#pastry-innovation

#pastry-innovation

Per the lore, after a bakery employee accidentally overboiled a batch of Blum's (supposed-to-be) soft coffee candy, Weil leapt into a thrifty effort not to waste it. The pastry chef broke the crispy, honeycombed sugar candy into small pieces and added it to Blum's regular sponge cake. The result was a light, fluffy, lemon-tinged chiffon cake dotted with crunchy textural morsels.

For me, the light bulb moment was the steak frites croissant. I was scrolling Instagram when the golden brown pastry popped onto my phone screen, a hunk of steak poking out from between its lifted layers and a few peppered fries sitting on a smear of sauce on top. I couldn't look away, transfixed by this creation from Houston croissanterie Shakkar. I realized that savory croissants across the country had escaped all limits of tradition.