Cocoa swirls layered into buttery pastry with a bright pop of raspberry jam inside. # 285: Striped Viennoiserie

It takes five or so years for me to forget how annoying croissants are to make. Laminating dough is a soothing process, but then when you bake the swirled masterpieces up the truth comes out. Truth being butter because you actually didn’t laminate it correctly and it’s escaping its doughy walls all over the pan. Le sigh.

Luckily they’re still super yum! The butter pooled on the pan actually makes the pastry bottoms crispy and delicious, so there really is a bright side to this butter mishap.

Viennoiserie is the fancy name for the pastry category that includes croissants. Yeast-leavened, mostly sweet baked goods that resulted from Austrian baking styles mixing with the French’s love of butter in the best way. Fun fact: the term refers to both the baked goods and the shop in which they are sold.

Croissants were my very first blog post in 2017! Six years and 280+ posts later, I’m still getting flour on every surface in my kitchen and cackling over baking puns as I write these posts. You’re welcome and I’m sorry.

I recently came across one of those scratch-off posters with 100 ideas for home bakers. Being the nerd that I am, I combed through each one (Duh.) Out if the 100 listed, I’m proud to say I had made 88!

I got really excited seeing favorite bakes on the list, like sfogliatella and baumkuchen, and love the reminder that there are SO many more bakes out there to try. Better go get another 25 lb bag of flour! (I can already hear Nate getting his vacuum ready.)

Late night baking gremlins still do mise en place, no exceptions.

Chaos in a bowl.

Smooth lil blob friend.

Interrupting its nap to turn and fold it over itself to build gluten. Sorry blob, you’ll thank my later.

Chopping off a small amount to cocoa-ify into the colorful layer. I debated doing an actual food coloring situation, but decided to stay with a class chocolate brown. Catch me again in five years and maybe I’ll do a full rainbow one!

Now to make a circle into a rectangle. Yes magic was involved.

Butter block time! I used salted butter because that was the only European style butter I had in the house and you know what? Tasted great. (I did reduce the salt content in the dough by half so it wasn’t overpowering. Work with what ya got.)

Lamination chapter one: Getting Snuggly with Butter

Lamination chapter two: Delivering a Letter (fold)

Lamination chapter three: Double Book(ing)

Chocolate paint! Otherwise known as cocoa powder bloomed with hot water and stirred into a thick paste.

The magic behind the scenes involved a set of gloves and blending the paste into the dough like a toddler with playdoh. Highly recommend.

Sprinkled water on the bottom layer of dough to glue the top to it for the final roll.

Ooo, ahhh.

Many layers, much poof.

Egg wash is basically makeup for pastries.

Stunnin. *best Olivia Cooke voice*

Some pastries just can’t hold their butter.

But look at the delicious butter sizzle. Of all the mishaps to happen, this one’s top of the list for positive outcomes.

No picture evidence because I had jam all over my hands, but I piped raspberry goodness into the centers. Delish.

Happy munching!

Recipe mostly from: https://www.joshuaweissman.com/post/croissants