I’m sneaking in a cheeky treat under the wire for Fat Tuesday today. These rough puff pastry chocolate croissants are just the thing for that last little bit of indulgence if you intend to fast come tomorrow.
This was sort of an accidental treat, to be honest. I ended up having to make a beef wellington for a recipe club I’m in, and decided that I had enough puff pastry to make dessert for afterwards.
I landed on croissants, which, if you know me, is a bit odd since I’m not one that usually heads for these when faced with a pastry case. Except when in France, and that is why I decided on these today. Remember my #WhereHasChrissyBeen? food tour that I’ve been taking you on? Continuity, friends!
Now, here’s what is, in my head, the most impressive thing about this recipe: the rough puff! Now, I’ve made a full puff pastry before in a class (remember these palmiers?), but had never attempted one at home, and after watching season upon season of GBBO, figured I’d try my hand at a rough puff for the Welly. All I have is time, these days, after all. Plus, puff pastry is expensive, you know? I mean, it’s butter and flour – I can do that. Plus, homemade is just always better, especially with pastry. Good ingredients, good butter, good food.
I followed this recipe from Epicurious to a T, and it left me wanting for nothing. Turns out, all it took was time and wasn’t at all hard. It starts out with frozen butter, grated and mixed gently into flour and ice water. Folded, folded again, and then once again to create all those luscious layers. Chilled in between each fold is where the time goes, but for me, it let me squeeze a few chapters in here and there.
As for the chocolate filling, Nutella does the trick. A quick simple syrup glaze and a light dusting of sugar later, these are done just in time for afternoon coffee.
I made mini-ones, but full-size ones would do just as well.
One quick tip from How Sweet Eats– roll the pastry nice and thin to get the most flakes, and to ensure that the pastry does end up cooked all the way through.
Easy rough puff pastry chocolate croissants are easier than you'd imagine, with layers of homemade flaky pastry and gooey Nutella filling. Dusted with sugar, they are a perfect treat!
By: Chrissy
Ingredients
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 5 TB unsalted butter, frozen
5-6 TB ice water
For the rest:
1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg plus 1 TB water, beaten
For the syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup powdered sugar, to finish
Directions
Step 1Make the puff pastry:
Step 2Add the flour and salt into a chilled large metal bowl. Set a grater in flour mixture and coarsely grate frozen butter into flour, gently lifting flour and tossing to coat butter with your fingers. Add the water, distributing it evenly over the mixture. Using your hands, gently mix until the dough holds together without crumbling apart with a gentle squeeze. If necessary, add another tablespoon water, stirring until just incorporated and testing again. Be careful to not over work the pastry or it will be hard.
Step 3Gather mixture together and, with your hands, form into a 5-inch square, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, about 30 minutes. Your dough will be lumpy- not smooth just yet.
Step 4Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by- 8-inch rectangle. With the short size near you, fold dough into thirds like a letter: bottom third up and top third down over dough. Rewrap dough and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Step 5Arrange dough with a short side nearest you on a floured surface and repeat rolling out, folding, and chilling 2 more times. Brush off any excess flour, then wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
Step 6When the dough is chilled, assemble the croissants:
Step 7Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 8Roll the dough thinly into a large, rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife to cut triangles in the dough – like a “zig zag” pattern – from top to bottom (think Pillsbury crescent rolls!) Spread a layer of nutella the length of each triangle, and starting at the bottom of each, roll the dough up into a croissant-like shape. Place it on the baking sheet and repeat with the others.
Step 9Brush the tops of the croissants with the egg wash. Bake for 20 minutes.
Step 10While the croissants are baking, make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Remove it from the heat, and let cool a bit.
Step 11After 20 minutes, brush them liberally with the simple syrup. Return the croissants to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tops start to get golden brown. If they start to burn a bit, gently cover the croissants on the sheet with a piece of foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes more to ensure the insides are done.
Step 12Let cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar to finish.
Thank you, Saturday. It’s been a long week, full of “new parent” things. Now, before you people-parents get all angry, I’m not trying to minimize what you do, but I’ve learned this week that being a pet parent can be a whole lotta stressful, too. […]
