This post is sponsored by Wilfa UK

Let’s talk about brioche, that incredibly rich and tender bread that has been enriched with milk, eggs and of course lots and lots of butter. Brioche is often considered a trickier recipe to make, because it is one hell of a sticky dough; you’re adding room temperature butter to a bread dough and combining the two, stickiness will naturally ensue. This is why most recipes suggest using a stand mixer. It’s not that it’s impossible to make by hand its more that it’s significantly easier by machine, more on that in a second.

Once you have made you’re brioche you have a whole host of recipes you can make from simple brioche loaves, buns for burgers or more elaborate bakes like I have for you today. This recipe is a braided loaf filled with a cardamom infused almond frangipane and lots of blueberries. Once braided the loaf is covered with plenty of flaked almonds and crunchy pearl sugar and If you’re getting a Scandinavian vibe, you know your international flavours because this recipe is inspired by the Norwegian Fastelavnsboller. The Norwegian equivalent of the Swedish Semla, both of these recipes are are baked in celebration of the start of lent. Normally, in Norway, this would be a brioche like bun filled with jam and cream, blueberries being a popular choice. Whilst we are a long way from Lent I love both the Swedish and Norwegian versions of these bakes and I couldn’t resist making a loaf with the all those amazing flavours. I also wanted to make something with a decidedly Norwegian influence because today marks the start of an exciting partnership with the Norwegian company Wilfa.

If you haven’t heard of Wilfa, they’re a family owned and operated kitchen appliance company founded in 1948 and based in Oslo, Norway. I first came across the company because of their stellar reputation in the world of coffee. Years ago my brother, a certified coffee obsessive, bought me one of their coffee grinders and I’ve been a fan of the company ever since. When they announced they were launching a bigger range in the UK I was excited to try out more of what they had to offer. When Wilfa approached me to work with them I asked to spend some time testing out the products before I made a decision. I ended up using the products for 6 months before I joined them as their global ambassador, I really wanted to make sure the products were as good as they said they were. As you know it is incredibly important to me to only work with and recommend brands that I actually use and believe in, hence the extended amount of time I put into testing the products. As you are reading this you can obviously tell I loved the products, they’re stellar!

Todays recipe is made with the ProBaker, Wilfa’s stand mixer. This is a bread bakers dream, I have never used a stand mixer that kneads bread dough as efficiently or as well as the ProBaker. Both the bowl and the dough hook turn, which may be unusual but which actually makes the kneading more efficient. The design of the mixer and the style of dough hook also means the dough doesn’t climb up the hook so you don’t need to constantly stop the mixer and scrape it down. It also has a very strong motor (which is guaranteed for 10 years) which means it can also manage both large mixes, up to 5 loaves of bread, and dense mixes; no risk of the motor burning out. With the power of this mixer you might expect it to be loud but the opposite is true, I found it much quieter than other mixers I have used plus much more stable. You can actually sit a glass of water on the top of the mixer whilst it’s on high speed and the water will barely wobble, this is not a mixer that will dance all over the counter.

Use the code THEBOYWHOBAKES at checkout to get 20% off any purchase from Wilfa

Blueberry, Almond and Cardamom Brioche Braid
Serves 10-12

Brioche
500g strong white bread flour
25g caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
7g fast action dried yeast
250ml whole milk
2 large eggs
100g unsalted butter, room temperature, diced

Almond Frangipane
50g unsalted butter, room temperature, diced
50g caster sugar
1 large egg
65g ground almonds
2 cardamom pods
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp plain flour

Blueberry Filling
100g blueberries
75g blueberry jam

To make the brioche place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into the bowl of your Wilfa ProBaker. Mix together briefly just to distribute. Pour in the milk and eggs and, on medium speed with the dough hook attached, mix together until a shaggy dough is formed. Knead the dough on medium speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticking to the bottom or sides of the bowl. With the mixer still running add the butter and knead until it has disappeared into the dough. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, silky and once again no longer sticking to the sides and bottom of the bowl. To test that the dough has finished kneading, stretch a little of the dough and if you can stretch it, without it tearing, so that its paper thin and you can almost see through it, then it is ready. This is what is commonly called the ‘window pane test’.

Scrape the dough out of the bowl and shape into a ball. Place the dough into a rectangular Tupperware container that has been lightly greased (I like a spray oil for this to evenly coat the whole container) and is at least double the size of the dough, to allow for the rising of the dough. Seal the container and refrigerate overnight. This allows the dough to rise slowly but also to firm up the dough making it easier to handle.

The following day make the frangipane by beating the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine. Bash the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, discarding the pod and grinding the seeds into a powder. Add the cardamom, vanilla and flour to the bowl and beat until a smooth almond cream is formed. Scrape into a piping bag and set aside. For the blueberry filling mix together the fresh blueberries and the jam and set aside.

Remove the dough from the fridge and tip out onto a lightly floured worksurface. Use your hands to deflate,
trying to keep the dough in a neat rectangle, and then roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about 30x45cm. Because you stored the dough in a rectangular container you should find this easier than if it was stored in a bowl. Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper the same size as your large baking tray. Use a knife to score the dough, dividing it into three equal 10cm wide rectangles, along the long length of the dough. Use your knife to cut out the corners of the rectangle (these pieces should be 6x10cm). You should now be left with a large strip of dough with two slightly smaller strips attached along the sides. Using your knife cut the two shorter lengths of dough into horizontal strips, keeping them attached to the central column.

Spread the blueberry filling across the central strip of dough, leaving the two ends clear. Snip the end off the piping bag and pipe the frangipane evenly over the blueberry filling. Fold the two ends of the brioche over the filling and then braid the strips, alternating left and right over the filling to create a simple braided effect. Because the braiding is done at a slight angle the last two stands of dough can be tucked under the loaf to finish the braiding in a neat fashion. Cover the loaf and set it aside until it has risen and is puffy. It is a little hard to judge the proofing on this loaf as the pieces of dough are relatively thin so judging if it has doubled can be tricky. In a kitchen that is about 24/25c it should take about an hour to an hour and a half and longer if its colder. You can use the finger poke test to see if the dough is fully proofed. Oil or flour a finger and give the dough a firm and assertive poke, if the dough springs back quickly and fully it is telling you it needs more time, if it springs back slowly and not all the way its telling you it is ready for the oven. When the brioche is almost done rising preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan).

Brush the loaf with a beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with flaked almonds and pearl sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the brioche is a rich golden brown. As the loaf is jam packed with filling don’t worry too much of the braids tear a little during baking, thats to be expected. Proofing the dough properly keeps this to a minimum. Remove the baking tray from the oven and allow the brioche to cool fully before cutting into it.

The brioche is best served on the day made but is good for a couple days after baking.