Make a slit, lengthways, in each of the croissants along the outer side.
4 large shop bought croissants
Make the glaze first. Place the glaze ingredients into a small pan and bringing to the boil. Bubble for a minute or two until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
120 ml (1/2 cup) water, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Now make the frangipane. Place the ground almonds, butter, and sugar in a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon.
90 g (3/4 cup) ground almonds, 60 g (4 tbsp) soft (but not melted) unsalted butter, 100 g (1/2 cup) golden caster sugar
Add in the salt, egg, and almond extract and mix until combined.
pinch salt, 1 small egg, 1/2 tsp almond extract
Carefully dip (but don't soak!) each of the croissants in the glaze and allow the excess to drip off. It will be very watery, but don't worry, this glaze is just there to add a little moisture to the croissants and to make the outside a little crispier when cooked.
Place the croissants on a baking tray. Take a spoon and spoon half of the frangipane mixture inside the croissants.
Spread the rest of the frangipane on top of the croissants.
Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top and place the croissants in the oven for 12-14 minutes - until the top is golden brown and crisp (the inside should be hot, but it won't crisp up - it will be like a creamy paste).
4 tbsp flaked almonds
Take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly, then sprinkle on confectioners' sugar and serve.
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar
Video
Notes
A note about eggs:Once cooked, the frangipane in the middle of the croissants will be warm and soft. The egg may not be fully cooked through, so if you can't eat raw egg, then I would recommend cooking for longer, until the croissants filling is piping hot in the middle.This may take an extra 5-10 minutes, and you will need to cover the croissants for this last part of cooking, so the croissants don't overcook on the outside.Can I make them ahead?Yes. Make the croissants up and cook them as per the recipe. Then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat in the oven, uncovered, at 175c/350f Fan for 6-8 minutes, until hot throughout.Ingredient swaps
Swap out the ground almonds for ground pistachios or cashews
Swap out 30g (1/4 cup) of the ground almonds for 4 tbsp of dessicated coconut
How to scale up and scale down this recipeIt's difficult to scale this recipe down, as it only uses one small egg. However, you can store the cooked croissants, covered, in the fridge, for up to two days, so hopefully 4 will get eaten!You can double or triple the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. Be careful not to overcrowd the baking tray when cooking in the oven. They should still take the same amount of time to cook.Nutritional Information is per serving croissant (based on each shop-bought croissant being approx 240 calories).