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Chef shares secrets of biscotti and croissants from Plat 99

Get in the mood to bake!

In our kitchen today, Chef Eli Laidlaw and Chef Leal Ransone, Plat 99, make us a Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti, (part of a worldwide competition) as well as an Almond Croissant. Also on the menu? An Old Fashioned, exclusive to the hotel!

Almond cream for almond croissant-

100 g almond flour
100 g confectioners’ sugar
3 g cornstarch
3 g cake flour
100 g butter (plugra if possible. Room temp)
1 g salt
3 g vanilla paste
60 g whole egg
20 g dark rum
20 g almond chocolate (melted)

  1. Sift dry ingredients (including powdered sugar)
  2. Cream salt, butter and vanilla for 1 min
  3. Scrape down sides of bowl, add in flour mixture, mix 1 min
  4. With mixer running on medium, add the egg, beat together 1 minute, or until mixed well.
  5. Add rum, mix well.
  6. Hold tightly covered in walk in until needed for use.
    Almond syrup for croissants-
    75 g demerara sugar
    75 g water
    5 g vanilla paste
    15 g almond flour
  7. Simmer all together for 5 minutes. Cool completely before use.

Almond croissants-
Day old Croissants, cut in half length wise
Almond syrup
Almond cream (have in piping bag, makes it easier)
Sliced toasted almonds

  1. Brush the insides of the croissant with the almond syrup, make sure it soaks in well.
  2. Pipe in a layer of the almond cream and top with the other half of the croissant
  3. Pipe some of the almond cream on top and use a spoon or spatula to spread it over the whole thing.
  4. Roll the croissant in the sliced almonds and place on silpat (preferable so it doesn’t stick to paper)
  5. Bake for 10 minutes, until the almond cream starts to ooze out and caramelize.
    Pistachio cranberry biscotti
    112 grams Butter, softened
    168 grams Sugar
    112 grams Pistachio Paste
    3 Table Spoons Amaretto
    1 teaspoons Almond Extract
    112 grams Egg, Whole
    320 grams flour, all purpose
    6 grams Baking Soda
    4.5 grams Salt
    56 grams Pistachios, toasted, chopped
    56 grams Dried Apricot, diced
    42 grams Dried Cranberries, diced
    28 grams Sugar, Rough Sanding for exterior coating

Cream together butter, sugar, pistachio paste with the paddle attachment
Add eggs slowly to batter then add amaretto and extracts
Sift together the flour and baking soda, mix in salt
Add the nuts and fruit to the batter and mix lightly
Add the flour and mix until combined and it is a smooth mixture
Split dough into 4 parts and form them into logs 2” wide on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with pan spray.
Place dough in freezer for 20 minutes to firm up
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Pull logs from freezer, wet your hands and lightly glaze the logs with water and dust with the sanding sugar (alternatively, fill a spray bottle with water and spray the logs so the sugar sticks to them.)
Bake logs for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, they should start to brown on the top and sides.
Pull from oven and again place in freezer to cool.
Drop oven temp to 250 degrees
When logs are cool, slice them across widthwise into 1/2 “bars.
Using a sheet pan lined with a wire rack, place the cut biscotti on the rack
When all biscotti are placed on rack, place rack in oven and bake for 5 minutes.
Pull biscotti, flip over and bake another 5 minutes
Let biscotti cool completely, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Plat 99 old fashioned-
2 oz Plat 99 Bourbon (or your favorite at home)

.5 oz Demerara Syrup

2 dash orange bitters

Stir, serve, enjoy!

To learn more, visit https://www.thealexander.com/dining.