The latest pastry craze to sweep social media: the circular croissant. First made famous by Lafayette Grand Cafe & Bakery (where they’re dubbed Supremes), a french bakery in New York, earlier this April, the Instagram- and TikTok-viral trend has reached our shores, with several cafes and bakeries now offering the unique pastry.
So what exactly is it?
Using croissant dough, it is moulded into a round disc shape — almost like a kouign amann, except that it isn’t glazed and baked with sugar between the pastry layers like the classic viennoiserie is. The circular croissants also come with a variety of fillings and toppings, from creme fillings and ganache to cheese and ham. Scroll below for a list of places to bag them.
Best known for its Swiss rolls and croissants, local bakery Swish Rolls has introduced Croons, its own take on the circular croissant, with sweet and savoury options. Have it with a dash of sea salt with the Crackly Sea Salt Butter Croissant ($3) or go for the Ham ‘N Cheeze ($5.80) that has turkey ham, gruyere bechamel sauce, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
For a sugar hit, there is the Super Summer Berries Croissant with a luscious mix of raspberries, strawberry, chocolate, lemon, and cream, as well as the Deep Dark Valrhona Chocolate and the Loaded Pistachio croissants. All three are priced at $5.80.
Swish Rolls is at #01-02B Cluny Court, 501 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 259760. Visit its website to order.
Local bakery-cafe La Levain’s circular croissants have been coined the La LeBombz. The sweet-toothed can go for pastries with sugary fixings like Nutella ($6.50), as well as Passionfruit and Mango, and Raspberry (both $6.20). For a local spin on the pastry, try the Bobochacha ($6.80) laden with coconut cream, steamed sweet potatoes and yams baked with fragrant vanilla pods, and a dusting of natural sweet potato powder.
Want a hearty breakfast filler? Get your hands on the Truffle Cream Cheese ($8.20), Mushroom and Camembert Cheese ($7.20), and Parma Ham and Emmental Cheese ($9.50).
Only 30 of each flavour are baked each day, so swipe yours early.
La Levain is at 23 Hamilton Rd, Singapore 209193. Opens Tue to Sun, 8am to 6pm. Visit its website to order.
Keong Saik Bakery has long been experimental with its offerings, doling out inventive bakes like croissant cubes and cruffins.
Here, the croissant-bread roll hybrids, or crolls as the bakery calls them, come in petite bite-sized versions. Break them apart to reveal an oozy filling, like the Genmaicha (roasted brown rice green tea) with an earthy ganache, the Milo Croll with a creamy malty inside, and the Pistachio Praline with housemade pistachio custard.
The Cacio e Pepe Croll is a riff on the classic pasta, dressed with parmigiano reggiano, pecorino, and freshly ground pepper.
They can be purchased as a box of four ($14), and you can mix and match any of the four flavours. Available for walk-in at both outlets or preorder online, with limited stocks daily.
Keong Saik Bakery is at 33 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089140, and 44 Jalan Merah Saga, #01-42 Singapore 278116. Visit its website to order.
Yeast Side, which just opened a new cafe at Farrer Park, has debuted its line-up of Swirls. Its croissant dough is fermented for up to 48 hours and made with a blend of premium French & Japanese flours and French lactic butter.
Offerings (from $8.60) run the gamut from Almond, and Vanilla & Pistachio to Blackforest, which brims laden with Chantilly cream, wine-soaked cherries, kirsch, and a drizzling of dark chocolate ganache. There are also Japanese-inspired flavours like the Lemon Yuzu Meringue, and Kuro Goma, stuffed with black sesame tofu custard, and topped with a crunchy crumble and sesame mochi.
The Swirls are only available at its Farrer Park outlet and online.
Yeast Side (Farrer Park) is at #01-06 Lyf @ Farrer, 2 Perumal Road, Singapore 218773.
New Muslim-owned Japanese-inspired cafe Gamo, which churns out Japanese and French-inspired pastries, has rolled out three flavours for its Croons: Kaya, Matcha White Chocolate and the Instagrammable all-black Goma(Black Sesame) that envelops a rich thick sesame paste. They’re priced from $7 each, and are only available on weekends.
Gamo is at #01-75 Bras Basah Complex, Singapore 180231. Opens Tues to Sun, 10am to 6pm.
If you like Nuage Patisserie & Boulangerie’s delightful tarts and viennoiserie, you’ll want to swing by for its buttery, flaky and generously filled croissants or ‘Pom Poms’. There are four flavours to sample, including Chocolate ($6.50), Matcha Azuki Pom Pom ($6.90), Raspberry Pistachio ($6.80) with pistachio cream and raspberry marmalade. For a decadent treat, try the Black Forest ($7.20) that enrobes dark chocolate and cherry cream, as well as kirsh-soaked cherry.
Nuage Patisserie & Boulangerie is at 47 Kampong Bahru Road, Singapore 169361. Visit its website to order or for more information.
This artisanal bakery is known for sending out fresh bakes and a stellar array of viennoiserie and trendy treats — its cruffins with delectable toppings are also stars of the menu, with delicate and flaky layers. So it’s hardly surprising that it has churned out its own version of the round croissant.
Sink your teeth into a lemon-flavoured Citrus Milky Snow Croon, an Avocado Cream Croon, and a savoury Salted Egg Yolk Custard Croon.
Bakery Brera is at #01-05, 8 Empress Road, Singapore 260008. Visit its website for more information.