Cheat's Christmas Almond Croissants

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 brownie flapjack stack with pretzel brittle and peanut butter sauce

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!

An oozey gooey decadent tower of breakfast deliciousness!

 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 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.

Peanut Butter and Cocoa Nib Granola

Breakfast doesn't get any better than homemade designer granola. It's so darn easy to make and I love how you can tailor it to your own taste. If you've ever read the back label of a pack of muesli or granola, I won't need to tell you why you should be making your own. But incase you don't know, glance over the amount of sugar in your favourite so-called 'healthy' granola next time you're in the cereal aisle; you might as well be eating cake for breakfast - and let's be honest cake will ALWAYS win over granola!

 At least with making your own,  you can control just how much sugar is going in. Nothing is hidden in a sneaky back label.  You can add as much of the good stuff as you want and leave out all the stuff you don't like (here's looking at you raisins and banana chips!) 
If you’re not keen on peanut butter, then swop it out for any nut butter – cashew, almond; although it’s fat, it’s good fat. I wouldn't skimp on the cocoa nibs though, they are a fantastic source of antioxidants and really give you an energy kick first thing in the morning and basically it means you're eating chocolate for breakfast, but without the guilt! 

Peanut Butter and Cocoa Nib Granola

Makes 6 cups

3 cups large flake oats (not instant oats)

1 cup mixed seeds (flaxseeds, sesame, poppy and pumpkin - whatever your heart desires)

4 tbsp brown sugar (you can reduce this if you like)

pinch of salt

4 tbsp honey

4 tbsp smooth peanut butter

½ cup extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

2 tsp water

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup raw almonds, toasted and chopped

1/3 cup cocoa nibs*

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large bowl, combine the oats, seeds, brown sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the honey, peanut butter, olive oil, water and vanilla together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well, making sure everything is coated well. Spread onto a lined baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring well every 5-10 minutes so the granola toasts evenly. Remove from the oven and stir in the almonds and cocoa nibs. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.

*Cocoa nibs are available at health shops.

Honey and oat toast with caramel macadamia spread

By now we're all pretty used to food trends and how they work. It's a simple formula; take something that we eat everyday and gourmet-ify it. It's been done to cupcakes, burgers, hotdogs, and of course the dear cronut (the love-child of a croissant and doughnut) and now, we have... gourmet toast. Also known as 'artisan toast' and 'hipster toast'. 

Toast has been popping out of our toasters for ages without anyone getting excited about it. Most of us actually consider it a pretty mundane breakfast. Well, that was before some hipsters in San Francisco decided to turn it into a big deal and charge customers $7 a pop. 

But we're not talking about putting government white loaf in a toaster here, or spreading it with boring jam or peanut butter. This is the real deal; sourdough bread, thickly cut, toasted to perfection and spread with hand-churned butter and organic jam. While I'm a big fan of going back to the way our grandparents used to eat with food being handmade and seasonal with honest ingredients, I'm not sure I'd pay $7 for a slice of toast. I mean, all it takes is a toaster and we can make it at home ourselves, but I suppose that misses the point, if we did that, who would be there to see us eating #hipstertoast? 

But let's forget the hashtag for now, if you'd like a damn good piece of toast, then give this recipe a try. The bread is delicious and the spread is uberly decadent. 

Honey and oat toast with caramel macadamia spread

Makes 2 loaves

120g porridge oats

4 tbsp honey

30g unsalted butter, chopped

360ml boiling water

500g stoneground white bread flour

250g stoneground wholewheat bread flour

1 tbsp salt

10g instant dry yeast

360ml warm water

120g oats, for rolling

Caramel macadamia spread

300g good-quality white chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

100g macadamia nuts

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the oats in a bowl and drizzle over the honey. Add the butter, pour over the boiling water and stir to mix. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. 

Place the flours, salt and yeast in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook and add the cooled porridge mixture and warm water and mix to form a soft dough. Knead for 8-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size in a warm place. 

Once doubled in size, knock the dough down and divide into two. Roll each piece of dough out then roll up and pinch the end piece to stop from unravelling to form two sausages. Roll the dough loaves into the oats then place in two standard greased loaf tins (you could also make the loaves more rustic and leave them unshaped). Leave in a warm place to double in size again. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes or until the crust is golden, the bread feels light and the loaves make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Invert the loaves on to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make the caramelised white chocolate, preheat the oven to 120C. Spread the chocolate on a baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes then remove and stir with a clean, dry spatula. Continue to cook for 30-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Don’t worry if the chocolate looks lumpy and chalky at some stage, it will smooth out and caramelise. 

In the meantime, roast the macadamia nuts lightly then placing in a blender or coffee grinder. Process on high speed until the nuts begin to form a smooth paste (you can add a drizzle of vegetable oil if the paste doesn't begin to form). If you're a patient person, a pestle and mortar would also do the trick.

Once the chocolate is golden brown, stir the macadamia spread. If it’s still lumpy you can place it in a food processor to smooth it out and add a little cream or oil if necessary. Store in a jar at room temperature. If the spread hardens, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it, then stir in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. 

To make the toast, cut the bread into thick slices and toast under a preheated grill until the outside is crisp but the inside is still soft. Serve with lashings of caramel spread. 

Mother's Day Breakfast brûlée

This pretty teacup is filled with layers of yoghurt, granola and rose water-marinated raspberries, which is nothing special until you have to crack the crisp, golden caramelised sugar topping with the back of your spoon a la crème brûlée to delve into the layers! It’s a healthy, fat-free breakfast that not only looks beautiful but is disguised as something utterly decadent.  In other words, it’s the best kind of breakfast! It’s simple enough for the kids to make and delicious enough for mom to enjoy (without the hazard of having to crunch through omelettes with egg shells in them!) So get creative and experiment with all kinds of fruits, nuts and yoghurt flavours. And if you’re opting to cook mom dinner instead? A dash or two of liqueur is all that seperates this breakfast brûlée from becoming a healthy after-dinner dessert. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day breakfast brûlée

Serves 1

¼ cup raspberries

pomegranate rubies

1 tsp rose water (optional)

¼ cup toasted muesli

1 small pot fat-free plain yoghurt

1 tbsp light brown sugar

Place the raspberries and a few pomegranate rubies in a small bowl and sprinkle with rose water. Spoon some of the muesli into the bottom of a pretty teacup then top with a layer of yoghurt. Next, sprinkle the marinated fruit over the yoghurt and repeat until the cup is full, ending with a layer of yoghurt. Just before serving, sprinkle the brown sugar on top and caramelize with a blowtorch or under a preheated hot grill until golden, melted and crisp. Garnish with extra berries and serve.

VARIATIONS

• ·     Greek yoghurt & honey – alternate layers of thick Greek yoghurt, drizzles of honey and toasted almonds
• ·     Pineapple & coconut – roast chunks of pineapple in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar then alternate with vanilla yoghurt and layers of toasted coconut mixed into granola.