# How to fake a French bakery at home

> Store-bought croissants, a quick almond syrup and frangipane turn a supermarket run into boulangerie-grade pastry.
- Title: How to fake a French bakery at home · Taste of Home | Shortify
- Summary: Store-bought croissants, a quick almond syrup and frangipane turn a supermarket run into boulangerie-grade pastry. Almond croissants are a second bake, not a…
- Keywords: baking, pastry, almond croissants, french baking, frangipane, fake, French, bakery, home, Taste of Home
- Source: Taste of Home — https://tasteofhome.com/recipes/easy-almond-croissants
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: baking, pastry, almond croissants, french baking, frangipane
## Oui, you can make these
Almond croissants at home start with croissants from the grocery store bakery. The hard part is already done for you.

> Oui, you can make almond croissants at home from store-bought croissants.
## A dad on a croissant crawl
The writer's father hunts almond croissants bakery by bakery, keeping a running best-of list. His gold standard came from a shop where she once worked.
## It started as leftovers
French bakeries split day-old croissants, brush them with syrup, stuff them with frangipane and bake again. It rescues pastry that would otherwise hit the bin.

> It's an economic French method to revive day-old croissants that would otherwise be thrown away.
## Buy good croissants
The Official Almond Croissant Reviewer approved the method with one condition. Cheap croissants give you a cheap result, so start with bakery-quality ones.

> Don't buy just any croissants, quality ones set up the recipe for true success.
## Twelve croissants, five extras
You need 12 premade croissants, sugar, water, almond extract, almond flour, confectioners' sugar, eggs, butter and sliced almonds. That's the whole list.
## Frangipane is not marzipan
Frangipane is a sweet almond custard of almond flour, confectioners' sugar, eggs and butter. Marzipan is a pliable, candy-like dough. Don't swap them.
## Powdered sugar, not granulated
Confectioners' sugar dissolves into the filling. Granulated sugar leaves the bake gritty and heavy.
## Room temperature or it splits
Pull the butter out 30 minutes ahead and let the eggs warm up. Cold eggs can cause the frangipane to break instead of emulsifying.

> Cold eggs can cause the frangipane to split.
## Boil the almond syrup
Simmer equal parts sugar and water, half a cup each, for three to five minutes until dissolved. Off the heat, stir in almond extract and cool to room temperature.
## Beat, then add eggs one by one
Beat almond flour, confectioners' sugar and butter until light and fluffy, two to three minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, then load a piping bag or a zip-top bag.
## Soak the bottoms
Set the croissant bottoms on a baking sheet and brush them liberally with the almond syrup. Be generous here, this is where the flavor soaks in.
## Fill, cap, top, almond
Pipe a thin layer of frangipane on each bottom, replace the tops, pipe the rest over them, then press sliced almonds into the topping.
## Bake and eat the same day
Twenty minutes at 350°F, cool on wire racks, dust with confectioners' sugar. Leftovers keep one day in the fridge, but assembled-ahead croissants go soggy.
## Key takeaway

Almond croissants are a second bake, not a from-scratch project: split, soak, fill, top with almonds, bake.