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Makes 12
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus about 1 hour resting time
Baking time: 25 minutes
Oven temperature: 180°C
• 750 g store-bought dough
FILLING
• 250 g butter, softened
• 45 ml icing sugar
1 Make sure the dough is at room temperature. Flatten it with your hand and cut it into 6 equal pieces. Whisk the butter and icing sugar together until the butter is light and spreadable. Get your pasta machine ready to use.
2 Set your pasta machine to its widest setting and roll all 6 pieces of dough. Use a little flour if necessary to prevent it from sticking. Now roll all six pieces through the second widest setting, then the third, and continue in this fashion until the second last setting. Our pasta machine has 7 settings and we rolled it through until setting number 5. The dough must be thin but not unmanageable.
3 Dust off any excess flour from the rolled-out dough with a brush. Divide the butter between the 6 strips of dough and spread it over the dough with the back of a spoon or your fingertips.
4 Roll up the dough tightly with the butter layer on the inside.
5 Gently stretch each short, fat roll of dough to make it longer and thinner by working it with your fingers into a sausage shape. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough sausage in half lengthwise. Roll each of these halves, with the cut side outwards, into a bud shape and place them in the greased cavities of a giant muffin pan. Repeat with all 12 dough strips.
6 Cover the 12 cruffins loosely with cling film or a clean tea towel and let them rest in a warm place to rise until they’ve doubled in volume. This takes about 1 hour and is essential for achieving a melt-in-the-mouth result.
7 Bake the risen cruffins in a preheated oven until golden brown and cooked through (about 25 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
8 The cruffins will have the taste and texture of croissants; they are more savoury than sweet and are delicious as is, straight from the oven. But if you prefer, you can also add a dollop of your favourite custard, a sprinkling of icing sugar, some fresh berries, grated chocolate, jam and cream or lemon curd.
Did you know?
A cruffin is a true hybrid and has its roots in the “cronut” – a cross between a croissant and a doughnut; it was created by chef Dominique Ansel in New York in 2013. A year later, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco popularised the “cruffin” – these days you even get “brioughnuts” (from brioche and doughnut). To make proper croissant dough is time-consuming but Mandy Lee of the blog ladyandpups.com had the bright idea of using a pasta machine to achieve the delicious layered texture of a real croissant, which significantly simplifies the task of making these cheat cruffins.
