Me:Mo Cooks… Sweet Treats

It might be the turn in the weather and the onset of the earliest autumn this country may ever have seen, but all of a sudden we’re craving filling sweet treats so have spent this week idly browsing dessert recipes.

This week we’re really digging this Brioche Doughnut dessert recipe from Restaurant Associate’s Steve Groves. Sweet and packed with flavour, this recipe takes some time to make but is 100% worth it.

Ingredients:

BRIOCHE

500g of bread flour

15g of salt

70ml of whole milk, lukewarm

Six eggs

30g of fresh yeast, or 15g dried yeast

175g of unsalted butter, softened

30g of sugar

Thyme leaves, picked, to garnish

Oil, for deep-frying

PEACHES

Four peaches, ripe but firm

750ml of sweet wine, ideally Monbazillac

150g of sugar

150ml of water

CRÈME DIPLOMAT

60g of egg yolks

60g of caster sugar

25g of plain flour

200ml of whole milk

1 tbsp of meadowsweet, dried

1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

1 gelatine leaf

100ml of double cream

Method

Make the brioche the day before you plan to serve the dish. Combine all the ingredients (apart from the butter, sugar and oil) in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Mix the butter and sugar together, then start adding knobs of the mixture bit by bit while continuing to knead with the dough hook. Once all the butter is incorporated, continue to knead for another 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover with cling film. Set aside to prove in a warm place for 2 hours, then knock back the dough by punching it a few times. Transfer to the fridge overnight.

The next day, prepare the crème diplomat. Bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla pod and seeds and the meadowsweet. Cover the pan with cling film, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar and flour until they form a paste. Soak the gelatine in cold water.

Strain the milk through a sieve into the egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Wipe the milk pan clean and pour the mixture back into it. Bring to the boil, whisking continuously, and cook out for a few minutes, then drain the gelatine, give it a squeeze to remove the excess liquid and whisk it into the mixture.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a mixing bowl and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge to chill.

To prepare the peaches, cut a small cross into the bottom of each fruit. Bring the wine, sugar and water to the boil in a saucepan just big enough to hold the peaches and keep them submerged. Add the peaches to the liquid and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.