Almond Croissant Christmas Tree
This festive almond croissant tree makes a spectacular tear-and-share breakfast. It is flaky, buttery and filled with an almond frangipane to mimic the classic pastry.
Introduction
Make this on Christmas morning for a really special breakfast. It tastes like you’ve made fresh almond croissants but it takes a fraction of the time.
Ingredients
| 90g (3¼oz) | unsalted butter, softened |
| 90g (3¼oz) | caster (superfine) sugar |
| 2 | eggs |
| 90g (3¼oz) | ground almonds |
| 1 tablespoon | plain (all-purpose) flour |
| 1–2 teaspoons | almond extract |
| 2 x 320g (11¼oz) | sheets of puff pastry |
| 30g (1oz) | flaked almonds |
| Icing (confectioner’s) sugar, to serve |
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
First, make the frangipane. Beat the butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy, then add 1 of the eggs and beat again until well incorporated. Add the ground almonds, flour and almond extract and mix again until smooth. Beat the other egg in a small bowl.
Unroll one of the puff pastry sheets onto the lined baking tray. Spread the majority of the frangipane over the whole sheet, reserving a couple of tablespoons, then top with the other pastry sheet and gently press them together around the edge to seal. Cut the pastry sheets into a Christmas tree shape – one long triangle with a chunky base at the bottom. Use a cookie cutter or knife to cut a star or other decoration from the cutaway pastry. Bake these offcuts for snacking… twist or roll it as you like!
To finish making the tree, score two lines down the length of the tree to indicate where the tree trunk is, being careful not to cut the whole way through. Then, start to cut branches either side of the trunk, about 2.5cm (1in) thick. Once all of the branches are cut, twist them a couple of times. Add the decoration to the top of the tree, then brush the whole thing with the reserved beaten egg. Spread the reserved frangipane down the trunk, then top with the flaked almonds. Bake in the oven to bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the frangipane on top has risen.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly, then dust with icing sugar to serve.
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