Almond Croissant Coffee Cake (Bakery Style Recipe)

Craving an almond croissant coffee cake at six on a Tuesday morning, while leaving the house in a current state of unwashed sweatpants felt like a crime against humanity, is exactly what led to this recipe. Yeast dough usually terrifies me, ever since a loaf of bread turned out so dense it served as a doorstop for three weeks.

This almond croissant cake recipe actually works, even while operating on a severe sleep deficit. It carries all the buttery, nutty goodness of a fancy pastry, without requiring anyone to laminate dough or interact with a single barista. Here is exactly how I do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Two for one. This makes two whole rings, meaning one gets eaten and the other freezes for a future pastry emergency.
• No leaks. The filling uses almond paste and cream cheese, so it does not just run out and burn on the pan.
• Secretly soft. Honey keeps the dough incredibly soft and gives it a sneaky little caramel flavor.
• Impressive looks. This looks like a bakery style almond coffee cake, tricking everyone into thinking you have your life together.

Tools You’ll Need

Nothing fancy, I promise.

• stand mixer Because kneading sticky dough by hand is a workout I did not sign up for.
• Baking sheets. Two of these avoid a geometry puzzle inside the oven.
• Parchment paper. This stands between you and a massive scrubbing session afterward.

Key Ingredients

For the Filling

• 7 ounces almond paste – Crucial for that true almond paste coffee cake flavor, do not substitute with marzipan or things will get weird. (If you aren’t sure what the difference is, read up on almond paste first).
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar – For sweetness, and for getting all over your black shirt.
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened – If you forget to soften it, just stare at it aggressively until it yields.

For the Dough

• 1 1/3 cups warm milk (110 degrees) – Not hot, or you will murder the yeast.
• 1/3 cup honey – Keeps things soft and adds flavor.
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted – Liquid gold.
• 3 large egg yolks – Save the whites for the topping, I promise we use them.
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract – Measure with your heart.
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour – Plus extra for dusting the counter and inevitably the floor.
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast – The magical dust that makes this an almond crumb cake cousin, but fluffier.
• 2 teaspoons salt – Do not skip this, unless you like bland bread.

For the Topping

• 3 large egg whites – Reserved from earlier, look at us being resourceful.
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds – For that crunchy, bakery look.
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar – More sugar dust.
• 2 ounces cream cheese – Just to make the icing extra rich.
• 2 tablespoons milk – To thin it out.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract – Just a splash.

How To Make Almond Croissant Coffee Cake

Yeast dough smells fear, so just act confident and it will all work out.

1. Mix the filling: Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix the almond paste, confectioners’ sugar, and cream cheese until smooth. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to use – if you eat half of it now, you won’t have enough for the cake, ask me how I know.
2. Prep the oven: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200 degrees, then shut it off. Lightly grease a large bowl with cooking spray, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. This warm oven trick is a lifesaver for impatient bakers like me.
3. Make the dough: Mix milk, honey, melted butter, yolks, and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Turn mixer to low and slowly add the milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. The dough will be sticky – don’t panic and dump a pound of flour in there.
4. First rise: Turn dough onto a heavily floured work surface, shape into a ball, and transfer to the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the turned-off oven until nearly doubled, about 20 minutes.
5. Shape the rings: On a lightly floured counter, divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one piece into an 18 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread half the filling in a 1-inch-wide strip just above the bottom edge and roll it up into a tight log. Brush the top edge with water, press to seal, and transfer seam-side down to a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest. Shape each into a ring. Using a paring knife, make cuts around the outside of the dough. If your cuts look a little uneven, just call it rustic.
6. Second rise: Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and return to the warm oven until the rings have puffed slightly, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
7. Bake: Whisk the reserved egg whites and brush them over the rings. Sprinkle with almonds and bake until deep brown, about 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. If some almonds fall off, that is just the chef’s tax.
8. Ice and serve: While baking, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over the baked, warm coffee cakes.

Make it yours

• Orange zest version. You add a teaspoon of orange zest to the filling for a bright citrus note against the almond.
• Chocolate version. You add mini chocolate chips to the filling for a bakery-style twist on the classic almond crumb cake flavor.

Perfect Pairings

This almond coffee cake suits two specific pairings particularly well.

• A quiet Sunday morning suits this best when nobody asks for anything.
• A holiday brunch calls for exactly this kind of bake that makes you look like a domestic genius.

Almond Croissant Coffee Cake

This almond croissant coffee cake proves that bakery-level pastry can come from a home kitchen without a single laminated layer of dough. This almond croissant cake recipe layers a rich almond paste and cream cheese filling inside soft, honey-enriched dough, delivering everything a proper bakery style almond coffee cake should taste like. Whether served fresh from the oven or pulled from the freezer for a future pastry emergency, this almond paste coffee cake earns a permanent spot in the regular rotation.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Desserts or Baked Goods

Cuisine: American

Calories: 552

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 7 ounces (198 grams) almond paste (1 tube)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces/57 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese softened
• 1 1/3 cups warm milk (110 degrees)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for topping)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups (22½ ounces/638 grams) all-purpose flour plus extra for counter
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces/170 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 2 ounces (57 grams) cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment

• stand mixer
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper

Method

 

1. Fit standing mixer with paddle attachment and mix almond paste, confectioners’ sugar, and cream cheese until smooth. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, shut oven off. Lightly grease large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.
3. Mix milk, honey, melted butter, yolks, and vanilla in large measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn mixer to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.)

   Turn dough onto heavily floured work surface, shape into ball, and transfer to greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough is nearly doubled, about 20 minutes.
4. On lightly floured counter, divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll dough into 18 by 9-inch rectangle with long side facing you. Spread half of filling in 1-inch-wide strip just above bottom edge of dough and roll up dough into tight log. Brush top edge with water, then press to seal and transfer, seam side down, to parchment-lined baking sheet.

   Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Shape each cylinder into ring. Using paring knife, make cuts around outside of dough and shape as shown in photos 3 and 4.
5. Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and return to oven until rings have puffed slightly, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Whisk reserved egg whites in small bowl, then brush rings with egg whites. Sprinkle with almonds and bake until deep brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. While rings are baking or cooling, whisk confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle icing over baked coffee cakes and serve warm.
7. Our recipe makes two coffee cakes, which can be baked together or separately, with the second ring frozen for later use. To freeze one coffee cake: Transfer shaped ring (prepared through step 4) to large plate and wrap in two layers of plastic and then foil. (Unbaked ring can be frozen for up 1 month.) The night before baking, transfer frozen ring to refrigerator.

   The next day, unwrap ring and transfer it to baking sheet lined with parchment paper that has been greased with cooking spray. Proceed with step 5, letting dough rise in oven that has been heated to 200 degrees and then turned off. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with almonds, bake (on middle rack), cool, and ice as directed.

Recipe Notes

Almond paste: I never substitute marzipan here, since it carries far more sugar and turns the filling into a leaky mess.

Milk: I always check the temperature with a thermometer, since milk that runs too hot kills the yeast instantly.

Cream cheese: I soften mine before mixing into both the filling and the icing for the smoothest texture.

Honey: I use this in the dough for softness, since it also adds a subtle caramel flavor.

Yeast: I use instant or rapid-rise yeast, since it works directly into the flour without a separate proofing step.