Ed Cornell on Crullers, Community, and Café Tropical

Dave and the crew welcome Ed Cornell, renowned pastry chef and co-owner of Café Tropical in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Ed, formerly of DC-based Milk Cult, discusses his transition to LA, the evolution of Café Tropical as both a bakery and community hub, and his innovations in yeasted doughs and soft serve. The conversation ranges from donut techniques and soft-serve mechanics to mutual disdain for bad blueberry muffins and the surprising connection between carp bait and boba-making. The team also dives into Ed’s community outreach via Feed the Streets LA, his thoughts on donut fryers, and how he replicates French crullers at scale without compromising texture. Classic Cooking Issues tangents include pre-Raphaelite surgery photos, cake cone discourse, and donut reheating strategy.

Highlights:

• Ed Cornell explains how Café Tropical balances artisanal baking, ice cream production, and acting as a local community center with 12-step meetings and food relief programs.
• In-depth breakdown of donut production techniques, including choux-based crullers, soft-serve stabilization, and the challenges of maintaining quality in frozen fried pastries.

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