In case you didn’t know, January 30 is National Croissant Day – as though we ever need an excuse to celebrate these delicious, flaky and buttery crescents! Banksia Bakehouse however doesn’t think one day is nearly enough, instead turning National Croissant Day into a month-long uniquely Australian celebration.

Since debuting their first croissant in August 2020, Banksia Bakehouse’s ever-changing creations have proven a huge hit. To celebrate one of the world’s most popular pastries, the team has created a uniquely Australian croissant, which will be available for the rest of January and throughout February.

Using the native Australian flavours of wattleseed and macadamia nuts, the Hazelnut Wattleseed Croissant has a flaky buttery pastry shell with a hazelnut and wattleseed ganche filling, topped with a drizzle of wattleseed caramel, caramel buttercream and macadamia brittle.

We have so much to celebrate in Australia, especially now more than ever with travel out of the question,” said Banksia Bakehouse’s Chris Sheldrick.

“Wattleseeds have this warm, nutty flavour that blends perfectly with hazelnut and caramel.”

In addition to native seeds and nuts, Banksia Bakehouse regularly uses locally made ingredients for their croissants. For its Hazelnut Wattleseed Croissants, the bakehouse’s pastry chefs headed to the Australian Superfood Co.

“Through its Native Harvest Initiative, Australian Superfood Co. works with indigenous communities and local growers to source native fruits, herbs and seeds. We wanted to be part of spreading the word to promote these wonderful ingredients and to be a part of the movement to make them more mainstream and give them the recognition they deserve,” explained Chris.

The pastry chefs chose ground roasted wattleseeds for their unique taste which, according to the folk at Australian Superfood Co. is “a little bit nutty, a little bit spicy, and little bit chocolatey”. They call wattleseeds ‘the unsung hero of native Australian foods’ because of their high concentrations of potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and protein.

As with every special croissant variety, Banksia Bakehouse’s pastry chefs never rush the creative process – once the ingredients were chosen, it took them two weeks to perfect the Hazelnut Wattleseed croissant recipe.

Since opening last August, Banksia Bakehouse’s pastry chefs have created special croissant varieties each momth. Past croissant creations include Chocolate Hazelnut, Strawberry Rose, S’mores, Pina Colada and Pavlova, and their current January special, Finger Lime, which, like the Hazelnut Wattleseed croissant, uses native produce. It’s little wonder they’re building up a reputation as “Sydney’s best croissanterie”.