Cheat’s Christmas Almond Croissants

Cheat’s Christmas Almond Croissants

by | Dec 21, 2015 | 1 comment

Imagine waking up to the warm smell of baked buttery, sugary, spicy goodness wafting from your oven on Christmas morning? It can be a reality, people! I’m not saying you have to make croissants from scratch – heck, ain’t nobody can’t time for that! But fancying up some store-bought croissants, stuffing them with festive spiced fruit mince (also store-bought) and a generous helping of almond frangipane filling can turn plain, ordinary croissants into something rather special for Christmas breakfast!

Almond croissants are any bakery’s darkest secret. I learnt to make them in the ridiculous hours of the morning when I was interning at a French patisserie in my high school years. You know how you fork out a small fortune for an almond croissant? Well, sorry folks, but actually, these almond pastries are made using YESTERDAY’S croissants – jip, all the croissants that weren’t sold yesterday? The stale pastries are dipped in a sugar syrup, stuffed with an almond filling and rebaked to become today’s deliciousness. Oh the shock and the horror! Actually, it’s a pretty darn clever way of using leftovers and one that now, thanks to me, is no longer a secret (the things I do for you guys!).

Lucky for you,  you won’t have to wake up at 3am to make them! Smile and bat your eyelashes at the baker at your supermarket to give you some stale croissants (or use leftover one’s – although I struggle to fathom in what universe someone would have leftover pastries) then dip and fill them, cover and refrigerate til morning. When you wake up, pop them in the oven and by the time you’ve opened up all your Christmas gifts, your house will smell like a French bakery. Oh and I give you full permission to pretend as though you made them from scratch – just don’t tell a French pastry chef I spilled the beans!

Christmas Fruit Mince Almond Croissants

Makes 6-8

250g sugar

250ml water

6-8 stale, day-old croissants

165g butter

160g icing sugar

2 eggs

200g ground almonds

20g corn starch

8 tbsp store-bought Christmas fruit mince, to spread

Flaked almonds, to garnish

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until dissolved completely then bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Set aside.Make the almond by creaming the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time beating well in between each. Add the ground almonds and corn starch and mix until combined. Place in a piping bag. Cut a 5-7cm pocket into each croissant then dip into the warm syrup briefly. Remove from the syrup, spread a layer of fruit mince inside then pipe in some almond filling. Pipe a little of the almond filling on top and sprinkle with almonds. Place on a lined baking tray then repeat with the remaining croissants. It’s at this point where you can cover and refrigerate the croissants until the next morning when you’re ready to bake them. Bake at 170 degrees Celcius for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy. Allow to cool slightly then serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Flapjacks

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Flapjacks

by | Nov 24, 2014 | 0 comments

Let’s be honest here, we’ll use any excuse to have dessert for breakfast. The person who decided muffins were an okay way to start the day? Genius. I mean, you’re eating cake for breakfast, people! Just without the frosting. And somehow it’s now healthy for you?  That person deserves a high five!
 
Now if we’re going to be eating cake for breakfast, then sneaking a little chocolate into flapjacks (or pancakes or crumpets or whatever you choose to call them) is perfectly acceptable. And since I’m the one coming up with this recipe, well then you won’t be surprised that I threw in some pretzel brittle (salted pretzels drenched in caramel) and a little (okay a lot of) peanut butter sauce just for funzies. Because who said breakfast had to have restrictions? Lunch and dinner don’t have to deal with this kind of stereotyping!
The flapjacks are basically little round brownie blobs – moist, dense and rich, which goes perfectly with the salty-sweet peanut butter and pretzels. And I even put your morning cup of coffee IN the flapjack. Who’s the genius now?

Mile-high Chocolate Brownie Flapjack Stack with Pretzel Brittle and Peanut Butter Sauce

Recipe created for Food and Home Entertaining Magazine

Makes 12-15

 

200g sugar

200g cake flour

100g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder

7.5ml (1/2 tbsp) baking powder

pinch of salt

1 egg

125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

160ml hot black coffee

30g smooth peanut butter

60g butter, melted

 

Pretzel brittle

100g salted pretzels

200g sugar

 

Peanut butter sauce

1 cup  (250ml) creamy peanut butter

60ml (1/4 cup) peanut oil

60ml (¼ cup) icing sugar, sifted

pinch of salt

 

To make the brownie flapjacks, mix all the dry ingredients together. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and add to dry ingredients. Combine coffee, peanut butter and butter and add to the mixture. The mixture should be of a dropping consistency. Heat a non-stick pan and grease thoroughly. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan. When bubbles start to form on the surface, flip the flapjacks over and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. To make the brittle, scatter the pretzels on a nonstick baking mat or baking paper. Place the sugar in a saucepan with ¼ cup water and heat gently until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar turns a deep caramel. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the pretzels. Allow to set. Break into pieces. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients together and stir until smooth. Serve the flapjacks piled high on top of each other, sprinkled with pieces of brittle and drizzled with peanut butter sauce.

 

 

TIP

Honey and Toasted Almond Puff Pancake

Honey and Toasted Almond Puff Pancake

by | May 9, 2014 | 0 comments

Also known as a ‘Dutch baby’ this beautifully puffy pancake is a different spin on a breakfast favourite. It’s essentially a sweet Yorkshire pudding; a 5-ingredient batter which is poured into a preheated pan with lots of melted butter. I love how the puffy edges go crispy and almost embrace the fillings that you could add in the middle. Think berries or sliced fruit, scoops of vanilla ice cream or dollops of creme fraiche. I kept mine delightfully simple with a drizzle of honey and a scattering of toasted almonds. And if you’d rather to stick to the good ol’ classic pancake then give my milk tart pancakes a try!

Honey and Almond Puff Pancake

Serves 1-2

 

37g (1/4 cup) flour, sifted

15ml (1 tbsp) caster sugar

1 egg

60ml (1/4 cup) milk

½ tsp vanilla essence or extract

15g butter

25g flaked almonds, toasted

Honey, to serve

Icing sugar, to dust

 

Preheat oven to 200C. Place a 10cm cast iron skillet, pan (with an oven-proof handle) or oven-proof dish in the oven for at least 20 minutes to preheat. In the meantime, combine the flour and sugar. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk to form a smooth batter. Once the pan is preheated, remove it from the oven and add the butter. Coat the pan with the melted butter then immediately pour in the pancake batter and place back in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pancake is puffy and golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately scattered with almonds, drizzled with honey and finished off with a dusting of icing sugar.

 

TIP  Take care when removing the pan from the oven as it will be very hot!