Chocolate Croissants

Chocolate Croissants or Pain au chocolat, also known as Chocolatine in the south-west part of France and in Quebec, is a type of viennoiserie sweet roll. It IS the best known French pastry.

Pain au chocolat means chocolate bread — puff pastry dough wrapped around delicious chocolate – so you know that there’s chocolate in every bite. Just a mention of it conjures up the image of a classic breakfast with fresh coffee and fruit to go with it.

Our little ones have always loved croissants and the more chocolatey it is, the better. Making the pastry dough is not easy, but the end result is worth it.

This is for our kids – who have been our biggest cheerleaders and prayer partners.

Make a dough out of – 4 cups flour, 50 gm butter, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbs sugar, 1/2 cup warm water into which 10 gm yeast is added and 1/2 cup milk. Knead well.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Place 100 gm butter, cut into rectangles, in the middle. Wrap the dough over it, to form an envelope. Using a rolling pin, roll out the envelope, fold into 3 and refrigerate for an hour.

Repeat the rolling out and making 3-layered envelopes, 3 more times, every hour. Then freeze the dough overnight.

Next day cut the dough into 2 portions. You can see the layers of  pastry dough (which will flake when baked)

Roll each one out. Cut into 5 long strips. Take each strip, place a piece of dark chocolate on one end. Roll each strip around the chocolate piece. Set the rolls aside for the dough to rise, for 2 hours.

Line a tray with baking paper. Place the pastry rolls on it with spaces in between. Whip an egg with a spoon of water  and brush the egg wash on each roll, using a pastry brush.

Bake for 15-20 mins at 250 degrees, until the croissants turn golden brown.

Drizzle more chocolate on top or serve it plain.

By Linda Joseph Kavalackal,
Christ & Co.