Croissants

Honestly who doesn’t love croissants? They are flaky, buttery and rich and you can step up your sandwich game just by using one. They taste soo good with ham and swiss broiled on, or chocolate (or nutella) drizzled over top.

This recipe can also be used to make pain au chocolat – which was my original intention. The issue was I didn’t have any chocolate batons, nor the patience to make my own. It’s just as easy to drizzle a little chocolate on top if I’m in the mood. Since this recipe makes 24 croissants you can freeze some after baking and enjoy them all month long.

Not the most beautiful lighting in these photos, I started them at a dumb time and therefore ended up finishing them at midnight…

French Crullers

French Crullers are a light and airy doughnut with a delicious sweet glaze. There are actually 2 types of cruller: some made from a twisted dough and these french ones that are made with pate a choux. They go perfectly with a hot cup of coffee.

They’re surprisingly easy and can actually be deep fried or baked.

Note: Fire chief dad says to always have a lid for your pot nearby when deep frying!

Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Rose

Brioche is a bread that, depending on where you live, can be hard to find. It’s made with eggs and lots of butter to give it a much richer flavour than your average white bread. In this recipe it is rolled thin, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled, cut and coiled to create a beautiful looking loaf. (It also smells insane good while it’s baking.)

My loaf never looks quite as lovely after baking, I’m assuming one of the reasons is that I use a 9 inch spring form instead of the suggested 10 inch. That means I end up with a taller and less “rose”-like bread (I’d say mine looks more like a mushroom).

Kouign Amann

Kouign amann (QUEEN-ah-mahn) are a delicious, sweet layered pastry similar to croissants. They are extremely delicious fresh from the oven – warm with sticky and crunchy caramel. They take quite a bit of time (6 hrs from start to finish) but are not actually a lot of work (there’s a lot of waiting around). The only ingredients are butter, flour, yeast, water, salt and sugar.

The method involves laminating dough to get those gorgeous flaky layers, with sugar being sprinkled in for the final turn. It may seem intimidating but it’s honestly not hard and definitely worth it.

Choux au Craquelin

Profiteroles and eclairs are some of my all time favourite desserts- which is surprising considering how much I hated them as a child. I now realize it was because I never had a true fresh profiterole: one with crispy choux, silky creme patisssiere (or whipped cream!) and a rich ganache. My parents always bought the frozen ones that tended to be rubbery and a little flavourless.

This recipe is for the ultimate cream puff: choux au craquelin. The craquelin (a small biscuit of sweet dough that is placed on the choux before baking) provides an added sweetness and amazing crunch. The shell can then be filled with whipped cream, creme pat, diplomat cream, drizzled with ganache – whatever you want!

They aren’t the most exciting to look at, but they are seriously good.