14 Year-Old MasterChef Makes Cronuts For Dominique Ansel

Alexander Weiss, the fourteen year-old winner of MasterChef Junior season one, became the first person ever to try out Dominique Ansel's official Cronut recipe from Ansel's new cookbook,  Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes.

Ansel's official recipe, which has been simplified for the home cook, still takes three days of preparation and involves the intricate process of creating laminated dough — alternating layers of dough and butter repeatedly — by hand.

Weiss is probably better equipped than most of us at home to test out the legendary recipe, and Ansel, who is there to supervise the process, reveals that he is himself a fan of the young chef and actually followed his arc on MasterChef Junior.

"I was surprised today by Alexander's skills," says Ansel. "I knew he was good at baking but I didn't know he was that good. He learns very quickly."

Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes is available for purchase now, and Ansel is currently on a cross-country tour to promote the book. 

Dominique Ansel The Secret Recipes from Vincent Ma on Vimeo.

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Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.