Chocolate brioche with a soft custard center is a delectable pastry that combines the richness of chocolate with the pillowy texture of brioche dough, all complemented by a deliciously creamy custard filling in the center. It is a delightful treat that is perfect for any chocolate lover.
When baked, the chocolate brioche dough turns beautifully golden brown, developing a delicate crust while remaining soft and fluffy on the inside. The custard center becomes warm and luscious, creating a perfect balance of textures and flavors.
Chocolate brioche dough with a soft custard center is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, when the aroma of cocoa fills the air and the custard oozes out with each bite. It is a delightful treat that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth and is perfect for indulging in with a cup of coffee or tea.
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g all purpose flour
- 200 g eggs about 4 large
- 60 g sugar
- 10 g salt
- 150 g soft butter
- 20 g fresh yeast or 5g dry instant yeast
- 110 g milk
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 50 g stiff sourdough starter (optional)
- Zest of 1 orange (optional for more flavor)
Pastry Cream
- 75 g heavy cream
- 375 g milk
- 70 g egg yolk
- 60 g sugar
- 30 g corn starch
- 2 g salt
- 1 vanilla bean
- 75g unsalted butter
- 225g dark chocolate
Chocolate Crumble
- 50g butter
- 37g flour
- 75g brown sugar
- 15g almond powder
- 15g cocoa powder
Directions
Day 1
- 5 pm in a bowl of mixer add all ingredients for the dough and knead on slow speed until combined, then increase speed to medium high and continue kneading until gluten will develop and dough comes together. About 15-25 min total.
- Note: make sure the temperature of the dough won’t go higher than 82F/28C, otherwise gluten will start to break apart.
- 5.30 pm Cover the dough and transfer it to freezer for 1 hour.
- 6.30 pm Transfer the dough to fridge and let it rest until next morning.
Pastry Cream
- Meanwhile prepare the pastry cream by preheating milk and cream on low heat.
- In separate bowl combine yolks, sugar, cornstarch, mix until no lumps remain.
- Temper yolk mixture with warm cream mixture, whisk, put it back to a low heat. Keep stirring constantly, until the cream will get thicker, add vanilla paste or vanilla bean. Add butter. Mix well.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- Add chocolate to warm custard, melt x well until all incorporated and smooth.
- Let cool down.
- Fill our small silicone molds with pastry cream. Freeze until next morning.
Day 2
- Remove the dough from refrigerator.
- Divide the dough in 12 pieces, about 80g each.
- Cover baking tray with parchment paper.
- Roll each piece of the dough into a ball. Place them on prepared baking tray.
- Cover and let it proof for 1-2 hours at 78-84F /24-27C until they doubled in volume.
Chocolate crumble
- Prepare chocolate crumble by mixing all ingredients together. And keep it in the fridge.
Shaping
- Preheat the oven 375F
- When brioche rolls doubled or more in volume, spread egg-wash all over each roll.
- Press frozen pastry cream into a center of each brioche roll .
- Sprinkle chocolate crumble on top.
- Bake at 375 for 10 min, lower temperature to 350F and continue baking for 10-12 min more until ready.
Enjoy!
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Hi Natasha, what is the use of putting the dough in the freezer for 1 hour. Can we freezer the brioche without baking?
Thank you
Wow! Looks amazing! Just wondering if I could omit the yeast and use just the sourdough starter?
Hi,
I know you are expecting Natasha to answer… and I apologize for intruding but I think I can help you a bit while she gets the chance to get back to all the questions. Using regular sourdough starter in an enriched dough is challenging. Fat and sugar are two ingredients that directly interfere with gluten development.
You can use only sourdough but you need to work with a stiff starter, probably adding a little sugar too.
Your starter needs to be quite active, in order for it to be able to ferment the dough. There are so many ways to make a stiff starter and recommendations for a feeding schedule.
Something important is to make sure your stiff starter triples its volume in a 4hr period for it to be ready to be used successfully in an enriched dough. That’s the key factor.
Would it be possible to wrap the brioche dough over the frozen pastry cream before the final proof so that the pastry cream is in the center of the bread instead? Thanks!
HI MAMA
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