Ingredients

Custard

  1. 2 cups (500ml) full cream milk

  2. 4 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste

  3. 6 large egg yolks (approx. 110g)

  4. ½ cup (110g) caster sugar

  5. 1/3 cup (50g) corn flour

  6. 45g butter, room temperature

Brioche

  1. ½ cup (125ml) lukewarm milk

  2. ¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

  3. 1 ½ tsp dried yeast

  4. 2 cups (300g) plain flour

  5. 50g unsalted butter, softened

  6. 1 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste

  7. 2 large egg yolks

  8. 1 large egg

Topping

  1. 70g unsalted butter

  2. ¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

  3. 2 tbsp honey

  4. 1 tbsp thickened cream

  5. 1 cup (120g) flaked almonds

Method - Custard

  1. 1

    Place milk, and Vanilla Bean Paste in a large saucepan over a low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

  2. 2

    Combine egg yolks, sugar and corn flour in a large bowl and whisk to form a thick paste. Add a few tablespoons of warm milk mixture to thin out the mixture if necessary.

  3. 3

    Slowly add half a cup of milk at a time to the egg mixture while whisking. Continue until all the milk has been added. Pour mixture back into saucepan over a low heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Once mixture starts to boil, keep mixing for 1 minute and then remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl.

  4. 4

    Place a piece of cling wrap directly over the pastry cream and allow to cool for 30 minutes before whisking through butter. Allow to cool completely, before refrigerating until chilled.

Method - Brioche

  1. 1

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment, combine milk, sugar and yeast and allow to sit until foamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low for 1 minute, before increasing the speed and mixing for a further 5 minutes. Place cling over mixer bowl and allow dough to rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled.

  2. 2

    Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm round cake tin. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 4 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Press into the base of prepared tin, ensuring dough covers the base of the tin. Allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Method - Topping

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 180°C (fan forced). Prepare topping at the start of the second rise. Place all ingredients excluding flaked almonds in a medium saucepan over a low to medium heat until butter melts and mixture starts to simmer, cook for 1 minute until slightly thickened, do not brown. Remove from the heat and add flaked almonds, stirring well to combine. Set aside to cool.

  2. 2

    Spoon almond topping over risen dough, do not worry about spreading the almond mixture as it will flatten out during baking. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in tin, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

  3. 3

    Slice cake in half and spread custard over the base of the cake. Place top half on top of custard.

Recipe Tips:

Overprooving the dough may cause it to collapse when almond mixture is spooned on top

Do not overcook almond mixture as it will over caramelise in the oven and develop a burnt taste.

The delicious custard may ooze out when cut. If you’d like to avoid this – simply put a thinner layer of the custard when layering and serve with an extra dollop!

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