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.

Honey and toasted almond puff pancake

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) castor 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!

Cherry almond pavlova pie

Confession time: The idea for this recipe is actually the result of me taking one of those silly online quizzes. They're stupid, but somehow, you can't resist because you simply HAVE to know, what kind of pie are you? I mean, how could you live life NOT knowing that. 

I'm a cherry pie. Apparently I'm 'the perfect combo of innocent and sexy' well now, I like the sound of that! If you'd like getting free compliments then you can find out what kind of pie you are here.

But back to baking. I love pie, but I despise soggy pastry - nobody likes a soggy bottom (snigger snigger!). Which is why I've got a pastry recipe for you that my special friend Zola shared with me. In her words 'This pastry has literally changed lives'. She's probably right (although I'm hoping she doesn't read this 'cos I'll never hear the end of it!). But this pastry doesn't need rolling out, it doesn't need blind baking and it doesn't need fussing with. How cool is that?! Fill the pastry with sticky-sweet cherries then top it with clouds of fluffy meringue and a sprinkling of almonds and you'll be swooning. The flavours are just incredible together, not to mention the fact that creating it really is easy as pie (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Photograph by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

Almond and cherry pavlova pie

Serves 6-8

125g butter, softened

½ cup castor sugar

1 egg

2 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

600g pitted cherries (fresh or frozen)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ cup white sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp almond liqueur or extract

4 egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup castor sugar

½ cup flaked almonds, to garnish

Fresh cherries, to garnish

Whipped cream, to serve (optional)

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour and baking powder to form a dough. Press into a greased 22cm pie dish and bake at 180C for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Combine the cherries, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water then add to the cherry mixture. Cook, stirring for a few minutes until thickened. Stir in the almond flavouring. Spoon the slightly cooled cherry filling into the baked pastry case. Whisk the egg whites until soft peak stage then gradually add the sugar. Beat until stiff and the sugar is dissolved. Spoon or pipe the meringue onto the cherry filling, sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake at 190C until the meringue and almonds are golden brown. Serve with fresh cherries and whipped cream if desired.

Moroccan almond pastries

Phyllo pastry is one of those ingredients that I always have tucked away in my freezer. You can transform just about any ingredient into a super impressive and moreish meal by layering it with lashings of butter and wrapping it up in the flaky pastry. These nutty pastries are inspired by a Moroccan favourite called m’hencha  which means ‘the serpent’. It’s crispy coils hide a sweet orange-scented almond filling doused in a generous drizzling of honey. Replace the orange-blossom water with rose water and top with crystallized rose petals or rose syrup or swop out the almonds for ground pistachios for something special. Served with a simple glass of mint tea, it’s an exotic teatime treat that will transport you to a bustling Middle Eastern market with platters piled high with flaky phyllo delicacies.

Moroccan almond pastries

Serves 6-8

2½ cups ground almonds (see TIP)

½ cup castor sugar

1t ground cinnamon

2T orange-blossom water (or rose water)

250g unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, separated

16 sheets Mediterranean Delicacies phyllo pastry

100g orange blossom honey

Combine the almonds, sugar and cinnamon.

Add the flower water, half of the butter and the egg yolks.

When combined chill for about 1 hour to firm.

Divide the almond mixture into eight portions.

Brush a phyllo sheet with butter and place another on top. (Cover the remaining sheets with a damp cloth to avoid them drying out).

Cut each sheet lengthwise into 3 long strips.

Place one portion of the almond mixture along a thin line along the one edge of the phyllo and roll it up, brushing the end with egg white to make it stick.

Roll the phyllo roll into a coil like a snake then arrange on a lined or greased baking sheet, making sure that the coils don’t unravel.

Repeat with the remaining phyllo and almond mixture.

Brush the top with butter and bake at 190˚C for 30 minutes or until golden.

Paint immediately with the warm honey. Serve with mint tea, if desired.

TIP: This is a great opportunity to use up all the rough ground almonds leftover from making macarons!

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 




{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

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