Nancy Silverton's Easy Twice-Baked Almond Croissants

Make the almond cream. Whisk the eggs, rum and almond extract together in a small bowl.

Put the almond meal in a small bowl (if using whole almonds, put the almonds in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and pulse to a fine meal, then add this mixture when the almond meal is added below).

Put the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (this will be only 2 tablespoons if you used some to grind the whole almonds). Crumble the almond paste into the bowl. Fit the mixer with a paddle and beat on medium speed until the paste and sugar combine into a smooth mixture, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the butter and beat on medium speed until the butter combines with the mixture and no lumps remain, stopping to scrape down the sides of and bottom of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula whenever the ingredients accumulate during mixing process, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the almond meal (or the ground almond/sugar mixture) and mix on medium speed to combine, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the egg mixture and mix to combine, about 1 minute. Place the mixture into a separate bowl, scraplng the mixing bowl and paddle with a rubber spatula to get all of the mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the cream is firm but still spreadable, about 1 hour.

Make the vanilla-orange blossom syrup. Put the sugar in a small saucepan and add the water. Add the orange blossom water and vanilla and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Boil the syrup for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

To assemble and bake the croissants: Place oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375°F. Spread the sliced almonds on a baking sheet and toast them until they’re lightly browned and fragrant, shaking the baking sheet and rotating it front to back halfway through the toasting time so the almonds brown evenly, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set them aside to cool. (If you think the nuts are on the verge of being overtoasted, transfer them to a plate so they don’t continue to cook from the residual heat of the pan.)

Remove almond cream from the refrigerator. If it is not spreadable, set it aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.

Slice the croissants in half horizontally with a long serrated knife and lay the tops and bottoms together cut-side-up in pairs on your work surface. Dip a pastry brush in the vanilla-orange blossom syrup and use the brush to mop the syrup onto the croissant halves, paying attention to the tips of the croissant and mopping as much syrup on the croissants as they will absorb. (You might not use all of the syrup.)

Spoon 2 tablespoons of almond cream into the center of each croissant bottom and use an offset spatula to spread it to the edges. Set the croissant tops onto the bottoms to reassemble. Spoon 3 tablespoons of almond cream in the center of each croissant top, using the offset spatula to spread the cream unevenly over the surface, leaving the edges of the croissant visible. (Note: You might not use all of the almond cream.) Sprinkle ¼ cup of toasted sliced almonds over each croissant and use your fingertips to press the almonds into the cream so they adhere. Place the croissants on the parchment-covered baking sheet, spacing them evenly.

Bake the croissants until the almond cream on top is golden brown and the edges and bottoms of the croissants are deep brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside to cool the croissants to room temperature.

Dust the croissants generously with powdered sugar before serving.