Ingredients
Custard
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2 cups (500ml) full cream milk
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4 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste
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6 large egg yolks (approx. 110g)
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½ cup (110g) caster sugar
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1/3 cup (50g) corn flour
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45g butter, room temperature
Brioche
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½ cup (125ml) lukewarm milk
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¼ cup (55g) caster sugar
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1 ½ tsp dried yeast
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2 cups (300g) plain flour
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50g unsalted butter, softened
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1 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste
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2 large egg yolks
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1 large egg
Topping
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70g unsalted butter
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¼ cup (55g) caster sugar
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2 tbsp honey
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1 tbsp thickened cream
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1 cup (120g) flaked almonds
Method - Custard
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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!
Comments & Reviews
Made this fir my hubby’s birthday. Custard was delicious! I made the brioche in my breadmaker following that recipe, put the dough in tin and followed the rest of recipe as per directions. Turned out great!
Hanna
Recipe could have been clearer — I find it more helpful when recipes tell me the result I’m aiming for eg the final consistency of the custard, rather than how long to boil it for (my custard never really boiled anyway)
The end result was delicious and gorgeous though, and the techniques were fun but not really tricky
Imogen