Croissant aux Amandes

Three years can go by very quickly. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I've graduated, left Montreal, and entered the real world. Maybe I should have spread out my courses, so that I could have prolonged my university experience and delayed real life just a little bit longer. But alas, I can't turn back time, and until I earn enough cash, I can't go back to Montreal any time soon. I can, however, bake almond croissants, close my eyes, and pretend that I'm in my favorite bakery in Montreal.

My attempt

It's delicious, gooey, and buttery. Almooost there... but not quite. There's some secret ingredient that I've missed out. However, it's a lot closer to the real thing than the almond croissants that I've come across in the bakeries in Singapore.

The real thing

 I can wholeheartedly say that Montreal has some of the best bakeries in the world.  If you're in Montreal, and you haven't been to Boulangerie Kouign-Amann yet, stop what you're doing and go.

For everyone else, here's the recipe:

Croissant Aux Amandes (Almond Croissants)

Adapted from chocolate & zucchini 

Ingredients: 

6-8 day-old croissants
2 tbsp sliced almonds
Confectioner's sugar

For the syrup:
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rum

For the almond paste:
1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
2/3 cup whole blanched almonds (100g)
a pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (100 g)
2 large eggs.

You can prepare the syrup and almond paste a day before and refrigerate.

Method:

For the syrup: Combine 1 cup water, 2 tbsp sugar and the rum in a saucepan. Bring to a slow boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

For the almond paste: Combine the 1/2 cup sugar, almonds and salt in a food processor. Mix until finely ground. Add the butter, diced, and mix until well blended. Add in the eggs one by one and process til creamy.

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Slice each croissant horizontally and spread the inside with some almond paste. Then, dip each croissant into the syrup, coating it completely. Spread the tops of the croissants with some almond filling, and sprinkle it with sliced almonds.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Once cooled, dust the tops of the croissants with confectioner's sugar and serve.