A round of applause, please: Remo’s Maximilliano has produced a giant, cake-sized cronut that’s deep-fried, filled with custard and frosted with chocolate.

Remo’s bakeries have been doing cronuts for a few years now, ever since the first explosion of the trend. “It began at the Durban Remo’s; now we make them seven days a week in two or three different flavours,” says Kyra Roberts, general manager of Remo’s Maximilliano at Waterfall Corner in Johannesburg.

This all changed last week when a customer came in and wanted a cronut birthday cake, but in true cake size. “So we gave it a try,” explains Kyra. “We had no idea how it would turn out, but it was lots of fun!”

A cronut cake from Remo’s Maximilliano.

Needless to say, it’s been a hit. The process is the same as with a normal cronut – which includes a careful proofing process for the right level of lightness in the dough – except a cake tin is used for baking, and the big Remo’s chip fryer for crisping up the pastry. And yes, just like all cronuts, it’s injected with vanilla custard and then iced.

Topping options for this made-to-order madness include rocky road (chocolate ganache with almonds, pecan nuts, cherries, marshmallows, biscuit crumbs, and white chocolate ganache drizzle); white chocolate and amaretto ganache with toasted almonds; peanut butter and dark chocolate; frosted marshmallow; Black Forest; and banana, white and dark chocolate ganache. But you can let your imagination run wild. “If a customer comes to us with a flavour, we’ll do it for them,” says Kyra. “It’s limitless!”

To recap: a cake made from croissant dough that’s baked, deep fried, filled with custard and covered in ganache. Seems perfectly reasonable.

Depending on the topping, the cronut cake can be yours to take home for between R550 and R600. Contact Remo’s Maximilliano for more details or to place your order.