CROISSANT BRITTLE

Croissants depend on thousands of micro layers of butter and pastry dough to create the flaky tenderness and beautiful spiral shape they're known for. But in addition to being extraordinary on their own, a croissant can be transformed into a crunchy caramelized confection by coating cross sections in a syrup and throwing them in the oven sandwiched between two baking trays. Inspired by the Croissant Brittle made by Sea Wolf bakery in Seattle, we developed this recipe so you could use some of our beautiful croissants to have fun at home and make a sweet treat that’s just as easy to bake as it is to enjoy.

Makes about 12 pieces

Active Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Equipment: 4 baking trays, baking paper, small pot

YOU’LL NEED:

4 croissants

1/4 cup (58 g) cream

1/4 cup (65 g) milk

2 Tbsp. (30 g) unsalted butter

1 cup (215 g) caster sugar, plus more for sprinkling

3/4 tsp. (1.5 g) flake salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 tsp. (2.5 g) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Optional: zest of 1 orange, zest of 1 lemon, or 1 Tbsp. of rum or your favorite liqueur

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan, and line two baking trays with baking paper. Set aside. 

Use a serrated knife to cut each croissant horizontally into 2 cm-thick slices (each croissant should make about 3 slices, with one smaller slice from the top portion). 

In a small pot, combine the cream, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the butter has melted completely. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and set aside to cool. 

Dip each croissant slice into the syrup, flipping to soak both sides. Lift it out of the syrup before gently pressing out the excess liquid from the slice. Transfer to the lined baking trays and repeat with the remaining pieces, leaving a few centimeters of room between each piece.Sprinkle each piece with more caster sugar across the surface.

Once all slices are laid out on the prepared trays, cover each tray with another piece of baking paper and stack a second baking tray on top of each.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through baking, until a look under the paper shows a deep golden and caramelized croissant piece.

Carefully remove from the oven, set aside the baking paper and tray stacked on top of the croissant pieces, and while still warm, sprinkle each croissant piece with a little more flaky salt. Allow to cool completely before enjoying. 

Note: Before you dip the croissants in the syrup, feel free to add any of the optional ingredients to the syrup to flavor your brittle.