases a dinky chipolata? Why has no one yet nailed the "burry", a savoury bun filled, doughnut-style, with curry? Which chef has the ingenuity to deliver the dream "spudding" (individual profiterole-style Yorkshire puddings stuffed with beef, mash and gravy)? Who will nail "chings": deep-fried onion rings filled with a tangy cheese'n'onion fondant? Let's hope the golden age of the crossover is only just beginning. Waffogato, anyone? |