Snail Shaped Croissant Recipe: The Ultimate Twist!
Description
Master the art of making flaky croissant rolls filled with decadent chocolate popcorn cream and topped with charming chocolate snail decorations. This recipe combines classic French pastry techniques with a playful twist.
Ingredients
For the Croissant Dough
For Lamination
For the Chocolate Popcorn Cream
Egg Wash
Instructions
Video
Make the Croissant dough
In a jug, mix 275g of lukewarm water with 19g of dry yeast.
Add 195g of cold milk and stir well, setting it aside to activate.
Combine Dry Ingredients:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1kg of Type 45 flour, 90g of caster sugar, and 18g of fine salt.
- Cut 250g of room temperature unsalted butter into small pieces and add them to the flour mixture.
Mix the Dough:
- Pour in the milk and yeast mixture, then mix everything on medium speed for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Check Gluten Development:
- Stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers.
- If it tears easily, continue kneading until it can stretch into a thin "windowpane" without breaking.
Proof the Dough:
- Let the dough proof for 2-3 hours at a temperature no higher than 25°C.
- Once proofed, punch it down gently to remove large air bubbles.
Chill the Dough:
- Lightly knead the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 8 hours.
Chocolate Popcorn Cream:
- In a frying pan, melt 10g of unsalted butter over medium heat.
- Add 30g of corn kernels, cover wilth a lid, and allow the corn to pop.
- Set aside once done.
- Bring 250g of milk to a boil, then add the popped corn.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it infuse for about 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 large egg yolks and 50g of caster sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.
- Stir in 10g of cocoa powder and 20g of all-purpose flour to form a thick paste.
- Strain the infused milk to remove the popcorn, ensuring you have 250g of liquid.
- Add more milk if necessary to resemble the initial weight and bring it to a boil.
- Gradually whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then return the mixture to the pot.
- Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
- Stir 20g of dark chocolate into the hot cream until fully melted.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (directly on the surface), and let it cool at room temperature.
Laminating the Dough:
- Place 500g of cold unsalted butter between two sheets of baking paper and roll it out to a 20x30 cm rectangle.
First Turn (Double Turn):
- Roll out the chilled dough to a 40x30 cm rectangle. Place the butter block on one half and fold the other half over to encase the butter.
- Trim the edges for even lamination, and press the corners to seal.
- Roll the dough out to an 80 cm length and fold it into thirds, creating a double turn. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
Second Turn (Single Turn):
- Roll the dough out to a 20x60 cm rectangle.
- Fold it into thirds again to create a single turn. Freeze for another 30 minutes.
Shape the Croissants:
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4mm. Cut into strips about 3 cm wide.
- Roll each strip into a coil, leaving a small gap between the roll and the edge of an 8 cm buttered cake ring.
- Place the coiled dough inside the ring.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the croissants proof for 2-3 hours at no more than 25°C.
Egg Wash and Bake:
- Whisk 1 large egg with a pinch of salt and 30g of milk.
- Brush the proofed croissants with the egg wash.
Bake:
- Bake the croissants at 175°C for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
Chocolate Snail Decoration:
- Find a snail image on Pinterest with your phone and zoom in.
- Place an acetate sheet over your phone screen and trace the snail design with melted chocolate.
- Attach edible sugar eyes to the design and let the chocolate set in a cool place.
Assembly:
- Once cooled, fill the croissants with the chocolate popcorn cream using a piping bag.
- Top each croissant with the chocolate snail decoration.
