Richard Bertinet’s Almond Croissants – yum, yum, YUM!
Is there anything better than a warm, buttery croissant first thing in the morning with a decent cup of coffee? Well, actually there is! It’s an almond croissant soaked in a sugar syrup and filled with an almond cream {or crème d’amande} then covered with flaked almonds. Yum, yum, yum, yum, YUM!
I recently made almond croissants from Richard Bertinet’s recipe in CRUST: from sourdough, spelt and rye bread to ciabatta, bagels and brioche. The recipe involves slicing the croissant in half, soaking them in sugar syrup and then smothering the inside and top with crème d’amande laced with a decent flavouring of rum. Now, the rum is optional in the recipe but I can safely say do not be daft, ADD IT otherwise you won’t know what you’re missing!!!! The almond croissant can be made using shop bought croissants or if you’re in the mood, make the croissants yourself. I found this recipe ideal for the shop bought variety as it lifts the croissant to another taste level completely.
After having visitors yesterday and being left with croissants from my local boulangerie, I tried making this recipe again today and the result was even better than before. I have to admit that the first time I made them, the crème d’amande kinda slid off the croissants. You see, I made the crème using a hand mixer and hadn’t mixed it enough. In addition, my kitchen was too hot when I was assembling the croissants so the crème had started to melt before the croissants even hit the oven.
This time, I followed advice from Richard himself and the result was perfect! I made the crème in my food processor with the paddle attachment – this was a massive improvement on the first time! The crème was a lovely creamy consistency and the dark rum gave the crème that all important kick as well as a lovely rich colour. As also suggested by Richard, I chilled the croissants before baking them. What a world of a difference in the finished result! Lip smackingly good, almond croissants got a thumbs up all round and I insist that you give them a go!
And without any further ado, I am delighted to bring you this recipe with kind permission from Richard Bertinet.
First of all, you’ll need to make the sugar syrup and crème d’amande as follows:
SUGAR SYRUP
{Makes around 400g}
Place 250g water and 200g sugar in a heavy-based pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn up the heat and boil rapidly for 3 minutes.
Take off the heat.
If you like, while still warm, you can add 30g (2 tablespoons) of your favourite liqueur.
Leave to cool.
CRÈME D’AMANDE
{Makes around 500g}
Beat 125g unsalted butter (at room temperature) and 125g caster sugar by hand, or mix in a food processor with a paddle, until pale and fluffy.
Add 125g ground almonds and mix again.
Add 25g plain flour and continue to mix.
Finally add 2 eggs, one at a time along with 2 large tablespoons of rum (if you like), mixing well between each addition, until the cream is light in consistency.
Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
. . .
ALMOND CROISSANTS
Use shop bought croissants or home made that have been left to dry out for 2-3 days. Fresh ones are too soft and will simply collapse under the filling and topping.
Freezing: You can make these up and freeze before or after baking. Either way defrost overnight on a tray in a cold oven then either bake at 190oC for 8-10 minutes or if fully baked, pop into the oven for a few minutes to crisp up.
Cut your croissants in half lengthways and then put the 2 halves cut side up, on your work surface.
Brush the cut sides with sugar syrup so that it soaks well into the pastry.
Spread the inside of one half with crème d’amande (a couple of tablespoons should be enough) and then sandwich the 2 halves back together again.
Holding the reassembled croissant in one hand, use a palette knife to spread another couple of tablespoons of crème d’amande over the top, and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
Bake in a preheated oven at 190oC for around 8-10 minutes, until the almonds on top have turned nicely golden.
I cannot tell you enough how absolutely delicious these are. Hubby and I fought over who would get the last bite of the one in the photos, it was that good. So, go, make, eat while warm and enjoy with a lovely cup of coffee!
Xx Paula
Crust by Richard Bertinet (Kyle Books) can be purchased at http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/shop/books
8 comments on “Richard Bertinet’s Almond Croissants – yum, yum, YUM!”
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Oh my GOSH Paula! These look absolutely perfect! I am such a sucker for a good warm croissant, particularly ones with almond cream in the centre. I can understand why you and your husband would fight over them (in fact, can I have one?! I’ll fight you for it!). Thanks for sharing the recipe xx
Laura, it’s a lovely, lovely recipe. I photographed the croissant while Hubby was out shopping. I’d just tucked in when he opened the door and I was caught stuffing myself! Needless to say it turned into a scene from Julie and Julia – you know the bit where Julie and her husband are eating the chocolate cake?? So much for the diet, tomorrow is another day ;)!
They look and sound totally delicious….. and I love your cutlery!
Thanks Margaret! You’ve got to try them ;). Ah the cutlery, thanks is from Next but saw a fab set in Carraig Donn the other day which is just simply gorgeous! The Xmas wish list is being drawn up now 😉
Hi Paula,
I tried your recipe after tasting the original in Bath’s Bertinet Kitchen. 🙂
The croissants I made according to your recipe tasted really nice and come pretty close to the original. However, I don’t know what you mean by “I chilled the croissants before baking them.” and by the part about “Freezing”. Could you please explain your chill/freeze hints?
My problem was that the creme inside was too liquid making the croissant difficult to eat properly. Maybe I used to much of the sugar syrup? How can I make the creme inside less liquid?
Also, for how many croissants is the recipe and is it really 25g or 125g plain flour (just asking because of my problem of a too liqud creme).
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Cheers Jan
Hi Jan,
Thanks for your comment. How lovely to have tasted the original; I’m suffering from envy here!
Yes, the first time I made the crème it was a bit runny even before cooking the croissants and the almonds just slid off the top. So after getting advice from the man himself, I used my food processor to whip up the cream and it was much, much thicker more like clotted cream. I also chilled the croissants in the fridge for about 30 minutes once assembled and before baking to let the crème harden up a bit. This is the stage that you could also freeze them.
The quantity that Richard gives for the crème doesn’t relate to croissants specifically as it’s a basic recipe that can be used in cakes, tarts, etc. but depending on the size of the croissants you should easily to able to make 4/6 of them.
I hope this is of help. If you still have problems let me know and we’ll get more advice from Richard himself!
Xx Paula
Thanks for sharing this, I live near Bath and am a massive fan of these so really pleased to see the recipe here.
I’ve just been to Morrissons and bought freshly baked mini croissants so will experiment with freezing them as I’m hoping to serve them and other mini pastries at a very early morning Christening for my daughter next month!
Hi Kathy,
You can get freshly baked mini croissants! Not here where I live so I’m envious already! I do hope the experiment worked out for you as it would be lovely to have them for the christening. Let me know how you found them to freeze. I have the most rubbish freezer so can’t fit much in. The price for going frost free!
Mini croissants are lovely! I’ve served them at parties with a cream cheese and smoked salmon filling – none were left!
Enjoy the christening!
X Paula