We are living in Poznan, Poland so I had the opportunity to see the St. Martin’s celebrations, which always fall on November 11, an important day for Polish people because it is also Poland’s Independence Day. During the celebration of St. Martin’s Day, the main delicacy is the St. Martin’s Croissant. The original recipe contains white poppy seeds and margarine, and in addition, confectioneries must obtain a St. Martin’s croissant certificate in order to be able to sell them, but we can also prepare croissants at home or anywhere and as long as we like even without a certificate. So I encourage you to prepare these sweet, delicious, and aromatic croissants at your home sweet home 🙂
Filling (it is best to prepare the day before):
Ingredients:
200 g of blue poppy seeds (originally it should be white but I used blue)
120 g of crumbled sponge cake (I prepared a homemade sponge cake)
100 g of sugar
80 ml of honey
35 g of butter
35 g of raisins, finely chopped
35 g blanched almonds, peeled and finely ground
1 tablespoon orange peel (recipe), finely chopped
2 eggs
Procedure:
Rinse the poppy seeds gently using a fine mesh strainer or gauze. Put it in a pot and pour boiling water over it. Simmer for about 30 minutes to allow the water to bubble from time to time. After this time, put in a strainer or gauze and drain the excess liquid thoroughly. Then grind the poppy seeds 2-3 times with a meat grinder on the smallest mesh or gently blend with a blender. Put the butter in a pot and melt it over medium heat. Add sugar, honey, raisins, almonds and orange zest. Heat for 2-3 minutes so that all ingredients combine nicely. Add the poppy seeds and fry them together for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently so as not to burn the mixture. Then let the mixture cool down. Transfer the cooled mixture to a bowl with the crumbled sponge cake and mix everything thoroughly. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Store the mass in the refrigerator.
Semi-French Cake
Ingredients:
160 ml of warm milk
400 g of flour, sifted
48 g of melted butter
48 g sugar + 2 teaspoons of sugar
1 egg
10 g of fresh yeast at room temperature
110 g of frozen butter
pinch of salt
Procedure:
In a bowl, mix the yeast thoroughly with 2 teaspoons of sugar, 40 ml of warm milk and 1 teaspoon of flour. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the egg and sugar until fluffy. Pour the rest of the flour into a bowl, add the rest of the milk, the prepared yeast mixture, salt, beaten egg with sugar and melted butter. Stir thoroughly and then transfer to the pastry board. Knead the dough by hand for 7 minutes. The dough will be flexible, but not sticky. Put it in a bowl, cover it with a cloth and let the dough rise for about an hour. After this time, pierce the dough with your fist and knead for a while. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, if the dough sticks, sprinkle with flour. Grate the frozen butter on the ⅔ part of the rectangle on the left side and leave ⅓ the right side blank. Now you need to fold the dough into 3 parts, starting with the part without butter, i.e. put the empty part inside on to half the part with butter. Then fold the rest of the butter inwards to create 3 layers of dough and 2 layers of butter. Press the dough down and roll it into a rectangle again. Reassemble the dough in the same way and refrigerate for half an hour. Repeat this action 2 more times, each time cooling the dough in the fridge, each time you can lightly sprinkle the dough with flour. Roll out the prepared dough into a long rectangle about half a centimeter thick. Cut triangles out of it and put the stuffing on with the pastry bag, then spread the stuffing evenly. Slightly fold the base of the triangle and cut it in the middle to make handles and wrap the croissant. Place the wrapped croissant on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover the croissants with a cloth and let them rise for about 40 minutes. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Croissant Toppings:
Ingredients:
80 g of powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons of warm water
50 g blanched almonds, peeled and finely ground
Procedure:
Mix powdered sugar with water to obtain the frosting. If you want thick frosting, add more powdered sugar, if thin, add water. Pour the frosting over warm croissants and sprinkle with almonds. Croissants ready to serve 🙂
Enjoy!
