makes
12
prep
30 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
12
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Some pastry chefs like to keep the original shape of the croissant too. But the almond croissant I remember from my childhood was as flat as a pancake, so I bake these in-between two trays.
Ingredients
- 12 1-day-old croissants (get Emmanual's croissant recipe )
Crème patissiere
- 200 ml full cream milk
- ½ vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 2 tbsp plain flour, sifted
- 20 g unsalted butter, diced
Crème d'amande
- 150 g unsalted butter, softened and diced
- 1¼ cups icing sugar, sifted
- 1½ cups almond meal
- 2 tbsp cornflour, sifted
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 drops Amaretto liqueur
- 1 cup crème patissiere
Syrup
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- kirsch (optional)
- flaked almonds, to decorate
- icing sugar, to dust
The crème patissiere makes about 1 cup. The crème d'amandemakes about 3 cups.
Instructions
- First make the crème patissiere. Combine the milk and vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl (or electric mixer), whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is fluffy and pale, forming thick ribbons when drizzled from the whisk. Add the flour and mix well. Stir the hot milk into the egg mixture and mix well again. Using a fine sieve, strain the cream mixture back into the saucepan, discarding the vanilla bean and any lumps. Cook on low heat for three to five minutes until the mixture thickens, whisking continuously to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, add the butter, combine well, then set aside to cool. Cover the surface of the cream with a layer of plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming.
- To make the crème d'amande, beat the butter, icing sugar, almond meal and cornflour in an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing well each time. Add the liqueur and the crème patissiere. Mix well with a wooden spoon to combine. Set aside until required.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease two large baking trays and line with baking paper.
- To make the syrup, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and add a splash of kirsch, if using.
- Cut the croissants with a serrated knife and brush inside generously with the syrup. Spread some crème d'amande on one half of each of the croissants, put the other half on top and spread on more crème d'amande. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
- Place the croissants on the prepared trays. Lay a sheet of baking paper on top of the croissants, then place an extra tray on top to flatten (almond croissants always cook between two trays.) Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crisp an golden.
- Remove the trays, let the croissants cool down completely, then dust with the icing sugar and voila...
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Some pastry chefs like to keep the original shape of the croissant too. But the almond croissant I remember from my childhood was as flat as a pancake, so I bake these in-between two trays.
