Viennoiserie trial #5: 'Nastar' and 'lapis legit' bicolor croissants (pineapple 3 ways, sweet potato dough, and lapis-legit spice mix)

These ones were inspired by two Indonesian bakes, nastar and lapis legit. Nastar is pineapple tarts, from Dutch 'ananas taart'. It's our holiday cookies, enjoyed during Islamic holiday season and also christmas. As for lapis legit, it is Dutch-Indonesian version of baumkuchen. It's basically yolk-only pound cake with distinctive spice mix, baked layer by layer using upper burner. Lapis legit is usually enjoyed during Chinese New Year (I'm not sure why. Everything about Indonesian cuisine is confusing lol). Dutch version usually use a combination of meringue and creaming mixing method for more European biscuits style batter (as in joconde, marjolaine, dacquoise, and savoie kind of biscuits).

Ilustration, nastar

Ilustration, lapis legit

The nastar part is represented by the use of pineapple in three ways; spiced pineapple compote-reduction filling, candied pineapple bits, and pineapple jam glaze. The compote is spiced with cassia barks and whole cloves. The candied pineapple bits were made by simmering pineapple chunks in simple syrup on high heat until the liquid got reduced, then sliced 2 cm thin before being oven-dried overnight. Pineapple jam was store-bought, but I plan to make my own jam in the future (I hate how limiting it is when it comes to commercial jam varieties).

And because the candied pineapple bits were heavily dehydrated, the flavor is quite concentrated, one bit is enough for one croissant. I finished the bits with jam glaze.

The lapis legit part is represented by the use of spice mix. I have made lapis legit plenty of times, but still reluctant to make my own spice mix. It's not just about making good mix, but also about the specificity of the product. So it was storebought. Typical spice mix has cassia, cloves, Javanese cardamom, and nutmeg in it. Sometimes star-anise too. If I ever make my own, I would add keffir lime leaves and Navel orange peel too.

Ilustration, local product of spekkoek/lapis legit spice mix

I substituted white sugar in the formula with palm sugar, and added a touch of orange zest to brighten the flavor. Enough zest, but they shouldn't taste like orange.

I used storebought sweet potato flour for the colored dough. Just like the main dough, it has palm sugar and the spice mix in it.

My rolling skill got improved. Usually about 30% of croissants will have the colored layer cracked after oven spring, this time only 10%.

Pointers:

• The compote draws water from dough, leaking syrup to the bottom of croissants, making them stick to pan after baking. Use parchment paper for these.
• If you feel like making lapis legit spice mix, just imagine the amount of each spice you would use for a pan of cake. You all are not novices, you'll figure it out! 😆

Possible fixes

I have a second thought about using lapis legit element for these. I think I will let the pineapples shine on their own, use classic main dough, and keep the sweet potato dough. I'll put lapis legit flavor in different product.

I think I will put some ground rule to only use classic dough for main dough. I want the buttery dough to also shine on it's own. Also, the contrast between classic dough and fillings will make eating the fillings feels more special, like opening a present.

Best regards,

Jay