Almond Raspberry Stuffed Croissants

Split the croissants in half and lay them out on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with a paper towel and allow them to dry out overnight. You can also use croissants that are already a day or two old and slightly dried out.

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan add the sugar, water and bring to a boil and cook down for 8 minutes, then stir in the almond extract. Remove from the burner and allow it to cool down to near room temperature. The remaining syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

Add the sugar, almond flour (almond meal), and salt to a medium-sized bowl, stir to combine.

Cut the butter and drop into the meal and beat with a hand blender till well combined, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Then add the eggs, 1 at a time until thoroughly combined it will have a light fluffy consistency.

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and line a sheet pan with parchment paper

Brush the inside and outsides of the croissants liberally with the almond simple syrup. You can also dip each very quickly into the syrup directly and allow the excess to drip off. They should be quite "wet" but not soaked in syrup.

Arrange the croissants on the parchment-lined sheet pan, cut side up and spread about 2 tablespoons of the Almond Cream on each bottom half.

Add the fresh berries.

Replace the tops of the croissants and spread the remaining Almond Cream on the tops and then sprinkle with the sliced almonds.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until the cream on top, is set and the croissants are rich golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes then dust generously with powdered sugar and enjoy!