Tuesdays, but even then you’ve got to come early.) At Sweet Elena’s Bakery in Sand City, where there are glorious berry pies to compete with, these are the most popular item, selling upwards of 1,000 per week. Owner Katy Matias credits her predecessor, Elena Salsedo Steele, with perfecting the recipe and setting a standard that has made almond croissants a mainstay in bakeries all over the region these days. “The way Elena balanced it made it very light and fluffy. It’s not overpowering, it’s not too sweet, and it doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach,” Matias says. Because the ingredients are simple, it’s mostly about technique—working fast to keep the almond cream cool, before it gets too runny, for instance. Sweet Elena’s does a twice-baked process, which means roughly 48 hours to make a batch of almond croissants. The first step is to make the dough and bake it partway. Then comes the almond filling and brushing some on top, before a second bake. And Sweet Elena’s uses almond cream rather than almond paste, an unusual choice that leads to the relative lightness Matias describes. It also leads to a relatively delicate dessert. Customers have requested the almond croissants via mail, but Matias says they simply won’t hold up, and she refuses to ship a product that would arrive as a disappointment. At Emma’s Bakery and 31st Grill in Salinas, owner Eddie Estrada similarly emphasizes technique and ingredients as the keys to successful almond croissants. “There’s nothing we put in that is out of this world,” he says. “It’s butter, flour, salt, sugar and milk—it’s basic. But it’s quality ingredients.” Perhaps needless to say, butter is among the most important to any bakery, and not just for croissants. “We go through so much butter, it’s unbelievable how much butter we use,” Estrada says. “It’s just butter, butter, butter.” Emma’s follows a similar 48-hour, twice-baked process, and the almond croissants here are also the bestseller by far. Almond croissants have become ubiquitous for a lot of reasons, including that they can be a lot of things to a lot of people, depending on your appetite or the time of day. They are portable and hearty desserts (or meals) that fit in a tiny to-go bag. Yes, almond croissants might be best enjoyed warm, with a fork, at a table in a cafe with a cup of coffee. But there’s no reason to feel bad about grabbing one and eating it on-the-go in the car, or even the next day. You can eat an almond croissant at all times—as breakfast, a midmorning snack, a dessert, or an afternoon pickme-up. And customers order them all day long at Café Carmel. Almond croissants rival chocolate croissants as the most popular item at Café Carmel, but owner Sarah Cook notes they have an added element of protein (thanks to the nuts) that can make you feel a little less guilty about calling one breakfast. “Almond is not granola or anything like that, but it’s got that breakfast-y aspect to it,” Cook says. “It’s sweet, but it’s not so sweet. They are very popular, and they are pretty substantial as well. They are kind of a whole meal in a croissant. I don’t think you’d be hungry afterward.” And if you are still hungry, try something a little lighter—maybe a plain butter croissant. 18 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® EAT + DRINK 2024-2025 Layers Sensation Cakes www.layerscake.com 9 Soledad Dr. Monterey 655 1544 ’23 Thank you for voting us BEST CAKES! Layers_1-6v_ED24_GK.indd 1 4/19/24 12:30 PM in a taste of Carmel’s charm at our quaint wine tasting room nestled in the heart of Carmel by-the-Sea, where elegance meets comfort, and embark on a journey through award winning wines. detierra.com | info@detierra.com 831-622-9704 Indulge Whether you’re on a weekend getaway or planning a special group event, our intimate venue offers the perfect ambiance to savor the flavors of Monterey County wines. Join us for a memorable experience and the unmistakable allure of Carmel by-the-Sea. DeTierra_1-6v_ED24_dg.indd 1 4/19/24 10:11 AM 18.indd 1 4/19/24 1:06 PM
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