Plunder Hornchen

These are the flaky almond crescents you’d find in a German Konditorei, somewhere between a croissant and a Danish. They start with Plunderteig, a laminated yeast dough folded with butter so it bakes up in shattering, airy layers.

The filling is worth making from scratch: blanched almonds ground with sugar and an egg into a smooth paste, rolled into a little log and tucked along the wide base of each dough triangle with diced candied fruit and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

Roll each triangle up from the wide end and curve it gently into a crescent, the same move as shaping a croissant. Then comes the patient part: let them rise until doubled, about an hour and a half, so they bake light rather than dense.

Brush them with apricot preserves the second they leave the oven, while they’re still hot, so the glaze soaks in and sets to a glossy sheen.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the laminated dough cold while you work. If the butter softens, the layers fuse and you lose the flake.
• Don’t overfill. Too much almond paste or fruit splits the crescents open as they bake.
• Egg-wash twice, once before the rise and again before baking, for a deep golden, lacquered top.
• Glaze while hot. Cooled pastry won’t drink in the apricot preserves the same way.

Variations

• Swap the candied fruit for a smear of raspberry or cherry jam.
• Fold in raisins or currants soaked in rum.
• Once cooled, finish with a drizzle of powdered-sugar icing and toasted sliced almonds.