Brioche chinois with lemon cream

Perfect for a party snack or a family breakfast, this Lemon cream brioche chinois whose recipe I bring you today, is on the family's list of favorites. Besides being very tasty and tender, it has the advantage of being one of those pastries you can make over and over, since, by simply changing the filling cream, it will never be the same.

With an appearance similar to cinnamon rolls, the chinois is a variant of the classic brioche with an uncertain origin. Although it is not known whether it could be German (due to its resemblance to the RosenKuchen, rose cake) or whether its name is due to its similarity to a traditional Chinese bakery brioche, I wouldn't rule out attributing a divine origin, because this brioche dough with cream is always so delicious.

Rolled up, sliced, baked in a block and eaten by pinching pieces off. This is the best way to prepare and enjoy the Lemon cream brioche chinois I bring you today. As you will see in the video below, the recipe is simple, although it requires time, since the dough must rise and rest. But when it's in the oven and begins to make the kitchen smell heavenly, the waits will have been worth it. And as soon as you taste it, oh là là! It's going to win you over!

Without further ado, here is the recipe. I hope this Brioche chinois filled with lemon cream pleases you as much as it does me.

Ingredients

For the brioche

• 360 g of all-purpose flour
• 35 g of sugar
• 5 g of salt
• 3 eggs
• 15 g of fresh yeast
• 130 g of butter

For the lemon cream

• 80 g of lemon juice
• The zest of one lemon
• 80 g of sugar
• 100 g of butter
• 3 eggs
• 15 g of corn starch (maizena)

Preparation

Step by step to make the brioche:

1. In the bowl of the KitchenAid stand mixer put the flour, sugar, salt, eggs and the crumbled yeast.
2. Using the hook, knead on low speed until you see the dough is homogeneous, about 2 minutes.
3. Increase the speed a little, add the butter cut into cubes and knead for about 15 minutes (you can take a break), until you see the dough pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Remove the hook, cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest at room temperature away from drafts until it triples in volume, roughly an hour and a half. If the temperature is low, you can leave the bowl inside the oven.
5. Once the time has passed or the dough has tripled in volume, deflate it with your fist to remove air bubbles, cover the bowl with a cloth again and put it in the fridge for half an hour.

Recipe for the lemon cream:

1. Melt the butter with the lemon juice and zest in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Separately, in a bowl, mix with a whisk (without beating) the eggs with the sugar and the corn starch.
3. When the butter has melted, pour the saucepan mixture over the bowl mixture (the eggs and sugar), stirring until all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Pour the bowl mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
5. Pour the cream into a tray, cover it with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until completely cool.

Assembly of the brioche chinois:

1. Take the brioche dough out of the fridge, place it on a lightly floured countertop and roll the dough out into a rectangle with a rolling pin.
2. Spread almost all of the cream over the brioche dough, leaving a 1 cm margin unspread on the longer side of the rectangle. Reserve one tablespoon of cream to glaze the brioche.
3. Roll the dough up into a log, starting from the spread edge. Before sealing it, lightly brush the unspread edge with water or milk so the log seals. Put the roll in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make it easier to cut.
4. After 20 minutes, remove the roll from the freezer and cut slices about 4 cm thick and place them in the De Buyer perforated round baking pan with parchment paper as seen in the recipe video.
5. Cover the pan with a cloth and let the dough rest for an hour or until it doubles in volume.
6. Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
7. Beat an egg with the tablespoon of cream you reserved and gently brush (so it doesn't deflate) the brioche with it.
8. Bake at 160 °C for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Notes

• You can make this brioche with a cream of any flavor. It will be delicious with the foolproof vanilla pastry cream, or with a coffee cream, chocolate, flavored with any nut paste, or with a delicious frangipane. You have the recipe for the latter here
• Although it is not a difficult recipe, the brioche chinois requires time, so it is important to plan it a bit in advance. You can always make the cream the day before, or use less yeast and let the brioche dough rest in the fridge overnight.