Almond Croissant
by Kate Reid, featured in Lune Published by Hardie GrantIntroduction
At Lune, like everything else we do, almond croissants are not exactly made the traditional way. Classically, an almond croissant will be flat, and I hate to say it, often rather sad looking. The old-school way to make almond croissants is to bake them between two trays, such that they are squashed during their second bake.
This seemed like madness to me — why would you want to lose the definition of all those beautiful layers, and in the process, the crunch and flake of that buttery pastry. So, I developed a recipe and technique for the almond croissant that maintained the integrity of the structure of the croissant, while still incorporating the moist, delicious, cake-like frangipane through the centre.
The signature of a Lune almond croissant? The beautiful spine of flaked almonds that stand proud and perfect atop the croissant.
At Lune, like everything else we do, almond croissants are not exactly made the traditional way. Classically, an almond croissant will be flat, and I hate to say it, often rather sad looking. The old-school way to make almond croissants is to bake them between two trays, such that they are squashed during their second bake.
This seemed like madness to me — why would you want to lose the definition of all those beautiful layers, and in the process, the crunch and flake of that buttery pastry. So, I developed a recipe and technique for the almond croissant that maintained the integrity of the structure of the croissant, while still incorporating the moist, delicious, cake-like frangipane through the centre.
The signature of a Lune almond croissant? The beautiful spine of flaked almonds that stand proud and perfect atop the croissant.
Ingredients
Yields: 6
ALMOND FRANGIPANE
- 200 grams butter (at room temperature)
- 200 grams caster sugar
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 200 grams natural almond meal / ground almonds
SUGAR SYRUP
- 500 grams water
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons kirsch
- 6 x one-day-old croissants
- sugar syrup
- almond frangipane
- flaked almonds
- icing sugar (powdered)
ALMOND FRANGIPANE
- 7 ounces butter (at room temperature)
- 7 ounces superfine sugar
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 7 ounces natural almond meal / ground almonds
SUGAR SYRUP
- 17 ounces water
- 7¾ ounces superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons kirsch
- 6 x one-day-old croissants
- sugar syrup
- almond frangipane
- sliced almonds
- confectioners' sugar (powdered)
Method
Almond Croissant is a guest recipe by Kate Reid so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe
ALMOND FRANGIPANE:
- Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat and waiting until each one is incorporated fully before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after incorporating the first egg.
- With the mixer on low speed, mix in the almond meal. Once again, scrape the bowl down well, giving it a final mix by hand (with a spatula) to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Transfer the frangipane into a piping bag fitted with a size 11 star nozzle.
SUGAR SYRUP:
- Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved, then bring the syrup to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the kirsch.
ASSEMBLING AND BAKING:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C fan (350°F) and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Using a large serrated knife (a bread knife will work best), cut the croissants in half. Brush the cut side of both halves of each croissant generously with the sugar syrup. Pipe a healthy wiggle of frangipane on the bottom half of each croissant then replace the top halves, cupping your hand and gently securing each top. Finish off each croissant by piping a seam of frangipane across the top, then garnish with flaked almonds, pinching as many almonds as you can together and pressing them into the frangipane, along the entire length of the seam. (How we get the flaked almonds to stand up so perfectly is one of the most frequently-asked questions at Lune. There is no magic answer. It is labour intensive, time consuming and difficult. Our chefs prepare literally hundreds of almond croissants at Lune every day, such is their popularity, hence practice makes perfect!)
- Place the prepared croissants on the lined baking tray and bake for 18–20 minutes, until the frangipane inside is set. Check this by carefully lifting the lid of one of the croissants with a fork and checking the doneness of the frangipane. If it still looks like cake batter, it is not yet ready. Bake for a few more minutes and check again.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, dust the almond croissants with icing (powdered) sugar and serve.
ALMOND FRANGIPANE:
- Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat and waiting until each one is incorporated fully before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after incorporating the first egg.
- With the mixer on low speed, mix in the almond meal. Once again, scrape the bowl down well, giving it a final mix by hand (with a spatula) to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Transfer the frangipane into a piping bag fitted with a size 11 star nozzle.
SUGAR SYRUP:
- Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved, then bring the syrup to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the kirsch.
ASSEMBLING AND BAKING:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C fan (350°F) and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Using a large serrated knife (a bread knife will work best), cut the croissants in half. Brush the cut side of both halves of each croissant generously with the sugar syrup. Pipe a healthy wiggle of frangipane on the bottom half of each croissant then replace the top halves, cupping your hand and gently securing each top. Finish off each croissant by piping a seam of frangipane across the top, then garnish with sliced almonds, pinching as many almonds as you can together and pressing them into the frangipane, along the entire length of the seam. (How we get the sliced almonds to stand up so perfectly is one of the most frequently-asked questions at Lune. There is no magic answer. It is labour intensive, time consuming and difficult. Our chefs prepare literally hundreds of almond croissants at Lune every day, such is their popularity, hence practice makes perfect!)
- Place the prepared croissants on the lined baking tray and bake for 18–20 minutes, until the frangipane inside is set. Check this by carefully lifting the lid of one of the croissants with a fork and checking the doneness of the frangipane. If it still looks like cake batter, it is not yet ready. Bake for a few more minutes and check again.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, dust the almond croissants with icing (powdered) sugar and serve.
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