Homemade Cruffins Recipe
Homemade cruffins are a delicious flaky pastry made from croissant dough baked in a muffin pan. They’re tossed in sugar after baking and can be eaten as is, or stuffed with fillings like jam, lemon curd or nutella. This post will show you step by step (with photos) on how to make them at home.

I use my base croissant dough for this recipe. It’s laminated by hand to create shatteringly thin, crisp outer layers, and a soft layered interior. This makes 14 cruffins so I use two muffin pans. If you don’t have two you can shape the extra dough into fun, random pastries, which can be baked on a flat baking tray.
Handy tip: Prepare Ahead!
I make the dough the day before and chill it overnight. During the initial mixing and kneading, gluten is developed in the dough, which makes it elastic. While this is needed for structure, too much elasticity causes the dough to shrink back when rolling it out. Chilling the dough overnight lets the gluten to relax and it makes the dough much easier to handle during the lamination process.
Laminating
When rolling the butter into the dough, you want the butter to be cold but still pliable. If it’s too firm it will shatter as it’s rolled and your layers won’t be as even. If it’s too warm it will melt in the dough and you’ll end up with bread-like pastries. Once you remove your butter block from the fridge and roll it in the parchment paper a bit with the rolling pin to make it pliable and mouldable. You should be able to bend it.
I perform three sets of single folds for these cruffins. A single fold is when the dough is rolled into a rectangle, and folded into thirds like a pamphlet.
Laminating and folding cruffins
- Start with mixing your base dough and chilling it in the fridge overnight.
- Mix butter with a little flour until combined and roll it in between parchment paper.
- To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a frame.
- Chill the butter in the fridge until firm.
- Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle and place the butter in the middle.
- Fold the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it.
- Turn the dough so the seam is vertical in front of you. Make a slit along the edges of the dough to prevent tension in the dough.
- Roll the dough out into a long rectangle.
- Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like folding a letter. Wrap the dough and chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and place it vertically in front of you. repeat the process—roll out to a rectangle and fold into thirds. Turn, wrap, and refrigerate for another 30-60 minutes.
- Repeat the folding process one more time, then refrigerate the dough for at least two hours.
Shaping
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into a large rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise to create two long strips.
- Cut the dough horizontally 6 times to create 14 strips of dough.
- Take one strip and cut it lengthwise down the middle to create two thinner pieces.
- Take two strips and lay them horizontally next to each other. Overlap the ends by around 1/2cm (1/4 inch) to create one long strip.
- Beginning from the center, roll it up into a coil.
- Place the rolled dough into a muffin pan so the spiraled layers are visible at the top.
- Let them rise for around 2 hours until doubled in size.
- Place the cruffins in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown
- Let the cruffins to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before removing them and roll in granulated sugar.
Filling Ideas
Once the cruffins have completely cooled, you can insert a knife into the middle to create a small hole and then pipe in your favourite fillings. We like lemon curd and nutella but there are other options too!
More delicious filling ideas
Here’s a sourdough cruffin version!
Top tips
Here are my top tips for creating perfect cruffins at home.
Use high-quality butter (European-style butter) with a higher fat content (82% or more) is ideal. It has less water and more fat, which results in better layers and flakiness.
The butter and dough need to stay cold to prevent the butter from melting into the dough. Always chill the dough after every fold (about 30 minutes to an hour) and after laminating to ensure the butter remains intact between the layers.
Lamination is easier in a cool kitchen. If the butter starts softening or melting, the dough can become greasy and lose its structure. If the room is too warm, pop the dough in the fridge frequently to keep it cold.
When rolling out the dough, always roll forward with gentle, even pressure. Avoid pushing too hard, as this can tear the dough and crack the butter layers.
When rolling the dough, make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the bench and can move freely. Brush away any excess flour when folding the layers.
Cut off uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Clean edges help ensure that the layers stay neat and even.
Let the cruffins proof without it getting too warm so the butter doesn’t melt, but do allow them time to double
Homemade Cruffins
Ingredients
Dough (détrempe)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 160 g whole milk lukewarm
- 120 g water
- 470 g all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 30 g unsalted butter room temperature
Butter block (beurrage):
- 250 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Topping and filling
- granulated sugar
- Lemon curd, jam, nutella….
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the milk, water, yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Skip this step if using instant yeast.
- Add the flour and salt and combine until a rough dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading. Work the dough for about 3 minutes to start developing the gluten. The dough should become smoother and less sticky.
- Once the gluten has begun to develop, add the 30g of room temperature butter to the dough. Continue kneading for another few minutes until the butter is fully incorporated.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Once risen, punch down the dough to release air, roll it into a rough rectangle, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Butter Block
- Mix 250g butter with 1 1/2 tbsp flour until combined.
- Place the butter between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it into a 20x15cm (8×6 inch) rectangle, about .5 cm (1/4 inch) thick. To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a square frame, then press the butter with the rolling pin to fit neatly into this frame.
- Refrigerate the butter block until it’s firm.
Laminating
- Remove your butter block from the fridge and roll it in the parchment paper a bit with the rolling pin to make it pliable and mouldable. It should be cold but be able to be bent.
- On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 20×32 cm (8×12.5 inch) rectangle. The dough should be twice the height of the butter, and around the same width.
- Place the butter block in the center of the dough, folding the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it like a letter. Press this seal closed with your fingertips. Use a sharp knife to make a shallow slit along the long edges of the dough. This helps prevent excessive tension in the dough, especially if it's slightly too tight around the butter block.
- Turn it 90 degrees so the crease where you encased it is vertically in front of you.
- First fold: Applying gentle pressure, roll the dough into long rectangle about 6mm thick. Don't worry about how wide it is. Always roll forward with gentle, even pressure and focus on length not width. Avoid pushing too hard, which can tear the dough and crack the butter layers. Ensure the dough is not sticking to the bench, and dust with more flour if needed.
- Once rolled, cut off the uneven top and bottom edges. Brush away excess flour on the dough.Fold the top third of the dough down and the bottom third up, like folding a letter. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Second fold: Place the dough so it's vertically infront of you. Repeat the rolling process as before. Cut off scraggly or uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Fold into thirds, turn, wrap, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Third fold: Repeat the folding process one more time, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Shaping
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it into a large rectangle, approximately 30cm x 35cm (12×14 inch). Cut the dough in half lengthwise to create two long strips, each measuring 15×35 cm (6×14 inch).
- Cut the dough horizontally 6 times to create 14 strips of dough, each measuring approximately 5x15cm (2×6 inches.)
- Take one strip and cut it lengthwise down the middle to create two thinner pieces, around 2.5cm (1 inch) wide.
- Take two strips and lay them horizontally next to each other. Overlap the ends by around 1/2cm (1/4 inch) to create one long strip. Now beginning from the center, roll it up into a coil. It's hard to explain, so please see the post for a visual guide.
- Place the rolled dough into a muffin pan, so the spiraled layers are visible at the top. Let them rise for around 2 hours until doubled in size. The timing will depend on your room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Place the cruffins in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until they’re deep golden brown.
- Let the cruffins to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them and roll in granulated sugar.
- Once they are completely cooled, insert a knife into the middle to create a small hole and then pipe in your favourite fillings.