Apple Brandy Croissants

This recipe came to me one night while I was preparing a special meal for Vegan Mom and myself. The original idea was to make Apple Brandy Crepes, but then the croissants were sitting there just begging to be used. The result is absolutely divine. The sweet, syrupy filling runs into the nooks and crannies of the pastry which still imparts a delicate crispiness to contrast the soft apples.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2
- 2 croissants, halved lengthwise
- 1 large cooking apple, small dice
- 3 tbsp margarine
- 3 tbsp brandy, divided
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- icing sugar for dusting

METHOD
1. Melt margarine in a small saucepan over med-hi heat. Add apples and cook for 4-5 mins, until soft but not mushy. After 2 mins, add in two tbsp of brandy, mix well, and let cook down a bit.
2. Add brown sugar and mix well. Then add the remaining brandy and mix well. Let bubble for a min or so, until nice and syrupy. Mix in spices and remove from heat.
3. Spoon 1/2 of the apple mixture over each bottom slice of croissant. Top with the top slice, then dust with icing sugar.

A Final Word on Lamination

I know I said I would not post about laminated doughs again, but I lied. Son #2 is going to a birthday party this weekend where they are having croissants (geez, why wasn't I invited to a party like that when I was a kid?) so I need to provide him with a vegan substitute. No problem. So, I added croissants to my baking list on the weekend. I then remembered that the very first recipe I used to make puff pastry used a double turn to laminate the dough. This sounded perfect to me since my weekend baking schedule is busy enough getting ready for lunches for the week. I tried the double turn and it worked perfectly, and meant I got the dough ready in about half the time (considering you need to let the dough rest for about 40 mins between turns, this was significant time savings). Check out the link and try it yourself. As you can see from the pic above, the croissants came out flaky and crispy and delicate, but this could be because I let them rise longer than usual.

Pain Au Chocolat

Alas, this is the last of the laminated pastry posts. I had a lot of fun (and possibly gained a few pounds) but I realize that not everyone is game to spend the entire day laminating and baking dough and pastries. Still, if you ever decide to give it a whirl know that it can be done and can be tasty. Pain au Chocolat is a snap to make (provided you have some croissant dough already made). You can also use the same method to make chocolate croissants.

Makes 6
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 recipe croissant dough
- grated or finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate
- soy milk for brushing

METHOD 1
With the oven at 425 degrees, the pastries spring up quickly and bake to a lovely golden brown. The quick oven rise means that the pastry comes out fairly soft but with a few air pockets.
1. Roll dough on a into 8 x 12 inch rectangle, then cut into six 4 inch squares. Place about a tbsp of the chocolate down the middle the each square, then fold the top 1/3 down and bottom 1/3 up. Gently seal the seam and place seam down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Cover the pastries and let rise for about 1.5 hours, or until nicely swelled.
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Brush pastries with soy milk and bake on the middle rack for 15-17 mins. Let fully cool in the pans and serve.

METHOD 2
With the lower oven temp and longer cook time, the pastries rise more evenly in the oven but are a bit drier than the above method.
1. Do Steps 1 and 2 as above.
2. Bake as per the instructions in the croissant recipe.

Croissants

Vegan croissants! This is not the first recipe of its kind (Vegan LunchBox had one years ago), but I find these ingredients and method produce a wonderfully light and flaky pastry.

Makes 14
INGREDIENTS
Dough
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 cup cold plain soy milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp melted margarine
- 13 to 14 oz all purpose flour

Margarine Block
- 1 cup Earth Balance margarine (not the whipped kind)
- 2 tbsp flour

METHOD
1. Whisk the yeast and sugar into the water. When yeast is hydrated, whisk in soy milk and salt. Add in melted margarine and flour and bring into a very soft dough. Do not overknead.
2. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and roll/shape into a 9 x 13 inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins, or until well-chilled.
3. While dough is chilling, make the margarine block. Use the method described here, but shape it into a 6 x 8 inch rectangle.
4. Laminate the dough: place the margarine block in the bottom half of the dough, making sure there is a about a 1/2 inch border.
Fold the top half down and seal the edges. Take your time to make sure everything is sealed properly.
5. Making sure your surface is properly floured, place the folded side on our left and roll the dough into a 10 x 24 inch rectangle. Take your time, rolling from the centre to the edges first. Try to square everything up as best you can. With the short side towards you, fold the bottom third up, then the top third down, like a letter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.
6. Repeat step five 3 more times, always placing the folded side on your left. After the final turn, refrigerate for a few hours to chill all the way through.
7. To make the croissants, roll the dough into a 9 x 32 inch rectangle. Starting in the bottom left corner, make a notch every four inches along the length of the dough. Then, from the top left corner, make a notch 2 inches in, then every four inches thereafter. With a pizza cutter, cut from the bottom notches to the top to make triangles. (You can make mini pastries with the leftover edges)
8. Gently pull the bottom of the triangle wider then, with the point pointing at you, begin to roll up the pastry. Hold the tip/point with your finger so you can pull the pastry as you roll it up. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure the tip is on the bottom. You can curve the ends inwards to get the crescent shape if you like. (You can freeze them at this point, then thaw, let rise, and bake later)
9. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1.5 to 2 hours, until nicely swelled. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush the croissants with soy milk, if you want.
10. Place the croissants in the oven and reduce the heat to 375 degrees. Bake for 15 mins, then rotate the pan and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for another 15 mins, until a golden brown. Let completely cool in the pan before serving.

Schnecken and Pinwheels

Now that you have made your Danish pastry dough, it's time to make some delicious treats! The first method gives you the classic shape people think of when they are offered a danish, the second is a pinwheel sure to impress your friends. The glazes and baking method come from Peter Reinhart, but are fairly standard fare.

SCHNECKEN (makes 12 reasonably-sized pastries)
Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper)
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the pastry block into a 12 x 9 rectangle. Cut into 12 one inch strips (i.e. they will measure 1 x 9 inches).
2. The dough will shrink back a bit from the cutting, so gently pull each end then twist each end several times to make a spring. Coil the dough and tuck the end under the coil. Place on the prepared sheet, cover with plastic, and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until nicely swelled and risen.
3. OPTION: Instead of letting the dough rise, you can freeze the formed dough. Place the sheet in the freezer, and when pastries are frozen transfer to a plastic bag.
PINWHEELS (makes 8)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper)
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the pastry block into an 8 x 16 inch rectangle. Cut into 8 equal squares (4 x 4 inches).
2. Cut a notch at a diagonal from each corner to the center, leaving enough space in the middle for the filling. Take the same side of each corner and fold it into the middle, pressing the dough into the middle to hold its shape. Place in the prepared sheets, cover with plastic, and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until nicely swelled and risen.
3. OPTION: Instead of letting the dough rise, you can freeze the formed dough. Place the sheet in the freezer, and when pastries are frozen transfer to a plastic bag.
TO BAKE
If you are using frozen pastries, place on a prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic, and let thaw/rise until nicely swelled. This will take a few hours. Then proceed as follows:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Once pastries have risen, use you thumb to depress a section in the middle for the filling. Fill depression with fruit filling (I find it easiest to put the filling in a piping bag).
3. Place pastries in the oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 6 mins, then rotate pan and bake for another 6 mins. Pastries should be golden but not too dark.
4. Brush each pastry with hot glaze (see below), then let cool in the pan for 5 mins. Drizzle with a bit of icing and enjoy while still warm.

FRUIT FILLING
- 1 cup frozen blueberries (or other fruit, chopped if too big)
- scant 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- splash of lemon juice
Whisk water, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice together, then bring to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in fruit until well mixed. Let cool.

HOT GLAZE
This recipe will do 12 pastries, so double if you are making more
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
Bring ingredients to boiling, then simmer while the pastries finish baking.

ICING
Double if you like a lot of icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp soy milk
Mix all ingredient together, adding more icing sugar or soy milk to make a thickish glaze that can be drizzled with a fork.