Dominique Ansel's gingerbread croissants
Our gingerbread croissants at Dominique Ansel Bakery London are made from scratch with our classic, flaky croissant, filled with a gingerbread-spiced almond cream, and topped with crunchy pecans and marshmallow stars.
If you’re trying this recipe at home, you can use fresh or day-old croissants.
MAKE THE GINGERBREAD ALMOND CREAM
Ingredients
240g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
183g confectioners sugar
455g almond flour
20g cornstarch
6g cinnamon
4g ground ginger
2g nutmeg
2g salt
24g rum
152g (3 each) eggs, at room temperature
105g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
323g pastry cream (from above recipe)
Equipment
Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Method
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and confectioners sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and salt with a whisk. Pour the dry ingredients slowly into the butter mixture and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated.
Add rum, then slowly stream in eggs and mix until combined. Once the eggs have been incorporated, add in the chopped milk chocolate, followed by the pastry cream, and mix until fully combined.
MAKE THE SIMPLE SYRUP
Ingredients
250g water
250g sugar
Equipment
Medium pot
Whisk
Method
In a medium pot, combine water and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool.
Transfer to a shallow baking dish (wide enough to dip the croissant halves in).
ASSEMBLE THE GINGERBREAD CROISSANTS
Ingredients
6 croissants (preferably day-old),sliced in half length-wise
Gingerbread almond cream (from above recipe)
Simple syrup (in a shallow baking dish, from above recipe)
125g chopped pecans
Confectioners sugar
Marshmallow stars or snowflakes(optional)
Equipment
Piping bag
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Small sift
Method
Preheat oven to 150°C/ 300°F.
Dunk the croissants cut-side down in the simple syrup. Turn the croissant halves back upright and place on plate or tray, to allow the syrup to soak in.
Transfer theGingerbread Almond Cream into a piping bag. Snip off the tip with scissors to the hole is about 1cm.
Pipe a generous amount of Gingerbread Almond Cream (approx. 200g) onto the bottom halves of the croissants. Place the top halves on, and pipe a bit more almond cream on top to cover most of the surface. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Place the croissants on a parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25minutes, until croissants are a rich golden brown and the pecans on top are nicely toasted. Remove from the oven and let cool. Dust confectioners sugar to finish, and top with marshmallow stars or snowflakes (optional). Enjoy!