85C Coffee Cruffin – First Impressions/Review
My bestie introduced me to 85C Bakery many years ago, back when it was really good! Then they start to expand a lot and mass-producing (as it seems) and the quality just wasn’t there anymore. The pastries started to taste really generic and lost its specialty over the years. Anyways, she forwarded me an ad about how 85C now has a coffee cruffin, and that was what made me try 85C Bakery again… after several years.
What is a Cruffin?
Croissant and muffin hybrid! I love good croissants when it has amazing lamination, the many layers inside, light/airy, buttery perfection, etc. Muffins are amazing too – I think they are cute, but I only enjoy the tops.
My First Cruffin
The first cruffin I tried was from Mr. Holmes Bakery. It was so darn good!! It was more of a croissant morning bun kind of thing, but baked in muffin tins. The inside was more croissant-like, and it had the perfect crispiness and flakey layers.
85C Cruffin First Impressions
I went into the bakery, and didn’t see any cruffins. There was the advertisement for them by the cashier, so I asked if they had any cruffins. They had some in the back, but they weren’t decorated yet, but they asked how many I wanted. I said 2, and waited a few minutes and got my 2 cruffins after I paid. They do not accept AmEx. Darn! Anyways, from the photo, the lamination wasn’t great, but perhaps it was more muffin?
Reality vs. Photo
Pretty close, actually, really close comparing it to those photos of the actual fast food burger and advertisement of the said burger.
That 85C Cruffin Feeling
Holy shit, why is it so oily out of the packaging? Jeez so oily!! Luckily the inside didn’t feel that oily, but wow.. had to wash my hands each time I touched that wrapper.
Price, Etc.
Forgot one of the most important pieces earlier… the price! One cruffin was $3.65. That is actually really good for pastries around here… the French bakery I go to is really good, but each item is $4 – $6 or something.
Taste and Texture
I suppose the cruffin has my least favorite part of the croissant with my least favorite part of the muffin… bummer. The taste/texture was like one of those generic croissants from a grocery store and less like a specialty shop. The coffee cream in there made it better though as the cream wasn’t too sweet, though it did lead to an odd aftertaste. The cruffin itself isn’t bad, but I would probably enjoy it a lot more if it was warm and more croissant-like. If you like croissants and muffin stumps, then you might really enjoy these!
Worth It?
Yeah, not bad. It wasn’t super good for me to want to eat the whole thing and dig into the second one right away, but the price and everything it was, it was pretty good on those fronts.
