London Fog Sourdough Croissants

Stuffed with a London Fog Latte Flavored Custard.

In a porcelain embrace, a London Fog whispers its tale—a waltz of Earl Grey dreams and milky velvet.

Bergamot notes dance with the steam, swirling in elegant spirals, while vanilla melts softly into the warmth, like a love letter penned in a foggy dusk. It’s a gentle symphony for the senses; a celestial blend of tea’s delicate kiss and the nurturing caress of foam, each sip an invitation to linger a little longer in its soothing embrace.

Now picture a croissant, golden and crisp, cradled in your hands. You gently break it apart, and the flaky layers whisper secrets of buttery goodness. With a careful hand, you introduce the soul of a London Fog latte. And so the London Fog Croissant is born.

London Fog Latte Custard Recipe

1.25 cups of The Republic of Tea’s Earl Greyer Vanilla, strongly brewed. (I used 4 tea bags)

1.5 cups heavy cream, divided

1/2 cup sugar

6 TBS cornstarch

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla extract

Brew your tea and let the tea bags steep with the water for an hour.
Pour your tea and tea bags, 3/4 cup heavy cream, and 1/2 cup sugar in a small pan.
Over medium heat, stir until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is steaming, but not yet simmering.
While heating the mixture up combine the remaining 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 2 egg yolks and 6 TBS of cornstarch. Whisk well.
Remove tea bags, squeeze out excess liquid. They’re going to be hot, so be careful.
Take 1/3 cup of the hot mixture and slowly whisk into the egg yolk, cream and cornstarch. Tempering the eggs.
Repeat twice. Whisking well.
Then take the tempered cream and slowly pour it into the hot mixture. Whisking constantly.
Continue to whisk the combined mixture, over medium heat, until thickened and pudding consistency.

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Remove from the heat and transfer to heat safe bowl.
Whisk in 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
Whisk every now and then over an hour, to keep a skin from forming. Then place plastic directly over the top(to keep a skin from forming) and place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled. Will be good to use for 5 days.

Lemon Zest Butter Block

You want to go with a high butterfat butter. Looking for at least 82% and as high as 85%. some of my favorites are Plugra, President, Kirkland New Zealand GrassFed and Kerrigold.

I’ve used both salted and unsalted butter.(All the pictures on this recipe blog were made using salted butter) but incase you’re wondering why unsalted is recommended…

1. Texture- Unsalted butter typically has a lower water content compared to salted butter. This contributes to the croissant’s characteristic flakiness and lightness. More moisture means higher chance of gluten forming

2. Consistency-The consistency of unsalted butter is usually more uniform. Salted butter’s salt content can vary between brands, affecting the dough’s consistency and, ultimately, the croissant’s texture.

3. Freshness- Unsalted butter is generally fresher than salted butter. The salt in butter acts as a preservative, allowing salted butter to sit longer before use. Unsalted butter, without this preservative, tends to be fresher, which is preferable for pastry-making.

Ingredients

The zest of one lemon

3 sticks of butter

Create your 8 inch parchment square. Take a 25 inch long parchment piece and section into 8 inches for the width and the height.

For a more in-depth description, check out my apple cider croissant recipe.

Place the butter in the middle and zest the lemon on top.

Fold up your parchment
Gently smash the butter with your rolling pin, then roll it out so the square is filled evenly with butter.
Stick the butter block back in the fridge for 5 minutes while you roll your dough out.
You want your butter cold but pliable.

London Fog Croissant Dough

200g The Republic of Tea Earl Greyer Vanilla tea

100g whole milk

70g sugar

150g sourdough starter

520g bread flour(I used organic King Arthur)

7g salt

8g vanilla extract

50g butter, soft

Take 6 tea bags and pour over 200g of boiling water. Cover and let steep for 1 hour in the refrigerator or until cold.
Remove tea bags. And pour tea into your mixing bowl.
Add whole milk, starter, and sugar to your bowl
Mix with paddle attachment, until broken up.
Add in your flour.
Mix until combined
Cover and let rest for 30 minutes
Add in your salt and vanilla
Using your dough hook, put the mixer on level 2 and knead in for 5 minutes.
Slowly add about a rounded teaspoon of your softened butter to the dough, as it’s mixing. Making sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next chunk.
Knead for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until window pane has formed and the dough is smooth and not sticky.
Move to a clean bowl and cover. Let rise 4 hours.
Then place in the refrigerator over night.
The next day right before your ready to start, create your butter block (recipe above)

Remove dough from refrigerator and place on a flour dusted surface.
Roll out a 17 inch long by 8 1/2 inch high dough square.
Place your butter block in the middle.
Fold in the sides to the middle and pinch all seams, where dough meets, closed.

Push down rolling pin on top seam and bottom seam. Then push down, little by little, up the dough. To gently spread the dough. (See video below)

Then roll the dough out to 9 inches by 25 inches.

Trim about a 1/2 inch off the top and the bottom, giving you an approximate 24” length.

Perform a double fold(steps below)

Then the top down, to meet the trimmed edges together.

Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour.
Flour your counter and place down, croissant dough.
Push down on your edges and preform another gentle round of pushing the dough up with your rolling pin(see video above)
Roll out to 9 inches by 16 inches.
Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for another 45 minutes to an hour.
Flour your surface and place your 9 inch x 16 inch rectangle.
Flour the top and continue to roll out until it is 9 inches x 25 inches.
Trim the edges on the top and bottom. Making it 24 inches long.

Perform a single fold (follow the pictures below)

Fold the bottom up to around the 9 or 10 inch mark

Then fold the top to the bottom of the first fold.

Wrap well and place in the fridge anywhere from 8-16 hours(it would probably be fine even for 24 hours, I just haven’t tested it for this recipe)
When ready, pull dough out and place on a floured surface.
Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out to a 13 inch x 21.5 inch rectangle. Dough should be approximately 1/4 inch thick.

Trim approximately a 1/2 inch off the sides.

Trim about a 1/4 inch off the top and bottom

Trim about a 1/4 inch off the top and bottom of your dough rectangle.

You should be left with a rectangle of dough that is 12 inch by 21 inches long.
Take your ruler and make a mark every 3.5 inches on the top and bottom.

Use the ruler to create an even line and cut up and down, rather than dragging the knife. Dragging the knife can cause your edges to stick, which is fine, but you’ll get a “prettier” croissant if you don’t.

You’ll end up with 6 rectangles of dough.
Take your ruler and line up a top corner to the opposite bottom corner. Making yourself a triangle.

Again cutting in an up down motion, not dragging.

Rolling your Dough

You can either roll up as is or you can make a vertical slice in the long end and roll up that way. There was a bit of a difference in the results which I’ll show below. But since it is getting stuffed with custard, I’ll leave it up to you if you’d like to do the extra step. I will show the vertical slice below.

Vertical slice in the long end before rolling.

When rolling your croissant you want to keep it tight but not too tight or you can have uneven layering and tearing during proofing.
I like to begin the roll and slowly pull and turn the little edge toward me. Creating some tension.

When you get to the end, take your thumb and flatten out the last inch or so of the croissant tail. Then roll your dough on top of it, creating a flat base.

Here’s how to flatten down the croissant tail.

Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
Croissants like a more humid environment. To create that use something that can create a fine mist and spray your croissants lightly, before covering.

Cover with your tray lids
Or use a Reynolds’s oven bag, with a tall jar inside to keep the top from falling down onto the croissants. Make sure to create a good seal with clips on tucking it under the tray.

Let proof at room temperature anywhere from 12-18 hours depending on your home temperature.
Signs to look for, to know they’re ready to bake.
- Doubled in size.
- A little jiggle when moved.
- Edges separating
- Fingertip check: press your fingertip gently into the dough. If it slowly bounces back it’s ready. If it springs back quickly give them more time.

Preheat your oven to 400°
Create your egg wash.
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 TBS heavy cream
- 1 TBS water
- A splash of vanilla
  - Whisk well, if you want to get fancy you can strain the mixture so it’s thinner and easier to spread.
GENTLY brush on a LIGHT coat of egg wash. Top of the croissant rolls only.
Try to avoid getting it on any of your croissant edges. it will keep them from expanding and opening up.