Couronnes

Found on page 563 in the book La Cuisinière de la Campagne et de la Ville, this recipe, with my addition of baking powder, making them much lighter, is a staple in French cuisine. They are made in both smaller and larger boulangeries, as well as by big producers, but nothing compares to these beautiful couronnes made at home. They’re easy and very tasty.


160 g cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp baking powder
200 g all-purpose flour
80 g powdered sugar (I blend golden caster sugar myself)
1 egg yolk

for the glaze:
either egg white or 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp milk
almond slices, hazelnuts, or sugar to sprinkle


Preheat the oven to 190°C (hot). Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix the flour and baking powder with the cold butter until you have rough crumbs. Add the egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla, then knead just until incorporated—don’t overwork the dough.

Roll out the dough to 1 cm thick and cut out crown shapes. The book recommends rolling the dough to 2 cm thick, but after testing, I believe 1 cm is perfect. If the dough is thicker, it spreads a bit more, making it larger but not higher. So, 1 cm is ideal.

Place the shapes on the prepared pan—not too close, but not too far apart, as they will spread, though not too much.

Glaze with lightly whisked egg white or an egg yolk and milk glaze, then sprinkle with your topping of choice.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Let them sit in the pan for 1-2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool.