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Rhubarb and almond croissants

Rhubarb and almond croissants

Tender poached rhubarb on golden croissants filled with fluffy almond frangipane and crunchy flaked almonds in these indulgent rhubarb and almond croissants.

Prep: overnight
Cook: 1 to 2 hours
Serves: Serves 6
Dietary: Vegetarian
By Sophia Handschuh
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes

Nutri-Score D icon

These rhubarb and almond croissants earn Nutri-Score D from buttery frangipane, almonds, and sugar balanced slightly by rhubarb fibre. Treat as indulgent with controlled portions. Per serving: approximately 850 kcal, 55g fat, 75g carbs, 50g sugars, 6g fibre, 15g protein.

Equipment

Ingredients

For the poached rhubarb

  • 480g caster sugar
  • 4–5 rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut into 3cm/1in pieces
  • 1 vanilla pod, split
  • ½ orange, zest only

For the almond frangipane

  • 180g unsalted butter, softened
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 3 large free-range eggs
  • 220g ground almonds
  • 35g plain flour
  • ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 35ml rhubarb poaching syrup (from above)
  • 240g flaked almonds, to serve
  • 6 shop-bought croissants, to serve
  • icing sugar, for dusting

Customise

  • Use shop-bought croissant dough instead of shop-bought croissants for fully homemade rhubarb and almond croissants.
  • Swap rhubarb for poached pears in the topping; they pair beautifully with almond frangipane.
  • Replace ground almonds with ground hazelnuts for a nutty twist that holds the frangipane structure.

Method

Poached Rhubarb (25-30 mins + cooling – do well ahead)

  1. Preheat oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2 and make syrup by dissolving caster sugar in 385ml water over heat, boiling 3 minutes. This sweet bath infuses the poached rhubarb perfectly.
  2. Arrange rhubarb pieces in a single layer in a deep roasting dish where syrup covers them. Add split vanilla pod and orange zest, pour over hot syrup, cover tightly with foil.
  3. Bake 10–15 minutes until tender but firm – test with a knife tip. Cool covered to absorb flavours; reserve syrup for later. Overnight chill works great here.

Frangipane & Assembly (20 mins – overlaps with rhubarb cooling)

  1. Beat softened butter until creamy with paddle or hand mixer – gets that light base for almond frangipane.
  2. Add caster sugar, then eggs one by one, beating well each time to avoid curdling. Your arm workout pays off in fluffiness!
  3. Mix in dry ingredients – ground almonds, plain flour, vanilla bean paste, and rhubarb syrup – until smooth and pipeable. Snip piping bag corner for ease.
  4. Increase oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and line baking tray. Pour flaked almonds into wide bowl.
  5. Slice croissants horizontally, soak cut sides generously with rhubarb syrup using pastry brush – adds moisture magic.
  6. Pipe frangipane on bottoms, replace tops, pipe strip on top, then dip into flaked almonds. Place on tray – they look bakery-fresh already!

Baking & Finishing (20 mins)

  1. Bake 15–20 minutes until frangipane sets and almonds turn deep golden. Rotate tray halfway for even browning on these rhubarb and almond croissants.
  2. Cool 5 minutes, then top each with 3–4 rhubarb pieces. Brush lightly with syrup, dust icing sugar generously. Serve warm for best melt-in-mouth joy!

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