The Townie: A Tart and a Brownie

Image Courtesy of Bea's of Bloomsbury

As the cronut craze continues, new hybrid desserts are popping up in bakeries and pastry shops around the world.

The latest and greatest creation comes from Bea's of Bloomsbury tea shops in London.

"When I had been approached to do a fusion dessert, I wanted to do something that would incorporate the best of both worlds," Vo told TODAY.com. "So with the brownie tart, the best part is the sugar crust on the top, and the fudgy soft centre that really makes for a strong chocolate hit."

What does she call her newest creation? The townie-part tart and part brownie.

This dessert is a nod to the American brownie, but, with a buttery, flaky crust, is also reminiscent of a European pastry. The baker describes the townie as "a good balance of flaky and gooey."

Vo's other hybrid pastry creation, the Duffin (a mix between a donut and a muffin), is already a wildly popular menu item at Bea's of Bloomsbury.

Why the rush to create more hybrid desserts? Bea's of Bloomsbury's marketing and PR manager, Helena Marie Fletcher, told TODAY.com that the public likes to know their bakers are constantly innovating. "It's one of the things our customers really like, that they can see our chefs at work in the kitchen here in the shop and that something new is being created."

For more insanely good hybrid foods, go to 10 Food Mashups as Good as the Cronut.

Click on the slideshow below for step-by-step instructions for making the cronut at home.