Viral recipe: Gluten-free riff on croissants using rice paper

TikTok food creators seem to have a unique obsession with croissants, but not in the classic laminated layered form of the French pastry. But rather with riffs like the flattened and crisped version, the chocolate chip cookie crossover, and now a far cry from the original that could be a unique solution for gluten-free eaters using rice paper.

There's no shortage of recipes that surge to viral status on TikTok, and the latest one to pop up all over social media uses layers of rice paper wrappers, cut and folded to create a croissant-like snack.

To date, this recipe has racked up more than 63 million posts on the video sharing platform.

Bánh tráng -- the thin, edible sheets used commonly in Vietnamese cuisine to wrap fillings into spring rolls and other foods -- are the key ingredient in the trend that's racked up millions of views on hundreds of home cook gluten-free "croissant" creations.

Similar to the lamination of dough and butter in a classic croissant technique -- though still vastly different -- this recipe requires the porous sheets of rice paper to be dipped in an egg wash and piled high, layer upon layer, before cutting it into the familiar triangle shape that gets rolled up and baked to puff into a golden pastry.

How to make the viral rice paper croissants

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for topping
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 rice paper sheets

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract. Fold in the cinnamon and the baking powder.
One by one, dip 3 of the rice paper sheets into the egg mixture. Stack the 3 soaked rice papers on top of one another.
Cut the layered rice paper wraps into 3 triangular pieces. Roll the rice paper triangles into croissant shapes. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 35 minutes. Enjoy!