Monday 21 July 2014

Almond Croissant


Considering how fond I am of almond croissant it was only this last weekend that I made them for the first time. Simply make the basic croissant dough and a batch of frangipan and an almond croissant can be yours for breakfast anytime you choose.

For this recipe you will need;
1 portion of basic croissant dough click here for the recipe
1 portion of frangipan made from;
100g of ground almonds
40g of unsalted butter
60g of caster sugar
1 medium egg
a pinch of salt

Topping consists of a little fondant icing and a few flaked almonds that have been toasted.

Make the frangipan by creaming together the butter and the sugar, add the egg and the salt and beat in before mixing in the ground almonds. Place the mix in a piping bag fitted with 1 centimeter nozzle and place in the fridge.
Prepare the croissant dough and at the point where you have cut out 8 to 12 triangles, pipe an amount of the frangipan along each of the base edges before proceeding with rolling up the croissant. Don't worry if some of the frangipan is exposed it should just cook along with the rest of the croissant without oozing out.
leave to rise fully, this can take several hours, I usually leave them overnight, before baking in a hot oven, 200C for 17 to 20 minutes. Drizzle with a little fondant icing made from fondant icing sugar and water, and finally scatter with some toasted flaked almonds.



Notes:
I have never come across an almond croissant which wasn't flattened, I don't know why but consistently they are far flatter than standard croissants. With this in mind I half expected some sort of deflating to go on once they were out of the oven and cooling on a wire rack, however, they remained perfectly inflated, so almond croissant that look like they have been sat on remain a mystery.

You may find that you have a little frangipan left over, simply form into little balls and bake on a tray while the croissant are baking, they make perfect little petit four to serve with a cup of cafe ristretto.

2 comments:

  1. Almond croissants are traditionally made from left over croissants (up to 1 day old) sliced in half, stuffed with frangipan and baked again. This is why they are crispier and flatter than standard croissants. Your method looks great!

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  2. Hello and thank you for leaving a comment. I can't say that I have ever had an almond croissant that had been split. I asked a local stall holder who sells them and other artisan baked goods and he claimed his were flatter because of the way they were packed at the bakery. I have baked these a few times now and have always been pleased with the result. I am however, going to make the frangipan out of ground hazelnuts next time. Best wishes, Tôbi.

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