A-Z food challenge: F is for France

I couldn't wait for today's challenge to arrive. To me, almond croissants are such a fond memory of sleepy mornings in small French towns, with a self-indulgent breakfast of espresso and a heavy, buttery almond croissant. Hanging out with a good friend on the west coast of France for a few days back in 2010, this was our daily bread.

I hunted them out when I visited Paris in August this year. But while there were plenty to be found in the tourist traps in Paris, I struggled to find one that lived up to that memory. So I knew when I got to 'F' of my food challenge, it had to be France and I had to attempt to make my own almond croissants.

When I read the recipe (I used one in the Great British Bake Off Book), however, I almost changed my mind - so much work and time!! From 2 to 8.30pm, the pastry was either being rolled, chilled, cut, moulded, glazed, proofed and then, finally, baked. And that was even with starting the dough yesterday!

But was it worth the effort? Well, I am just about on to my third one in 5 minutes...They turned out deliciously flaky, my only complaint is that the almond filling isn't nearly enough!

Here's a classic recipe to make your own croissants (and very similar to the one I followed).

You could also use a quick cheat recipe for almond croissants, though you could also use the almond filling to put into homemade croissant pastries (just prior to rolling them), which is what I did. No 1-day old croissants here, thanks!

Bon appétit! 'G' is for Greece tomorrow, with some light snacking on the menu.