Thomas Heaton

IT’S been about five years since the sweet-flaky offspring of doughnuts and croissants hit New Zealand. The cronut’s time in the limelight is over, since then, we’ve been subjected to monstrous freakshakes, chocolate-lined pie crusts filled with coffee, rainbow lattes and sushi in various forms. So what’s going to be next on the list of trendy foods everyone must try?

New Zealanders recently went nuts for Krispy Kreme’s, and Al’s Deli founder Aleks Lazic thinks doughnuts will be 2018’s darling food.

‘‘I think doughnuts are really where it’s going to be at this year,’’ he said.

Lazic jumped in when the cronut was hot, had them on the menu for a year or so, but decided they were both too expensive and labour-intensive.

He hoped booze-inject doughnuts, his next menu item, would prove popular. With 10 millilitre injections of alcohol, such as Bailey’s, Kahlua or Cointreau, he thought New Zealanders would enjoy it, he said.

‘‘I think it’s going to be amazing,’’ he said.

Everything seems to point backwards, rather than like-bait on Instagram fuelled by food colouring, garishness and activated charcoal.

Like doughnuts, crumpets have felt a resurgence, but neither are new. Neither are Danishes, but they could well make a comeback, according to food writer Sam Mannering.

Not the ‘‘generic sort of nasty things with bright yellow custard’’ one often finds in the supermarket,’’

‘‘Danishes have been returning which is heartening: big beautiful Danishes,’’ he said.