Hazelnut Croissant
There’s an art to the perfect bakery crawl, I think - route planning (the stops can’t be too close together), proximity to parks with non-aggressive wildlife (for the optimal eating experience), and number of pastries picked up. I’ve probably done way too many bakery crawls for me to justify them as “research” for my own baking, but the one thing I haven’t quite worked out is… how not to over-order enroute. I’m not sure if it’s the smell of fresh pastries in the air, or the sound of espressos being brewed to wash down all those carbs, but there’s something about a down-to-earth, yet inventive bakery that makes me feel like I just need to bring the whole shop home. Inevitably, that means I either (1) get a little too full too quickly (and have to abandon ship), or (2) I waddle home, with bags of baked goods in both hands. Now pastries, especially croissants, toast up very nicely in the oven (or airfryer!), but what happens when they start to go stale?
The age-old answer is to turn them into an almond croissant - but this is a (in my opinion, a way more fun) twist with hazelnuts. You could really do this with any other type of nut (imagine a pistachio one with a hint of rose water syrup??), but there’s something about pure hazelnuts that feels magical. You could also do this with any type of laminated pastry - how about a pain au chocolate for a change?
Ingredients:
3 day-old croissants
78g hazelnuts
50g sugar
1 egg
20g hazelnuts, finely chopped
Take 58g of the hazelnuts and process them in the food processor, until these form a fine paste. Set aside.
Next, take 20g of the sugar, and dissolve it in 20ml of hot water to form a simple syrup. Whilst this is cooling, finely chop the remaining hazelnuts and set aside.
To prepare the hazelnut frangipane, combine the hazelnut paste with the egg and the rest of the sugar. Mix vigorously until no lumps remain.
Slice a croissant in half horizontally, then generously brush on a layer of simple syrup on both of the cut sides. Pipe a generous amount of the hazelnut frangipane onto the bottom half, and sandwich with the top half. Gently smear a teaspoon of hazelnut frangipane on the top of the croissant, and top with the finely chopped hazelnuts. Repeat with the remaining croissants.
Bake the croissants at 175C for 20-25 minutes, or until the paste is brown and the hazelnuts are golden. Let cool and serve.