I will never forget the scene from It’s Complicated where Meryl Streep’s and Steve Martin’s characters sneak into her speciality food shop {which sadly I found out doesn’t actually exist} while high.  Meryl’s character asks Steve’s character what, out of all the things on her bakery’s tempting menu, he would like her to prepare, and he enthusiastically suggests chocolate croissants.

I was thrilled to find that Baking Arts in San Francisco offered a croissant and pain au chocolat baking class.  Our teacher was fantastic, and taught us the age-old, cherished techinique  – creating 54 layers of butter to achieve the perfect, melt-in-your-mouth flakiness.  The next night, I rushed home after work to attempt what I learned in class in my own kitchen.  Have you ever eaten a fresh, still warm from the oven croissant?  I honestly don’t think I have ever tasted anything so magical.

More pictures continued after the jump…

Had to try the pain au chocolat as well…

I have a slight obsession with a pastry from Peet’s Coffee that they refer to as a “morning bun.”  I tried to recreate it by coating long strips of the croissant dough in a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and orange zest before rolling up.  These sweet, buttery little snails were delightful.