Almond Croissant Life Hack

Frangipane, almond croissants and fruit galettes

Mar 08, 2023

There are few things more luxurious in this world than ripping open and biting into an almond croissant. A good almond croissant is complex in its texture- flaky, crunchy, soft and almost creamy all at once. It is sweet but somehow balanced by richness and girth, and begs to be eaten with a cup of coffee.

Making an almond croissant from scratch is an arduous process that takes many days and many, many practices to get right, because at it’s base is a simple croissant- one of the most hellish culinary feats to master. From here, the croissant is dressed and re-baked and thus transformed into the Almond Croissant. Luckily for us, the transformation process is simple, and so effective that even a rather ordinary (dare I say frozen out-of-the-box) croissant can be Cinderella-ed to great heights.

We made almond croissants at Astro for many years before we made our own croissants at Ochre. We would get plain croissants delivered from Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor and turn any that were not sold day-of into almond croissants for the weekend. Eventually we stopped selling them plain and only sold them as almond, they were just better that way. Starting with a good croissant is obviously going to make an even better almond one, but I would also add that making your own almond croissant, this way, is better than most you could ever buy, even from a good bakery.

Frangipane is a classic staple of French baking, and is wonderfully versatile. I use it to spread over rough puff pastry and top with fruit, before sprinkling over a little sugar, brushing the edges of the dough with egg wash, and baking in a hot oven to golden brown. It is also wonderful to fill a sweetened tart shell (made from pate sucree) and layer in fruit for a more refined, less rustic, desert. Bostock can be made using a similar technique as the almond croissant, using sliced brioche brushed lightly with sugar syrup and adding a layer of jam beneath the frangipane.

Fruit galettes made using rough puff pastry spread with a layer of frangipane topped with seasonal fruit

Almond Frangipane

200g almonds

200g sugar

200 g softened butter

2 eggs

1/4 tsp almond extract

pinch salt

Toast the almonds in a 350*oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.
In a food processor, grind the almonds to resemble fine breadcrumbs or a coarse flour (it will be loud!) Don’t be too worried about getting them perfect- I prefer them to be a little uneven in texture.
In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the almond extract, followed by the salt and almonds. Mix well, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

This makes about enough for about 6 almonds croissants, 1 11-inch round shallow tart or 2 medium sized galettes. The recipe can easily be scaled up, just reduce the ratio of almond extract slightly as it is very strong!

Almond Croissant

6 croissants

1 recipe almond frangipane (above)

1 recipe light sugar syrup (below)

handful of flaked/ sliced almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 350*F (180*C)
Pour the sugar syrup into a bowl large enough to fit a croissant.
Ever so lightly, quick-as-a-flash, dip the croissants into the syrup, turning to touch each side. It is important to really just touch the syrup- it is not a soak! (soaking will make a sad, soggy croissant)
Using a bread knife slice the croissant in half as if you were going to a make a sandwich, you can leave it attached at one side. Open up the croissant and spread a heaping tablespoon or two of frangipane over the bottom half of the croissant. Close, and then gently spread another tablespoon or so over the top of the croissant before topping with some of the flaked almonds.
Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool and firm up on the tray for 20 minutes before moving to another platter to cool completely (or almost completely, as long as you can wait). Dust with sifted icing (powdered) sugar before serving.