These decadent almond croissant pancakes feature fluffy pancakes stuffed with a layer of sweet homemade almond paste. Topped with sliced almonds and powdered sugar, these taste just like the filling of an almond croissant in a doughier vehicle.
My obsession with almond paste spans scones to cakes to now pancakes! I love a flaky almond croissant but find that I’m usually wanting even more almond paste in the middle. I promise you won’t have that complaint with these pancakes–they’re packed with sweet almond flavor.
How I developed this recipe
The base of this recipe is my fluffy no-buttermilk pancakes with just a touch more baking powder for lift. Then we make a batch of homemade almond paste and freeze little discs of almond paste to cook inside the pancakes!
Aesthetically, the most important part of this recipe is the sliced almonds on top with a dusting of powdered sugar. I made a little powdered sugar glaze to help the almonds stick, but this is totally optional.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you’ll just need fairly basic pantry ingredients–plus almond flour and sliced almonds! When making pancakes, it’s important that you bring all of your wet ingredients to room temperature (or slightly warm) to help emulsify the batter and keep the pancakes fluffy.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour is what gives the pancakes their fluffy texture. I would not recommend swapping almond flour for the all-purpose flour as it will completely change the texture of the pancake. However, you can swap in half whole wheat flour into the batter if you like a nuttier flavor and heartier texture.
- Almond flour: To make homemade almond paste, almond flour is the key! For the smoothest almond paste that you can mix by hand, superfine almond flour is best. However, you can use regular almond flour or even almond meal (I.e. ground skin-on almonds)–you’ll just have a slightly more rustic texture.
- Whole milk: This recipe is written to use whole milk, but for slightly richer pancakes, I like using 1/2 cup heavy cream with 3/4 cups of water. If you only have reduced fat milk or a non-dairy milk on hand, those will also work! It’s key to have your milk at room temperature to prevent the butter from seizing
- Large eggs: I always use large eggs when baking. In this recipe, it’s important to have your egg at room temperature to keep the batter from being too cold and seizing the butter. To quickly bring your egg to room temperature, soak it in hot water for 5 minutes.
- Unsalted butter: I usually bake with unsalted butter so I can better control the level of salt in a recipe. To speed up the recipe, you can combine the butter and milk and microwave to melt the butter/heat up the milk at the same time. Just make sure it doesn’t get too hot–you don’t want to cook the egg when you add it to the wet ingredients.
- Apple cider vinegar: This adds a bit of acid to work with the chemical leaveners to give the pancakes lift and a bit of tang. You can substitute any light colored vinegar like white, white wine or champagne vinegar. Lemon juice will also work.
- Sliced almonds: These are key for the garnish! But if you don’t have sliced almonds, you could use slivered almonds or chopped almonds. The pancakes just won’t have the same look as an almond croissant, but they’ll still taste great.
How to make these almond croissant pancakes
These almond croissant pancakes just require one extra step beyond making basic pancakes. You’ll mix together a quick homemade almond paste, then form the paste into discs that go into the freezer to chill while you make the pancake batter.
The first time I made these, I only made 6 almond paste discs (which fills 6 pancakes), and cooked about 3 pancakes plain without almond paste. I actually preferred this since the almond paste-filled pancakes are quite rich–it’s nice to pair a less sweet plain pancake with the filled pancakes.
But you can also divide the almond paste into 8-9 discs to fill each pancake–they’ll just be a little more scant on the almond flavor.
Step 1: Combine almond paste ingredients in a small bowl with a spatula until you have a smooth paste.
Step 2: Divide paste into 6-8 balls and flatten into discs about 2″ wide using your palms. Place on a parchment-lined plate and freeze while you make the pancake batter.
Step 3: Make the pancake batter: whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
Step 4: Whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg and vinegar. Pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (a few lumps are welcome)!
Step 5: Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with oil or ghee, then pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan when hot. Place a disc of chilled almond paste on top.
Step 6: Add a dollop of batter on top, just enough to cover the almond paste. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the edges of the pancake, 1-2 minutes.
Step 7: Flip pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides.
Step 8: Top pancakes with optional glaze, sliced almonds and powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
Serving suggestions and storage
These pancakes are quite rich, so I recommend serving these with a side of fresh fruit and maybe a drizzle of almond butter to cut the sweetness.
These pancakes actually reheat quite well. You can store any leftover pancakes in a sealed container in the fridge for at least 5 days, reheating in the microwave, on the stovetop or in a toaster oven until hot.
Almond Croissant Pancakes
Ingredients
Almond paste
- 3/4 cup almond flour 90g
- 7 tbsp powdered sugar 54g
- 3-4 tsp water
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Pancakes
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 150g
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar 25g
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature 283g OR 1/2 cup heavy cream + 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 28g
- 1 large egg 50g
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar white, champagne or any light vinegar also works
Assembly
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar, optional
- 2-3 tsp milk or water, optional
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds, for topping
- powdered sugar and maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
Almond paste
- In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup almond flour, 7 tbsp powdered sugar, 3-4 tsp water and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Use a spatula to combine until smooth. Divide into 8 balls and flatten into small discs about 2" wide using your palms. Place on a parchment-lined plate and freeze while you make the pancake batter.
Pancake batter
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly. Whisk in 1 large egg and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. Pour milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined–you want some lumps at this stage.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with oil or ghee. Use a quarter cup to pour the batter onto the preheated pan and place a disc of chilled almond paste on top. Add a little dollop of batter on top, just enough to cover the almond paste. (You can cook as many pancakes as will fit in your pan at a time, spaced about an inch apart.)
- Cook until bubbles start to appear on the exposed edges of the pancake, about 1-2 minutes (bubbles won't appear in the center where the almond paste is) and the bottom is golden. Flip pancake and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Turn heat down to medium low or even off for a few seconds if the pan starts to get too hot (you'll know when it starts smoking).You may end up with extra batter and not enough almond paste–you can simply cook off the extra batter as regular pancakes.
Assembly
- To make the optional glaze, whisk together 3 tbsp powdered sugar, optional and 2-3 tsp milk or water, optional in a small bowl. Top the warm pancakes with a thin layer of glaze, then sprinkle with sliced almonds and garnish with powdered sugar. Serve with maple syrup (though you may not think they need it)!
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