Cruffins, cronuts and croffles - it's a golden era of croissant remixes

It takes three days for Ben Hill to make a croissant.

Hill has been the pastry chef at Can Can Brasserie in Carytown since 2020. Recently, the restaurant added a coffee-shop style breakfast operation.

While the croissant is a classic French pastry, Hill put his own spin on it with the cruffin - a muffin made from croissant dough.

"We actually take our scraps from shaping our croissants the day before, and we'll roll it out the next day and cut it into the right size, then line the molds," he said. "That was one of the reasonings behind it, to kind of reuse that dough so it wasn't going to waste."

Richmond is a foodie town, but it's possible no food item is hotter right now than the croissant.

Legend has it that the croissant was invented in the 1600s to celebrate a victory by the Austrian army, and the shape pays homage to the crescent on the Ottoman Empire's flag.

Were those bakers to visit Richmond, there's lots they'd be fascinated by – indoor plumbing, cars, Francine the cat – but they'd probably be most impressed by what we've done with the croissant.

Self-taught baker Ben Safchuk recently opened B-Side in the Museum District, with large, ornate croissants as the centerpiece item.

At farmers markets, chef Justin Ross has made a name for himself with his cronut.

The cronut costs $6, more than a typical donut but also much more work for Ross, who has to go through the croissant process before ultimately frying and glazing the sweet treat.

Not to be outdone, Kokee Tea, in the same Carytown shopping center as Can Can, offers a croffle ($4.50) - you've probably decoded the naming formula at this point.

The real winners here are consumers, particularly lovers of baked goods.

"It's a classic pastry," said Hill at Can Can. "Being a French restaurant, you know, we have to have croissants. And I just wanted to kind of bring something with a fun twist."

Hill's cruffin has one thing in common with the croissant - both can create a mess easily.

The cruffin ($4) is filled with whipped cream to add a sweet touch. Hill recommended tearing it apart, to ensure a good ratio of croissant-to-cream in each bite. The top is covered with a caramel drizzle for an extra later of taste.

Can Can recently switched ownership, but Hill said that won't change anything for the cruffin, which has started to gain a word-of-mouth following around town.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and open beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday, and 10 a.m. on Sundays.

What's next for the croissant? Well, a French chef recently went viral on Tik Tok for her crookie. Your move, Richmond.