Dominique Ansel On Turning Beauty Inspiration Into Pastry Sweet Treats

Pastry chef Dominique Ansel knows his way around a delicious dessert. The 48-year-old French culinary guru is the creator of some of America’s most dangerous treats, from the Cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid that had hundreds of people waiting in line for hours when it first debuted in 2013, to frozen s’mores, Cookie Shots and his favorite DKA (Dominiques) Kouign A.

That’s all it means: when Ansel works on a new product, the masses pay attention.

Case in point: the new custom linzer cookie inspired by pink nail polish, created in collaboration with beauty brand Sally Hansen and celebrity nail artists Kim Truong and Mei Kawajiri, who have worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington and FKA Twigs, among others.

The new cookie—launching Thursday, February 5—is made with edible food coloring and glitter and will be available at Dominique Ansel Bakery on Spring Street, as well as shipping nationwide.

Although, at first, a cookie inspired by nail color feels out of place for Ansel, the pastry chef notes that beauty-related products have always been a big inspiration for him.

“I’ve always looked at fashion, art and beauty and translated it into food,” says Ansel The viewer. “It’s not always obvious. You have to separate it. Color can be a great source of inspiration and, when it comes to fashion, I look at the dress, the shape, the pattern. On the other hand, beauty is something that makes you feel happy—and food is like that.”

The way the cakes look appeals to the social media-savvy audience that many businesses rely on to find customers—a fact not lost on Ansel.

“The industry has changed, and so have we, because there are new expectations and new things that people enjoy,” he said. “You can’t do the same thing forever. I remember the cakes I made 15 years ago when I first opened the bakery—they’re completely different from what I make today. They’re simple, they use a lot of sugar, they’re a little healthy and they look good. The generation that eats this is changing and we have to embrace that to make sure it stays relevant.”

Cake shops are often visual microcosms that rely on the beauty of happiness to attract patrons.

“In restaurants, servers can tell you good stories about why things are made a certain way, but when you have a bakery, you don’t have that luxury,” Ansel said. “The cakes are standing, they are in the cake box, people are queuing for that [treats] you have to look so different to make you stop, think and say ‘what goes into doing this?’”

That attention to detail is also what Ansel observes when he tastes the creations of pastry chefs, ultimately informing his list of his favorite eateries in the city.

“I have a soft spot for tiramisu, and Bar Primi has one of the best in town,” he says. “It’s so good every time I eat it—soft, light, light. I love simplicity. It’s the way I indulge, and tiramisu does.”

In many ways, that dedication to simplicity captures Ansel’s approach, which always results in a cake that looks good but is never too functional, focused on technique but open to inspiration anywhere—even a bottle of nail polish. His sweet dishes may have changed over the years, but Ansel’s passion for the art of baking and his commitment to the process have not changed: a helping line that helps explain why his work continues to resonate, decade after decade.