It was first weekend of July and boy did I compensate for the lack of June baking. Over the course of my refined sugar free month I kept writing ideas for things I wanted to make and share here. I was really worried this blog before too long was going to turn into Sophie Likes Soup. The list kept getting longer and longer and since there is no time like the present I decided that knocking off three things in one weekend was perfectly acceptable.
I am a huge fan of almond croissants. My first ever experience of one was in Dunedin in my third year of Uni. I discovered this café that sold freshly baked almond croissants. I had been told they were good but they exceeded my expectations. They came from this French bakery up on the hill called the Friday Bakery. Coincidentally they only ever open on Fridays, funny that. These croissants bring back memories of treating my friends when they needed a pick me up. They were that indulgent treat that for $5 could turn a cold Dunedin Friday into something special. I miss the Friday bakery. I miss the people I used to go with and the people I used to surprise with treats from there.
The knowledge of making almond croissants from stale, day old pastries has long been in the back of my mind. It wasn’t until this weekend when I decided to fully tick this project off my list that I went out and actioned such knowledge. My first mission was finding someone to accept the croissants once I had actually made them. My brother and his friend (and as it turned out his parents too) took it upon themselves to help me with my surplus croissant problem. I then ran (by ran I mean I drove) to the supermarket where I acquired cheap, average and dry looking croissants (perfect!) and some ground almond.
Making these literally involves creaming together butter and sugar then adding egg and almond before slicing east croissant in half and slathering this in the middle and on the top then baking. Once they were done they looked pretty impressive in my opinion. A very easy way to impress a crowd. If you want to make these extra lush then I would increase the almond filling quantities by another half but keeping the number of croissants at six. The more filling the better right?
Almond Croissants
Makes 6
Adapted from a multitude of places
6 croissants (a day old is fine- why waste freshly baked croissants?)
65g butter, softened
¼ cup white sugar
1 egg
¾ cup ground almond
1 tablespoon plain flour
1/4 cup flaked almonds
Icing sugar to dust
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees on bake.
Cream together the butter and sugar until very pale. Add the egg and beat until voluminous. Mix in the almond and the flour so that a paste forms. Slice each croissant in half and spread a good tablespoons worth onto each base half. Return the tops and spread a small amount onto the top of each one then sprinkle with almond slices. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops become golden brown. Leave to cool for ten or so minutes before dusting with icing sugar.
Distribute amongst your friends.
Enjoy!
