I don't usually eat croissants unless I'm out for breakfast or staying in a hotel - I do like them but they seem a bit much for a regular breakfast at home. Also, they have to be bought or made fresh, and are really fiddly to make.
A few months ago we were given a packet of croissants - I think that were leftover from a family brunch - and I put them in the freezer. As we hadn't gotten around to using them and I wasn't sure how nice they would be once defrosted, I decided to use them in a dessert.
The Co-Op had a recipe in their free magazine (which I love - pick it up if you get a chance) for baked croissant French toast. These were served with frozen mixed berries but I decided to stick with the chocolate orange flavours. I also increased the amount of chocolate!
To serve 2, you need:
2 large or 4 small croissants, cut in half or quarters
275ml semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs
25g caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
zest of 1/2 orange
20g dark chocolate, grated
Preheat oven to 170C/ fan 140C. Place the croissants in a single layer in an oven-proof dish. Beat the milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and half the orange zest in a jug. Pour over the croissants then sprinkle over the grated chocolate for 45 minutes until the croissants are golden brown.
It does have a taste and texture similar to French toast - nice!
