In Brief: Cronut name gets trademark


The Cronut, that magical round of puffy and creamy pastry, seems to have gone and made things official with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Cronut name shows up on a registration certificate marked with Tuesday's date, filed in New York by Dominique Ansel. That's the guy who once served as executive pastry chef at upscale eatery Daniel and now owns the eponymous Soho bakery where the Cronut was born.

The half-croissant, half-doughnut concoction -- once described by the Los Angeles Times as "proprietary laminated dough that is proofed then fried in grapeseed oil at a specific temperature" before being rolled in sugar, injected with cream and then glazed -- has legions of fans.


Pizza Hut's latest gambit: imperfection

If you notice some air bubbles and stray cheese on your Pizza Hut pie crust, it's not an accident. It's all part of an effort to appear more "authentic."

The nation's largest pizza chain is set to announce a revamped hand-tossed pie this week that it says has a lighter, airier crust brushed with a garlic butter seasoning. Although Pizza Hut isn't touting it as prominently, there's another feature to the new recipes worth noting: deliberate imperfections.


Apple to refund at least $32.5M in case


Following tens of thousands of consumer complaints, the Federal Trade Commission said Apple will pay at least $32.5 million to settle a federal case involving those in-app purchases. Apple also must change its billing practices to make it more obvious that an actual purchase is taking place.

-- from wire reports