Custard brioche

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

• 250ml (1 cup) lukewarm milk
• 80g (⅓ cup) sugar;
• 15g (2 tbsp) fresh yeast;
• 50g (3 tbsp) all-purpose flour;
• 500g (5 cups+2 tbsp) all-purpose flour;
• 1 egg;
• 80ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil;
• a pinch of salt;
• 1 lemon (zest).

For the custard:

• 300ml (1 ¼ cup) milk;
• 1 egg;
• 50 g (¼ cup) sugar;
• 35 g (2 ½ tbsp) vanilla custard powder.

For the assembling:

• Egg wash;
• Almond flakes.

METHOD

1. Start with the custard so it will have some time to cool down. Whisk ½ cup of milk with custard powder until no lumps remain.
2. In a saucepan placed on the lowest heat, whisk together leftover milk, sugar, and an egg. Pour in vanilla custard powder and cook, whisking for 8-10 minutes or until custard gets thick.
3. Pour custard into a small bowl and cover with plastic. Cool down completely and transfer into a piping bag.
4. For the dough whisk 1 cup of milk with sugar, crumbled up yeast, and 3 tbsp of flour. Set aside for 15 minutes.
5. Whisk 500 g of flour with salt and lemon zest. Pour the yeast mixture in, followed by vegetable oil and an egg. Knead the dough until smooth. Set aside for 30 minutes.
6. Spread risen dough in a square baking pan (20x20 cm) and pinch it down with your fingers, forming 3-4 rows. Fill the rows with custard, brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle almond flakes for decor.
7. Bake at 180°C/360°F for around 30 minutes.