Gâteau á la Crème

This month, the Bread Baking Babes (12 awesome women from around the world who bake a specific yeasted recipe every month) are making Gâteau á la Crème. The Kitchen of the Month chooses the recipe and the Babes bake and post on the same day of the month. This month the Kitchen of the Month is Notitie van Lien, (click on her page to see links to all of the Babes' variations) and she chose this recipe from Kitchen Secrets by Raymond Blanc.

I am baking along as a Bread Baking Buddy. To find out how to be a Buddy, check out Lien's page.

This is a brioche dough with a citrus flavored filling that bakes along with the dough. It makes a wonderful breakfast pastry as well an impressive dessert.

The only issue I had with the recipe is that it seems that my oven rack slopes ever so slightly toward the back so some of the filling spilled out of the bread. Fortunately it did not end up underneath the pastry and get it all soggy. I've since seen that a couple of the Babes used cake or tart pans. That might be a good idea next time.

I also halved the original recipe, used a mixture of sour cream and heavy cream instead of creme fraiche, and used tangelo juice and orange oil instead of the lemon juice and lemon zest called for in the original recipe.

Gâteau á la Crème

Makes one 9 inch gâteau.

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

125 grams bread flour

2 grams sea salt

1 generous T sugar

3/4 tsp instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)
1 3/4 eggs (the other 1/4 egg will be used for the glaze)
75 g unsalted butter

Filling

3 egg yolks

30 grams sugar

1 T orange or tangelo juice

zest of 1/2 small orange, or 1/8 tsp orange oil

1 C creme fraiche or 1/2 C sour cream plus 1/2 C heavy cream

Glaze

1/4 beaten egg

Decorating sugar (I used pearl sugar)

Instructions

To make the dough:

• Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a spoon or the paddle attachment on slow until all of the ingredients are combined and the eggs are fully incorporated. 
• Knead on medium speed for about five minutes, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the bowl. This is a small amount of dough, so you may have to scrape the bowl several times. 
• Slowly add the butter in pieces and knead for another five minutes. I used the paddle attachment, not the dough hook.  
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise for one hour.
• Refrigerate the dough for one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the filling:

• Mix the creme fraiche and the cream (if using) with a whisk and set aside.
• Combine the egg yolks, sugar, oil or zest, and juice in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the cream mixture and continue to mix until fully combined

Assemble and bake:

• On a rimmed baking sheet, shape the dough into a 9 inch circle with a 1 inch "lip" all around to contain the creme filling.
• Cover and let it rise for about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Prick the dough "well" (not the rim) with a fork several times.
• Glaze the outer rim with the egg and sprinkle with decorative sugar.
• Place the pan on the oven rack and pour in the filling. Gently slide the rack into the oven and close the door. 
• Bake for 25 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are golden. 

Enjoy!

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