Like most puff pastry recipes, this recipe feels like cheating. It is super easy to do yet looks fantastic. Plus, if for some weird reason you do not want a giant almond croissant, you can easily adapt it to oddly shaped leftover puff pastry bits and stale croissants.

Ingredients (12 servings):

  • one sheet of puff pastry1,
  • 56 grams of salted butter,
  • 100 grams of white sugar,
  • 108 grams of almond flour2,
  • 1 large egg,
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract,
  • 1.5 teaspoons almond extract,
  • 45 grams sliced almonds.

Preparation:

Puff pastry

  • thaw your puff pastry3,
  • unfold the puff pastry on a baking tray,
  • bake it at 425°F for 10 minutes,
  • bake it for an additional 25 minutes at 350°F4.

Frangipane

  • melt the butter,
  • mix the butter and sugar,
  • add the egg, almond flour, vanilla, and almond extract,
  • mix until combined.

Assembly

  • split the puff pastry into 2 layers,
  • spread 2/3 of the frangipane on the bottom layer (the filling),
  • put the top layer back on it,
  • spread the leftover frangipane on it,
  • sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.

Baking

  • bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

Credits:

This recipe is my take on Sohla El-Waylly’s Giant Almond Croissant recipe on the New York Times Cooking channel. I highly recommend checking their video for further filling ideas.

  1. This will be most of the final dish, so I recommend going with fancy all-butter-based puff pastry. I like the Dufour Classic Puff Pastry. ↩︎

  2. White, with no skin on it. ↩︎

  3. Either by placing it in the fridge overnight, or by placing it on the counter (flipping it from time to time) until it is cold (getting to room temperature would damage the layers) but flexible (meaning that you will be able to unfold it without damaging it). ↩︎

  4. 20 to 30 minutes, it will go back in the oven later but you want it already crispy. ↩︎