Recipe from Foxwoods' Executive Pastry Chef Frank Iglesias
Recipe: Maple Cranberry Almond Croissants
Ingredients
· 6 medium sized croissants; see note
· 1/2 cup almond pieces
· Powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Bourbon syrup:
· 1 cup water
· 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
· Grand Marnier to taste
Maple Almond filling/topping:
· 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temp
· 1/3 cup granulated sugar
· 3/4 cup almond meal or almond flour
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 tbsp. Pequot Maple Syrup
· 1 large egg
· Dried cranberries
Instructions
Prepare the croissants:
· Split the croissants in half and lay them out on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with a paper towel and allow them dry out overnight. Alternately, you can use croissants that are already a day or two old and already slightly dry.
Almond syrup:
· In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the Grand Marnier. Cool slightly (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours).
Almond filling/topping:
· Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, almond meal, and salt until smooth and combined. Add Pequot Maple Syrup and egg and beat until creamy. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Assembly:
· Preheat oven to 350°F. Get out a rimmed baking sheet (large enough to hold all 6 croissants) and set it aside.
· Brush the outsides, as well as the insides, of each split croissant liberally with the Grand Marnier syrup. Alternately, you can dip the inside and outside very briefly in the syrup, allowing the excess to drip off.
· Scoop some of the maple almond filling and spread it onto the inside of each croissant, lay out some cranberries on top of the almond cream. Place the top half back on, and spread more maple almond filling onto the top of the croissant. Chef’s Tip: Before starting, I spread the almond filling into an even layer in the bowl that it's in and I roughly "score" it equally
into sixths. This gives me an idea of how much filling I can use on each croissant (remember, each portion will be split between the inside and top of the croissant).
· Add Almond pieces to the top of each croissant. The creamy almond topping will serve as glue. Place the croissants on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, until the cream on top has set and have a light golden brown color. Allow to cool just slightly, dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Enjoy warm.
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