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Almond Croissants:
6 Day Old Croissants (Recipe here)
Sugar Syrup:
1/4 cup (60 grams) water
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon (10 grams) Rum or Brandy (optional)
Almond Cream (Frangipane)
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg (55 grams without shell), at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (4 grams) rum or brandy (optional)
1 cup (115 grams) ground almonds>
3 1/2 tablespoons (30 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
Shaved almonds
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Almond Croissants: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the croissants in half vertically, but don't cut them all the way through. Place on your baking sheet.
Sugar Syrup: In a small saucepan bring the water and sugar to a boil. Boil until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat, let the syrup cool to room temperature and then stir in the rum. Can be made several days in advance. Just cover and store in the refrigerator.
Almond Cream: In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (can also use a hand mixer) beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and rum. Then beat in the ground almonds, flour, and salt. Can be used right away or it can be made a few days in advance. Just cover and store in the refrigerator.
Almond Croissants: Using a pastry brush, brush the insides (both top and bottom) of each croissant with the sugar syrup. Then take about 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of almond cream and spread it onto the bottom half of each croissant. Close the croissant and spread about 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of almond cream over the top of the croissant and sprinkle with shaved almonds.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the almond cream on the top of each croissant is firm and lightly browned. Remove from oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Makes six Almond Croissants.
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If you've ever bought Almond Croissants (Croissants aux Amandes) at a bakery you know they taste absolutely divine. I think bakeries started making them as a way to use up day old croissants. And what a great idea it was. This pastry starts with a slighty stale croissant. First it's cut in half, moistened with a sugar syrup, and then it's filled with an almond cream. And if that wasn't enough, the almond cream is also spread on the top of the croissant along with a sprinkling of shaved almonds. The Almond Croissant is then baked until the almond cream has set and the ends of the croissants have become wonderfully crisp. I love how they look with their dusting of snowy white powdered sugar. If you're like me, you may find yourself baking croissants just so you can make these delicious twice-baked pastries.
Almond Croissants are a welcome brunch dish. Not only because they taste fabulous but also because you can make the components (croissants, sugar syrup, and almond cream) ahead of time. Then all you need to do shortly before your guests arrive is to assemble the pastries and pop them into the oven.
You can use either homemade or store bought croissants. And as I said above you want the croissants to be a little stale, so they will soak up the flavorful sugar syrup. This syrup is so easy to make (just heat the ingredients to a boil) and it can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks. The almond cream, also known as frangipane, is a rich almond flavored cream made from ground almonds. You can take blanched almonds and simply process them in your food processor until finely ground or you can buy them. The almond cream can be made a few days ahead. Just cover and store it in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen. This recipe makes enough almond cream to fill six croissants. Of course, you can easily scale this recipe up or down. Almond Croissants are excellent warm, at room temperature, or even cold.