It has been over two years since suprême croissants took the culinary landscape of New York by storm, and their popularity shows little sign of abating. The roots of this desert can be tied back to Lafayette Grand Bakery and Café in NoHo. What started out as an experiment to reimagine the classic chocolate croissant led to pastry chef Scott Cioe and head boulanger James Belisle creating a viral sensation.
But if the prospect of lining up in a queue for these fast-selling croissants doesn’t sound particularly tempting on a leisurely weekend morning, perhaps the first glance at a recipe for suprême croissants may not particularly inspire you to DIY your own, either. After all, the process of proofing, baking, cooling, filling and glazing these croissants takes three days, as Cioe reported to Fox News.
However, if you believe that all good things are worth the wait, the task of whipping up your own suprême croissants makes for a fulfilling journey — one that is sure to fetch endless compliments from your guests. We called in the experts to help. As the pastry chef at The Westin Resort & Spa Himalayas, chef Suva Samanta’s talents lie within the realm of artisanal bread crafting. Chef Alpa Pereira, meanwhile, serves as the founder and head of Toujours, a premium patisserie based in Mumbai. Together, they open up their bag of tricks to share every possible baking tip, hack, and insider-only secret to ensure bakery-worthy suprême croissants every single time.
Use a multi-wheeled dough cutter for uniform strips
On paper, the process of making suprême croissants sounds simple enough: start by preparing croissant dough the way you usually would and then shape it into spirals. Once baked and cooled, you can inject them with a filling of your choice. Once your dough has been morphed into a supple, pliable mass that responds to every whim, the biggest priority is ensuring that all the strips for your spiral are cut uniformly in size. Among his top tips for suprême croissants, chef Suva Samanta believes that investing in the right tools can keep unnecessary heartache at bay.
To ensure that the strips for his suprême croissants are uniform in height, he loves using a multiple-wheeled dough cutter for precision and consistency. Designed to simultaneously cut uniform strips of dough in one swift motion, it ensures evenly shaped croissants that bake to perfection. Common iterations of these dough cutters include five-wheeled designs for cutting multiple strips at a time.
As a bonus, you can also call upon these multi-wheeled wonders when making ravioli, latticed strips for pies or any other baked goods that require precision in size. “The adjustable wheels allow for customized sizing which is crucial for maintaining identical layers,” says Samanta. “This consistency is crucial for achieving the flaky, airy texture that defines a suprême croissant,” he says.
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Don’t leave any loose ends when shaping the spiral
Once you have your strips in hand, the process is easy enough. Take one strip at a time and roll it into a spiral with a gentle hand — if you have ever baked cinnamon rolls before, this step should feel familiar. The number of strips that you require for each individual suprême croissant depends on the size of the baking ring you are opting for. If you are using a large baking ring, you may need to interlock two or three strips together to fill up the space. For smaller rings, one roll usually proves to be sufficient.
At this stage, it is key to ensure that the strips are firmly closed as any dangling ends will ruin the signature spiral shape that suprême croissants are known for. Once you have reached the end of the roll, gently pat the loose end into the dough or tuck it under the croissant — this can be covered with pastry cream later. “If you’re overlapping the dough, make sure that individual strips stick well to each other,” cautions chef Alpa Pereira. “Otherwise, there is a chance that it will open up while proofing.”
Use a baking ring for perfecting the spiral shape
Once you have rolled the dough into the perfect spiral, you’ll want to ensure that it retains its shape while baking. An adjustable baking ring can offer up a protective boundary once your meticulously rolled spirals have been placed in the oven. Designed as a detachable wall that enables smooth removal from the pan, baking rings are your key to ensuring precise and smooth edges every single time.
When making your masterpiece, you can opt for a size that suits the width you have in mind for your croissant. However, it is essential that you aren’t opting for a baking ring as the same size as the spirals you have already rolled. “When making a suprême croissant, the rolled dough needs to fit within the ring you plan on using, but you also need to bear in mind that you leave some space,” recommends chef Alpa Pereira. As a rule of thumb, it helps to leave around one inche of space to ensure that the croissants have sufficient space to expand once they are in the oven.
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DIY your own baking ring, if needed
Don’t have an appropriately sized baking ring at hand? Fear not. You’ll find that a host of baking staples can come to your rescue instead. Given the circular shape of suprême croissants, you may have guessed that any round-shaped item you can find around the kitchen will work. Chef Alpa Pereira believes that a muffin tin can stand in for a traditional baking ring in a pinch. “It is imperative to grease the bottom of the muffin tin to ensure that the croissant doesn’t stick to it. Circular cookie cutters can take the place of a baking ring as well,” she muses.
Looking to go down the DIY route? Chef Pereira’s tips for suprême croissants also include getting crafty by morphing strips of aluminum foil into a ring-like shape. “When using aluminum foil, you will want to build a thicker boundary to ensure that it retains its shape. Once done, line the inner side of the ring with parchment paper so that the croissant doesn’t glue itself to the edges while baking,” she advises.
Spray on the egg wash for the perfect chestnut hue
Picture-perfect fillings will get a queue forming outside the door but at the end of the day, the success of every croissant boils down to one crucial factor: achieving a gilded, cinnamon-y hue on the crust. Nail yours, and your guests might have a hard time believing that your suprême creations have come from your home kitchen and not after an hours-long wait outside Lafayette.
The process of assembling an egg wash is as simple as it sounds: eggs and tap water whisked together until they achieve a homogenous, fluid texture without any streaks of egg white. A pastry brush usually makes for the conventional choice for dousing your croissant dough with egg wash for a glazed, crisp texture that looks like it belongs in a bakery counter.
If you are looking to save time, chef Suva Samanta recommends using a spray bottle for this step. Pastry brushes might get the job done but there is always the risk of missing a few hard-to-reach spots or wielding too much pressure on the delicate texture of the dough. “Spray bottles prevent damage to the delicate croissants after proofing and ensure an even, golden finish,” he says.
Get creative with fillings
What originally started out as a chocolate-filled spiral croissant has since dipped its toes into more creative waters. Today, you’ll find Lafayette’s roster steadily churning out unexpected flavors that change moods with the seasons. Autumn paves the way for the spicy tang of pumpkin chai latte, while the onset of Valentine’s season in February has the bakery dipping into the saccharin notes of raspberry preserve and rose petal custard.
If you are looking to level up your suprême game, you will want to look beyond the usual pistachio and chocolate ganache to dream up some truly unexpected pairings. Fortunately, chef Suva Samanta’s tips for supreme croissants will get the wheels churning. Lemon curd with meringue makes for a no-brainer in his rulebook. “The tanginess of lemon curd pairs beautifully with the richness of croissants, while the caramelized meringue adds a subtle burnt sweetness,” he shares. The nutty flavor of black sesame ganache can add depth and richness without overpowering the pastry. Passion fruit caramel, meanwhile, allows you to leverage the tartness of the fruit to enhance the buttery layers of the croissant with a refreshing twist.
Looking to get truly experimental? Step beyond the traditional sweet flavors to give this spiral croissant the savory treatment. “The creamy, slightly tangy flavor of cream cheese combined with fresh basil creates a sophisticated balance,” he adds.
Invest in long metal piping tips for the filling
The proof is in the pudding — or in this case, the filling. At the heart of every suprême is the moneymaker: delicately whipped pastry cream gently oozing out with every bite. And while suprême croissants may not call for the same delicacy as piping frosted petals on a cupcake, you will still need to ensure that your filling doesn’t tumble out in a chaotic mess.
As tempting as it may seem to cut a hole in the bottom of the croissant and start spooning in pastry cream with a spatula after an arduous day of baking, you will find that certain tools can cut a long story short. In his experience, chef Suva Samanta has found long metal piping tips to be the most useful for delivering bakery-style precision and efficiency when filling suprême croissants with cream. Longer piping nozzles usually average at over two inches in length and offer syringe-style precision for injecting cream into croissants without upsetting the delicate, flaky texture.
“These kind of tips allow for controlled piping, ensuring that the filling is evenly distributed without spilling or creating excess pressure on the delicate layers,” he advises. The payoff for swapping the traditional small piping tips in favor of an elongated one comes in the form of enhanced presentation and adequate ratio of filling within the croissant.
Pipe filling from the flat edge of suprême croissants
Once you have finalized your choice of pastry cream and found the best piping nozzle to get the job done, it is time to consider the best side to begin your efforts. Most chefs recommend looking to the edge of the croissant where you tucked-in the flat end of the croissant dough.
Once you have located the flat-ish edge of the croissant, you will want to make a precise hole to pipe the filling into the croissant. Chef Alpa Pereira likes to use a piping nozzle or a wooden skewer to make a hole for the piping to go in; another quick hack is to use a wooden chopstick if you have one at hand. “Your nozzle should go halfway into the croissant and you can then gently release until the filling comes evenly till the top,” she says.
The key here is to use gentle motions and to avoid shattering the delicate shell of a freshly baked croissant. Once the piping reaches the threshold of the croissant and looks like it is about to overflow, you can take it as a cue to release the piping bag and stop there.
Wait for half an hour after baking to begin piping the filling
Your bakery-worthy croissants are fresh out of the oven and the finish line appears tantalizing close. As tempting as it may seem to pipe in the filling and calling it a day, haste is not advised. “Filling the croissant when it is warm will cause the filling to liquefy and it will start oozing out,” cautions chef Alpa Pereira. While dealing with rivulets of melted cream doesn’t sound appetizing, the other end of the spectrum is not appealing, either. Waiting too long to fill in the croissant will cause the texture to get hard and filling it in with cream may cause cracks to form on the surface.
Since pastry cream is piped in cold, she recommends waiting till the croissant is cold to the touch — but not to the extent of getting frozen. The ideal time to wait after pulling your suprême croissants out of the tray is half an hour. You can stretch this window of time a maximum of an hour to start filling in the pastry cream while the croissant is still cooperating with you.
Choose your butter wisely for nailing the flavor
On the face of it, butter might seem like just that: butter. A largely unflavored block that finds dimension when it is added to a loaf of bread or slathered on baked goods. However, if you are looking to rip your suprême croissant open to discover the perfect honeycomb texture, your choice of butter will require closer attention.
Butter doesn’t just bring flavor and flakiness to the table, it also adds the signature texture that you expect when you gently prize apart a suprême croissant. As butter melts over the course of baking, the released steam makes its way into the dough to create small pockets of air that give croissants their signature honeycomb-style appearance.
For recreating this texture within the cylindrical confines of a suprême croissant, chef Alpa Pereira recommends opting for European butter. How does this differ from its American counterparts? As a broad guideline, USDA allows for 80 percent milkfat in butter. “European butter, meanwhile, tends to have 82 to 84 percent fat which gives rich flavor and supreme texture to the dough, as the water content is very low,” says Pereira. “It can make the process of rolling the dough easier.”
Opt for silicone baking mats
Despite being first developed by ancient Egyptians in 305 BC, parchment paper only found its way to the realm of cooking in the mid-1800s. Since then, it has quickly grown as a common staple in households — used for lining baking trays and ensuring uniformly roasted veggies, alike. However, a new contender is now coming for their title: silicone baking mats.
Chef Alpa Pereira swears by her Silpat baking mats when baking suprême croissants, and it is easy to see why. For starters, silicone baking mats negate the need for butter, oils, and other kinds of grease with their non-stick design. By ensuring uniform distribution of heat, you can count on evenly baked croissants when you open the oven with fewer chances of a toasted bottom. As a side bonus, the reusable nature of silicone mats also trump the single-use nature of parchment paper, making it a kinder option for the environment.
When choosing yours, you will want to opt for food grade silicone that can handle the high temperatures of an oven up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Fiberglass mesh or reinforced edges can further dial up the durability of your baking mat and make it a handy partner-in-crime for your baking adventures for years to come.
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Be patient
Grandma might have told you that the secret ingredient is love but when attempting to recreate this viral trend, you might need something else up your sleeve. While chefs Suva Samanta and Alpa Pereira have their own preferred hacks and time-saving tips for churning out bakery-worthy croissants, there is one crucial ingredient that they both agree on: patience.
“Creating soft, crispy, flaky suprême croissants is a test of one’s patience and perseverance, but the end result is so satisfying,” she says. Precision, passion, and patience are often quoted as the baker’s trio, and with good reason. Unlike other forms of cooking that require you to use your eyes and hands, baking suprême croissants needs you to follow the recipe with precise measurements — and then add in a goodly dose of patience once the oven takes over.
You may have switched over to European butter and zeroed in on some unexpected filling ideas, but patience is an equally ingredient that to avoid rushing in between steps. Patience will ensure that your dough is given the time to rise well, patience will enable you to wait for your baked goods to cool down sufficiently before you usher in the filling stage. Chef Samanta agrees. “Croissants are a labor of love and rushing the process will compromise the final result. They demand patience as rushing any step will compromise the texture and structure,” he signs off.
