Croissamisu Production Manual
Written by Michael Chen
Updated at July 27th, 2024
Table of Contents
Need an easy printout?
It is highly recommended that you read through this detailed article first to thoroughly understand the production process and the reasoning behind certain processes.
However, if you are just looking for a cheat sheet, you can find the printer-friendly, condensed version of this article here.
Recipe Overview
Component |
Avg Weight/Qty | Shelf Life | Storage Type |
|---|---|---|---|
Sourdough Croissant |
105 g (1 ea) | 1 day (to be used for this product). Leftovers should be upcycled to make Twice Baked products. | Room temperature |
Mascarpone Filling |
80 g | 1 week | Refrigerator |
Cold Brew Espresso Glaze |
50 g | 1 week | Refrigerator |
Chocolate Coffee Beans |
1.65 g (3 ea) | Indefinitely, or refer to product expiry date. | Dry or Refrigerator |
White Chocolate Blossom Curls |
5 g | Indefinitely, or refer to product expiry date. | Dry or Refrigerator |
Cocoa Powder |
2 g | Indefinitely, or refer to product expiry date. | Dry or Refrigerator |
Final Product |
244 g | 4 hours | Room temperature |
Production Process
1. Prep: Mascarpone Filling
- Weigh mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar in a separate bowl or container to the specified quantities in the production system.
- Place ingredients in an appropriately sized mixer with the whisk attachment. Or, if you are doing a small batch, combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and hand-whisk.
- Begin at a slow setting to prevent the powdered sugar from dusting excessively in the air.
- Gradually increase the speed until the mix mostly incorporates, roughly one minute.
- If necessary, scrape the bottom or sides of the bowl to ensure that no pockets of powdered sugar remain.
- Scrape out the bowl, placing the filling in 21" pastry bags in 1200 g increments, if possible.
- Label each bag with a tape color corresponding to the destination, writing today's date, your initials, and the name of the ingredient (Mascarpone Filling).
- Store and transfer cold.
2. Prep: Cold Brew Espresso Glaze
- Dispense hot water into a cup from an espresso machine or another source and mix it with instant espresso until thoroughly dissolved, both according to the specified quantities in the production system.
- Weigh cold brew and powdered sugar in a separate bowl or container to the specified quantities in the production system.
- Add in the dissolved instant espresso.
- Place ingredients in an appropriately sized mixer with the whisk attachment. Alternatively, an immersion blender also works well. Or, if you are doing a small batch, combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and hand-whisk.
- Gradually increase the speed until the mix mostly incorporates, roughly one minute.
- Ensure that no clumps of powdered sugar remain in the mix.
- Set the mixture aside in a wide bowl if using right away, or a Cambro labelled with a tape color corresponding to the destination, writing today's date, your initials, and the name of the ingredient (Cold Brew Espresso Glaze), if transferring.
3. Filling Process
- Prepare an empty scale and place it near the workstation.
- Using a pointed utensil (kitchen shears, butter knife, etc.), create piping holes in the approximate positions according to the image above on an adequately cooled Sourdough Croissant.
- Repeat this process for the intended number of products to be sold for the time being.
- Cut a 1-1.5 cm hole at the end of the piping bag with mascarpone filling.
- Pipe 80 g of filling in total for each croissant, trying to distribute an equal amount to both holes.
- To ensure there is sufficient filling, place the filled croissant on the scale you set at the workstation. As a general guide, roughly the entire 1200 g bag of filling should be used up per tray (12 ea) of croissants.
- The filled croissant should NOT weigh below 180 g. We are charging a premium for this product, and consistency is vital. Any weight between the range 180-220 g is acceptable. The filled croissant should feel relatively heavy in comparison to its volume.
4. Glazing Process
- Prepare sheet pans lined with parchment paper and a wire rack on top for as many products that are intended to be prepared.
- Please note that this part of the process is a two-person operation to ensure that the decorations stick optimally to the surface of the product. The glaze is at risk of drying out excessively if left for more than 30 seconds.
- Re-whisk the glaze if it has separated.
- If the glaze is too cold and too thick, reheat the mixture in a microwave or through another method.
- Using two hands, dip each filled croissant top-down into the Cold Brew Espresso Glaze until there is a smooth and even coating on each.
- Place the croissants on the prepared sheet pans with parchment paper and wire racks.
5. Decorating Process
- Ensuring that the glaze is still wet, place 3 ea Chocolate Coffee Beans in a cluster in the center of the croissant.
- Sprinkle roughly 5 g White Chocolate Blossom Curls lengthwise across the center of the croissant, as pictured.
- Dust roughly 2 g Cocoa Powder in total neatly on each edge of the croissant using a fine mesh strainer (ideally 5 in diameter or less to allow for precision work).
- Again, this is a premium-priced product. Please take care to follow these instructions carefully. Final presentation is very important!
6. Merchandising & Inventory Management
- For orders with less than 2-3 pastries, place this product in a 5.75" x 2.75" x 9.5" windowed sandwich/pastry bag. Otherwise, a pastry box can be used for multiple pastries.
- Always display a cross section of the product in the pastry display. Try placing each half against each other at an angle to create a dynamic look (see above).
- Do not stack these products on top of one another. It will ruin the details in the decoration and cause the croissants to flake excessively.
- We ideally want to waste as little as possible. Be mindful of how many are projected to sell in the next several hours. It is not recommended to prepare more than one tray of Sourdough Croissants at a time unless it is a busy day. The glaze and filling should be conserved, since they have a reasonably long shelf life. Leftover Sourdough Croissants should be upcycled to make Twice Baked products.
- Be diligent in entering prep inventory. Filling and glaze will be prepared every Monday and Friday at Mesa, so it is imperative that on Sunday and Thursday that any excess usable inventory is entered into the system to reduce the next day's prep.
- Log the temperature and the time in the TCS (time/temperature control for safety) log along with the pizza for the day.
