This is the ultimate weekend-away dessert for a dozen (16 actually). It has apres-ski vibes, or in my case, avant, durant and apres.
You could halve this recipe if you don’t need quite that much, but let me warn you – it reheats embarrassingly well and is a viable breakfast.
To consume, wear woolly socks and have a crackling fire in the vicinity.
Lucy Tweed’s sticky date brioche
Serves 16
Prep time: 1 hour 20 minutes, plus 2.5 hours’ rising
Cooking time: 30–40 minutes
Ingredients
125ml (½ cup) whisky
12 medjool dates, seeds removed and finely chopped
3 tsp instant yeast
600g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting the cake tin
250ml (1 cup) lukewarm milk
90g (1/3 cup) softened salted butter, cubed
110g (½ cup) firmly packed soft brown sugar
1 tsp fine salt
4 egg yolks
30g (2 tbsp) melted salted butter, plus extra for greasing the cake tin
1 egg, whisked, for glazing
Butterscotch sauce
90g (⅓ cup) salted butter
330g (1½ cups) firmly packed soft brown sugar
250ml (1 cup) single (pouring) cream
Optional ingredients
Ice-cream
Method
Heat the whisky and the dates in a small saucepan with the lid on over medium heat until steaming, then set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook combine the yeast and flour. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the lukewarm milk until it’s all combined. Next, add the softened butter a little at a time until incorporated into the dough. Add the sugar, salt, whisky and dates, then the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue to mix on low until the texture is smooth and stretchy, around 8 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 2 hours in a warm place; it should double in size.
Grease a 24cm x 38cm oval cake tin, 4cm deep, with butter and dust with some flour, tapping out any excess.
Knead the dough again for a few minutes then divide it into 16 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place in the cake tin. Brush each ball generously with melted butter.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise again for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced.
After the dough has risen again, press your fingertips into it to create cavities and allow the melted butter to sink in.
Brush the balls of dough with the whisked egg and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the brioche is golden brown.
When the brioche is almost cooked, make the butterscotch sauce. Place the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat and stir until melted and paste-like. Gradually add the cream, stirring to combine.
Bring to the boil and cook for 6–8 minutes, or until thickened slightly.
While the brioche is still hot, cut it into 16 pieces in the tin.
Slowly pour half the hot butterscotch sauce over the brioche, letting it soak into the cuts.
Place the remaining sauce in a jug to serve alongside the brioche. Ice-cream encouraged.
Images and text from Every Night of the Week Veg by Lucy Tweed, photography by Lucy
Tweed. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.