Book Tour & Stollen Croissants
+ other dreamy collabs
Dear Recipients of the Camilla Wynne Missive:
Since we last spoke, Nature’s Candy is out in the world! It has been a total, utter, complete JOY for me to see people receiving their copies and already starting to bake from the book. That is the ultimate payoff for a cookbook author—when my creations become yours. I truly cannot wait to see what people candy.
That said, I don’t particularly recommend being on tour with your band when you release a new cookbook. The week of overlap between the book coming out and finishing up what was a slightly grueling tour had my attention rather divided. It was really great to see everyone receive their books via Instagram while I was sitting in the tour van driving to the next show—I just wish I’d brought my own copy on the road!
Luckily, I was able to pull off an extremely celebratory friends & family launch here in Toronto just two days after getting home from tour, thanks to some incredible friends. SOMA hosted (read on for more about our collab!); Chris Nuttall-Smith, author of the fantastic book Cook It Wild, agreed to interview me; Burdock Brewery and Paradise Grapevine provided drinks; and some AMAZING bakers all pitched in to help me pull off an incredible spread. It was so much fun to bake from my book (I made the mini version of the Mendiant Tart, the Torrone Mallows and a kumquat variation of the Brown Butter Grapefruit Madeleines), as well as to see everyone else’s incredible bakes. There was a centerpiece Pear, Hazelnut & Caramel Cake, Fruitcake Cookies, Star Anise & Candied Peel Sablés, Cherry Hazelnut Balls, Chi’s Spicy Strawberry Margarita Cookies, stollen croissants (see below!), and a towering candied fruit sampler. I cannot thank Chi, Hailey, Kathryn, Ben and Patti enough.
And it really got me jazzed for all my upcoming events!! I really, really hope to see you there if you’re anywhere nearby (sorry I’m not leaving the northeastern part of North America— I promise I would love nothing more if there was the money to do it!).
BOOK TOUR, BABY
TORONTO - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th, 5pm at GOOD EGG: I’ll be in conservation with the incredible Chi Nguyen. We’ll both be bringing treats and Sam James will be bringing coffee! Open to all!
MONTREAL - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9th, 2pm at APPETITE FOR BOOKS: This will be a party, book signing and Q&A, with treats by myself, book co-stylist Michelle Marek and Patisserie Rhubarbe, and drinks from Wills Beer and Le Seltzer. Open to all!
MONTREAL - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10th, 6pm at DRAWN & QUARTERLY: This is a preserve swap and Q&A! Bring a jar of your favorite homemade preserve (or sachet of candied fruit) to swap, as well as one for folks to taste. I’ll be swapping! Open to all!
CAMBRIDGE - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th, 6pm at DEAR ANNIE: I’ll be in conversation with the wonderful Andrew Janjigian of Wordloaf. This is a ticketed event (with or without book) and includes a glass of wine or na beverage and treats from the book baked by yours truly. Tickets HERE.
NYC - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13th, 6pm at ARCHESTRATUS: I’ll be in conversation with goddess Natasha Pickowicz (author of More Than Cake). Tickets are just $5 (or add a book) and include treats baked by myself and co-stylist Michelle Marek! Drinks for sale! Tickets HERE.
CHICAGO - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15th, 5pm at SPINNING J: Spinning J will be offering Nature’s Candy-inspired treats and a beverage for sale; I’ll be there to chat and sign books (sold on site by CityLit), along with foreword author and tastemaker Tim Mazurek; and Pearfat Parfum will be spritzing our perfume collab with some bottles for sale! Open to all!
The fantastic finale of this tour is a 6-course Nature’s Candy-themed dinner at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, MI, but it’s currently sold out. To join the waitlist, go here.
Probably at some point, this newsletter will be about something other than this book, but not today! I still want to tell you about how I was lucky enough to be able to create some incredible collaborations with some very talented folks for this book.
On October 18th, Pearfat Parfum launched our perfume collab, Nature’s Candy. With notes of fig leaf, buttercream frosting, candied citrus peel and chinotto soda, this is my dream come true. I’ve been spritzing myself daily! I have the exquisite Universal Flowering to thank for original idea of creating a fragrance to accompany the book, and for connecting me with Allie at Pearfat, who is just amazing. I’ll been wearing her other scents all month. Our collab is currently sold out (for the second time!), but she’s working on restocking and will be at the Chicago stop of the book tour.
Then on launch day, my collab with Robinson Bread went live! It’s the most insanely delicious twice baked croissant I’ve ever had—and it’s stollen-inspired! I knew I wanted to do something with owner Patti Robinson from the jump. My second job in Toronto was helping to open her bakery, and I love everything she does. We folded candied orange, rum raisins and spices into her excellent frangipane, tucked that into croissants, then brushed them with a brown butter-rum glaze while they were still hot from the oven. These are available exclusively at the Brock location she shares with Sam James through the holidays. But because I feel that everyone deserves to try these, even those that live far away, she agreed to share the recipe below. I hope you’ll make yourself a batch!
Finally, my chocolate bar collab with SOMA chocolatemaker is one I never even dared dream of. They have been my absolute favorite chocolate makers since long before I met the two owners here at a party, and I am constantly in awe of their creativity and generosity. I seriously teared up when they suggested this! They created a wildly delicious jumbo bar (perfect for sharing) with Ecuadorian dark chocolate, hazelnut gianduja, candied fruit and almond praline, with the most beautiful packaging. It’s on sale now, but quantities are limited, so order soon to avoid disappointment!
There have already been three cool giveaways with Pearfat Parfum, Baa Baazaar and Fruter on Instagram, but stay tuned for more! They’re coming!
STOLLEN CROISSANTS
Just do yourself a favor and make these. But make sure you start with excellent croissants!
Makes 4 (but scales up beautifully!)
Frangipane
64 g sugar
32 g toasted almonds
64 g unsalted butter, softened
50 g egg
32 g ground almonds
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40 g drained rum raisins*
28 g diced candied orange peel
1/2 tsp mixed spice**
Assembly
4 excellent croissants, fresh or day old
candied orange syrup, for brushing (optional)
Glaze
60 g icing sugar
20 g brown butter, melted
15 g dark rum
pinch salt
To Finish
toasted sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make the frangipane, in a food processor (I use a mini for this amount) combine sugar and toasted almonds. Process until almonds are finely ground. Add butter, egg, ground almonds, salt and vanilla; process until homogenous. Fold in rum raisins, peel and mixed spice with a spatula.
To assemble, use a serrated knife to halve croissants lengthwise. Brush cut sides with syrup, if using. Top the bottom half of each croissant with 75 g frangipane and spread to cover evenly. Place tops on croissants. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until croissants have a golden crisp exterior and frangipane is beginning to set. Let cool 10 minutes before glazing.
To make the glaze, five minutes before croissants are done, in a medium bowl whisk together icing sugar, brown butter, rum and salt until smooth. Once croissants have cooled 10 minutes, use a pastry brush to cover tops evenly with glaze. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds.
Serve immediately or within the day.
*To make 40 g of rum raisins, combine 32 g each of raisins and dark rum in a glass jar. Seal and leave at room temperature overnight. Drain before using in recipe.
**The recipe for my mixed spice is in all of my three books, but if you don’t have any of those, use your favorite mixed spice.
Sending you all plenty of love as the days get darker.
xo Camilla
Absolutely perfect idea for Christmas xx