Mandelgipfel
I’ve written about nut-filled croissants before, as one of Switzerland’s forever favourites is their indomitable Nussgipfel. And how could it not be? Layers of flaky pastry, a sweet nut filling, and a sticky, lick-your-fingers glaze on top. Ubiquitous from the mountains to the lakeside, and a favourite post-hike snack.
I haven’t found much of a consensus on the difference between a Nuss (nut) and Mandel (almond) Gipfel (croissant). Mandel will always have almonds, that much is clear, but a Nussgipfel can made with a hazelnut filling, or an almond filling (my own recipe photos show almond, though I often make hazelnut as well), or a mix (like Marcel Paa here, or Betty Bossi).
When I asked my resident expert, sweetheart Sam, he put the difference down to the dough:
“Not always,” he cautioned, “but I feel like more often the Mandelgipfel can be made with a Kuchenteig or a sweet yeasted dough, while a Nussgipfel, whether almond or hazelnut, typically uses puff pastry.”
So I’m going with that.
These Mandelgipfel are made with a sweet yeasted dough and have a nice chewiness when baked. They are much less messy than the puff pastry, and still impressive—when I brought one to our elderly neighbour and told him they were hausgemacht (homemade), he positively beamed.
That being said, I’m no purist here. Call them what you want, use whatever nuts you love, or what you have on hand, or mix them if you must. If you prefer puff pastry, here’s my recipe.
I like using Süssmost, apple juice, especially because it’s the season for it, but you can also use water or milk to make the nut filling. Add a little at a time, and stop when the paste is spreadable. For best results make sure you toast your nuts (but keep an eye on them, they burn quickly!)
Want to watch a master make Nussgipfel? Check out this episode of the delightful Myriam und die Meisterbäcker here.
Dough:
500 g flour
10 g salt
1 tsp cinnamon
20 g fresh yeast
250 ml milk, room temperature
60 g sugar
80 g butter, room temperature
Flling:
200 g ground almonds
120 g sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
100 ml Süssmost (apple juice)
Assembly:
4 tbsp apricot jam
1 egg, whisked
Glaze:
100 g icing sugar
2 tbsp Süssmost or water
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix together the milk, sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the milk mixture, stirring until you have a soft dough. Knead in the butter. Keep kneading on the table, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 10-12 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and pliable. Let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
In the meantime, make the filling. Toast the nuts in the oven for about 6-8 minutes, or until browned and fragrant. Let cool. Once they are no longer hot to the touch, add them to a bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Add the Süssmost a little at a time until you have a thick paste that still holds together (depending on the type of nuts and how long they were roasted you might not need quite all of the liquid, or you might need a drop more).
Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a large rectangle, cut it into 6 squares, and cut each square into a triangle (12 triangles in total).
Brush each triangle with a thin layer of apricot jam (if your jam is too thick you can thin it out a little with a tsp of hot water). Roll a bit of filling into a log and place it at the bottom of each triangle, then roll it up into a crescent and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush the Gipfel with the whisked egg.
Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the top has browned.
For the glaze:
Once the Nussgipfel have cooled, mix together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle it over top.
If you don’t have apple juice, you can use milk or water to make the nut filling.
You can replace the almonds with hazelnuts, if desired, and call it a Nussgipfel instead.
I like a shiny Gipfel, so I brush with egg before baking, though you can also skip this step.
I like a light drizzle of icing on my Gipfel , but some people like a downpour, or even dip the whole top in icing. Do what feels right.
For additional garnish, sprinkle some toasted nuts on top of the glaze.
Same but different?
Nussgipfel
