When I was in France last year, I enjoyed one of the truest guilty pleasures that anyone could ever enjoy—almond croissants filled with a frangipane cream. They were always on our table for breakfast every morning along with other fresh pastries, yogurts, thinly sliced meats and fresh fruit. Some of the croissants had the almond cream rolled into the pastry itself, and others were plain, pre-baked croissants that were sliced and filled with the almond cream. I wondered why there was a difference in the preparation in what appeared to be the same thing, and finally got an explanation. The plain croissants that were cut and filled were actually leftover, day old products that French bakeries would re-purpose into something else. Had I not heard this with my own ears while in France, I doubt that I would have ever believed it. But, one thing is true in a European kitchen — nothing is ever wasted.
The croissants I enjoyed in France were filled with something called frangipane (pronounced fran-gee-pan), which is an almond cream made with TPT (tant pour tant, means equal amounts of sugar and almond flour), butter, eggs and a little rum. It does not surprise me that they use this because it is something that is used in many French items, and is readily available. Once baked, it results in a moist and nutty filling. A local bakery in my area made their filling with almond paste, and in my opinion, this was the filling to beat. Moist, nutty, sweet and a strong almond flavor which is what I would expect in an almond croissant.
I set out to read about the process of how to handle the day old croissants and discovered that they need to be gently brushed with some simple syrup which helps to keep them moist. I set out to make my filling with just a few ingredients – almond paste, a little sugar and egg whites. Ideally, I wanted to create a filling with a spreadable consistency, but also something that would set up once baked. The filling was spot on, and I made some with just the almond filling and others with the almond, homemade strawberry jam and some delicate chocolate shards.
I cannot tell you how delicious these were. For once, I am truly speechless…
Double Baked Almond Croissants
18 mini croissants
10 oz or 2 cups chopped up pieces of almond paste
4.5 oz or 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup egg whites (will vary based on moistness of almond paste)
strawberry or seedless raspberry jam **optional
Chocolate pieces
sliced almonds
Powdered sugar
Simple syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornsyrup
2 tablespoons rum
First you need to make the syrup so that it is cool to brush onto the croissants. Add all of the ingredients plus 1 tablespoon of rum into a small pot and bring it to a rolling boil. Let it go for 1-2 minutes until all of the sugar has melted and then remove from the stove. Once you have removed it from the stove, add in the other 1 tablespoon of rum, then set aside to cool. If I am doing all of this at the same time, I put the syrup into the freezer to cool down while I prepare everything else.
Because these will get very sticky, I put some parchment on a half sheet pan and sprayed it with a little pan release. I delicately wiped off most of it, but allowed it to remain as a residue on the paper which will help later when the filling oozes out.
Split open the croissants and place them side by side on a parchment lined sheet pan. I added some strawberry jam and chocolate to half of them, so if you want to do this also (highly recommend), buy a really good strawberry or seedless raspberry jam and add some chocolate.
To make the almond filling, place the cut up almond pieces into the bowl of your mixer and add the sugar. Use a paddle to combine until it looks like a coarse meal, then add the egg whites to create a paste that looks like this.
Be careful when adding the egg whites — add the quarter cup, and if you need more then add 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. The final result should be a spreadable consistency but not runny. When this is ready, set it aside.
Next, you need brush the syrup on the inside of each croissant to where it is moist but not too soggy. Once all of them are done, add the jam, almond paste, chocolate and then cover the filling with the tops of the croissant. Try to portion out the almond filling for all the croissants, it should be about 1-2 tablespoons for the minis. If you don’t have 18 croissants, then don’t add too much to the center because it will all ooze out. Instead, do what I did, just add a little to the top before you add the almonds. Whatever you do, make sure to use it all up. Brush some more syrup on the tops of the croissant and add the sliced almonds. Bake them in a 350°F preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the center is slightly oozing out.
Allow them to cool completely, and they will get very crispy on the outside, but if you serve them warm, they will be soft. Dust will a little powdered sugar and sink your teeth into a little slice of heaven.
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