A new culinary invention, the cruffin is taking New Yorkers by storm with their unconventional approach on the classic croissant. Madison Squares are inspiring a lot of excitement around the city. This equally groundbreaking pastry is a creation of Eleven Madison Park’s executive pastry chef, Laura Cronin. These pastries are made without the dairy butter and eggs, but they deliver all the decadence you’d expect. So do we, and that’s why we make them available for purchase for $8 apiece! Stop by the Bake It Nice pop-up in front of Eleven Madison Park on Madison Avenue.
Madison Squares are more than your average vegan pastry. They’re a delicate, highbrow reinterpretation of the croissant. For one, Cronin substitutes plant-based options for more traditional baking staples. It’s a brilliant alternative that doesn’t compromise the delicious flavors or textures that pastry aficionados would ever miss. The plant-based butter that goes into these delicacies features Tourlami butter and Eleven Madison Park’s house-made sunflower seed butter. This creative strategy guarantees that the pastries are a vegan option that is never identified as such, which is attractive to vegans and non-vegans.
“I’m not vegan, but some people that are will get a high-quality pastry,” said a customer named Saunders.
The Bake It Nice pop-up has become a popular destination, drawing long lines that extend from Madison Avenue to Park Avenue. The demand for these delicate delights is through the roof. Fervent customers can only wait in eager anticipation until their favor comes around and they get to enjoy. Madison Squares go on sale at 11 a.m. Be sure to get there very early, because these yummy pastries are sold on a first come, first serve basis!
“This is my third time waiting. It’s that good,” shared a 54-year-old patron in line.
The detailed process of production Madison Squares includes cross lamination of the dough and baking each piece one at a time in rings. This method contributes to the flaky, croissant-like texture that Cronin strives for. Their flavors rotate weekly, creating a new explosion of flavors each week to keep people coming back for more!
“Every bite should be a symphony of flakiness, crispiness and decadence, which is my goal,” Cronin explained.
Catch the Bake It Nice pop-up again on April 19 & May 10 for our spring series! Look out world as we introduce new tastes and freaky freaks that will make our lifelong loyalists scream. This seasonal return is a nail-bitingly delicious treat for pastry lovers everywhere, who love the mix of traditional technique and inventive flavor.
“It took a lot of trial and error and experimenting with different ingredients to achieve the flavors and textures that we were looking for,” Cronin stated.
Madison Squares as part of Eleven Madison Park’s great transformation to a entirely plant-based menu. This pivot started in 2021 — largely due to the acceleration of industry changes from the pandemic. This change is an important sign of the shift taking place in the culinary world towards more sustainable, ethical, and responsible dining options.
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