How to Make Perfect Cruffins 100% By Hand

Cruffins. Croissant-muffins. Yeah, it’s a thing. A thing of beauty!

Praise the genius who came up with this. Buttery soft layered dough. Crispy on the outside, smooth in the middle. I decided to make this into the British classic banoffee style. Filled with salted caramel, topped with vanilla whipped cream, and caramelized bananas. It is amazing.

And of course, we are making it all by hand. It could not be easier. If you have never made croissant dough before, then this will be the perfect guide.

There are several elements to this cruffin. The dough, the salted caramel, the cream, the caramelized bananas, and a cinnamon sugar dusting. The best part is that you can customize these cruffins any way you please. You do not have the use caramel sauce or any of the other toppings. Fill them with your favourite fillings and make them your own.

My mission is to show you how to make all the individual elements. It is up to you how you use them. The croissant dough itself could take up a whole video. And if you want you can simply make croissants with it. The caramelized bananas can be eaten with yogurt for breakfast. And the caramel sauce would go perfectly on some vanilla ice cream.

This recipe will make 12 cruffins.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

250g (8.8oz) unsalted butter

400g (14.1oz) strong white bread flour

50g (1.75oz) sugar

8g (0.3oz) salt

6g (0.2oz) instant dry yeast, 7.2g (0.25oz) active dry yeast or 18g (0.6oz) fresh yeast

240g (8.45oz) cold* milk

*To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

For the salted caramel –

200g (7oz) sugar

140g (4.9oz) double cream

90g (3.2oz) cold cubed butter

15g (0.5oz) vanilla syrup

3g (0.1oz) sea salt

For the caramelized bananas –

2 bananas, sliced

20g (0.7oz) butter

20g (0.7oz) honey

1g (0.03oz) cinnamon

Pinch of salt

For the vanilla cream –

300g (10.5oz) double cream

7g (0.25oz) vanilla syrup

60g (2.1oz) icing sugar. We are using icing sugar because it contains starch and will make the cream keep its shape better.

For the cinnamon sugar –

80g (2.8oz) sugar

3g (0.1oz) cinnamon

This process will take almost two days. I would suggest starting in the evening and continuing the next day. We must make the dough and cold proof it. And the caramel sauce must cool down and set in the fridge.

Method

1. The easiest step of the process is the cinnamon sugar. Mix and leave on the side for later.
2. Make the caramel. In a small pot combine the double cream, vanilla syrup, and sea salt. Bring over to the stove and leave on medium heat to come up to a simmer.
3. Whilst the cream is warming up melt the sugar. In a larger pot add 1/3 of the sugar and leave to melt on medium-high heat. Do not let this out of your sight. The sugar can melt and come up to temperature rapidly. Make sure you do not have kids or pets or anyone for that matter in the kitchen when making this. Trust me you do not want any accidents with molten sugar!
4. Once the first batch of sugar has melted add another 1/3 of it. Instead of stirring the sugar swirl the pot around. Once the second batch has melted add the last 1/3 of sugar. Now you can stir it. Use a wooden or a metal spoon. As soon as the sugar has melted completely check the temperature. We want this to be between 165C – 170C (330F-340F). The higher the temperature the more bitter the caramel. Lift the pot off the heat when checking the temperature to prevent it from coming up too quickly.
5. If the temperature is right, take the caramel off the heat and pour in the warm cream whist whisking. Be careful not to fling any hot sugar around. Whisk until well combined and smooth. Lastly add the cold butter in batches and whisk it in. The sauce should be smooth and shiny. Pour it into a bowl and leave it in the fridge uncovered.
6. Form the butter. You want it to be a 20cm (8in) square. *See video for detailed instructions.
7. Make the dough. In a bowl combine the milk, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix well to dissolve any large salt and sugar crystals and to hydrate the yeast. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
8. Tip it out on your table and knead for around 5 minutes. *Desired dough temperature 25C (77F).
9. Wrap the dough up and place it in the fridge along with the butter and the salted caramel. Leave to cold proof for at least 12 hours.
10. Laminate the dough. Roll the dough out to a large square. It must be sized according to the butter. Points of the butter should fit between the sides of the dough. Lay the butter on top and seal it up. *Make sure the butter is at the right consistency. It should be pliable not brittle, but also not too soft. You should be able to easily press your finger into the butter without it sticking to your finger. Either leave it in the fridge until you need it or leave it out on the table to become soft. It will all depend on your fridge.
11. Roll out the square dough until it is almost 3 times the length. Fold one side into the middle. Fold the other side to meet the first one in the middle. Make sure everything is nice and even. Now fold the dough up one more time. *See video for detailed instructions.
12. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
13. Whilst the dough is chilling you can scoop the caramel sauce in a piping bag with a nozzle. Leave it out of the fridge otherwise it will be too hard to pipe later.
14. Make the vanilla cream by whisking together the cream, vanilla syrup, and icing sugar until thick. Do not whisk it too much as it does not take a lot to be at the right consistency. As soon as it is thick – stop. Scoop it in a piping bag and leave in the fridge for later.
15. Now it is time for the second fold. Unwrap the dough and roll it out in the direction of the two open ends. This time fold one third over and then the second third over the first. *See video for detailed instructions.
16. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. *This was the final fold. From here you can make any number of different things with this dough. Croissants, danish pastries or even sausage rolls. The opportunities are endless.
17. Shape the cruffins. Roll the dough out until it is around 50cm (20in) long. Trim the top and bottom and trim one side. Measure out and mark the dough in 4cm (1.6in) increments. Slice using a pizza cutter or a knife. Roll up the dough to shape the cruffins. You should end up with 12 altogether counting one that is made from the scraps we cut off. Place them in greased muffin trays.
18. Cover and ferment for 4 – 5 hours. This will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Mine was at around 22C (72F), so that is why it took so long. You can leave them in a warmer place, but not too warm as you do not want the butter to melt. Just proof them until they are well puffed up and doubled in size. *During the final hour of fermentation preheat your oven to 170C (340F) fan on.
19. Bake the cruffins for around 25 minutes.
20. Leave them to set for 5 minutes before removing from the moulds.
21. Roll the cruffins in the cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.
22. Leave to cool down completely.
23. Make the caramelized bananas. In a non-stick pan combine the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Let it all melt and bubble up on medium heat. Once bubbly add the sliced bananas. Cook 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes or until golden brown. Place them on a plate or a tray and let them cool down completely. If the bananas are too warm, they will slide off the cream!
24. Make a deep hole in each cruffin with a skewer. Jam the piping bag nozzle in deep and squeeze in as much caramel as possible. Top with the whipped cream and bananas.

Enjoy! You earned it ?

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.