Cedric Grolet & Dominique Ansel Bakery Le Citron, La Noisette, and La Fraise pastries: About 24 hours ago, I was waiting in line at Dominique Ansel Bakery at 7am, an hour before opening, in what would turn out to be a 2 hour await for a taste of French pastry chef Cedric Grolet's NYC debut. This chef is known for concocting fruit desserts whose outward appearance mimics the texture and color of the real fruit, a style many describe as works of art. When its thin shell is shattered, the desserts reveal a layer of cream and a molten filling of fruit compote. Winner of the 2018 W... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Gingerbread Pinecone: I still haven't tried a cronut, but I have tried some of Dominique Ansel's desserts in the past, mostly through special events held at his New York West Village Kitchen location. While some were exceptional, namely a pea and carrot dessert modeled after a baby's first word, others have actually been quite bad (like the pie night a few years ago). There is a relatively short line at his first bakery and restaurant in Los Angeles at The Grove, so I opted for a seasonal treat: the gingerbread... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Frozen S’more: Brûléed to order, this sizable toasted marshmallow resembles a baked Alaska, with a vanilla ice cream interior mixed with chocolate crunchies. The texture of the marshmallow is excellent - light but having a satisfying chew - and it has a crisp honey-flavored sugary shell. Before you reach the ice cream filling, it’s overly sweet due to the layer of caramelized sugar, but the chocolate crunchies add a touch of bitterness that ultimately balances it out. An elevated and playful reworking of a... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Blooming Matcha Latte: To celebrate their 7th birthday, the Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho recreated several desserts normally exclusively available at their other locations around the world, including Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo. This blooming matcha latte from Japan consists of a marshmallow whose petals unfurl when placed into the hot beverage. At the center of the sakura marshmallow is what seemed to be a sugar cube, acting as the pistil. The beverage itself has a rich but slightly bitter flavor distinct... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Chocolate Hazelnut Hedgehog: I like cute things, and snacks are no exception. This very precious chocolate hedgehog was one of the desserts normally exclusively available in Japan that was offered at Dominique Ansel Bakery this weekend as part of their 7-year anniversary. The hedgehog consisted of a mix of hazelnut, milk chocolate, and coffee-flavored mousse covered in a chocolate shell and chocolate shards. Overall, I found the chocolate dessert to be pretty good and not overly rich, but it isn't one of the better c... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Peach Creme Fraiche Mousse Cake: This teardrop-shaped dessert consists of a lemon cake with peach compote, all covered in a thin shard of pink-striped chocolate. It had a sharp, acidic flavor, and technically, the cake was soft and moist. But I couldn't help but wonder what exactly this dessert was trying to accomplish. While I hadn't had anything like it before, I wouldn't say it was particularly satisfying; it exists in its own world that's not quite delicious, yet not really challenging enough to stay in my memory. 3.0/5.0
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