Brioche suprême, cont'd

Part two: fillings and garnishes

Welcome back for Brioche suprême, part two: fillings and garnishes. If you missed the dough and backstory portion, everything is archived on the Sassafras Curio. Be sure to have a look. In the meantime, as always, thanks for reading, supporting, and sharing.
Happy Spring — Martin

Welcome to the fillings and garnishes portion of the show. This is the part where you, dear reader, can put on something sparkly and high kick your pastry filling fandango. I’ll get you started with some basic moves for things like pastry cream, whipped cream, ganache, or meringue, but my hope is that you’ll take my steps as mere examples and cut your own rug. The floor is yours.

Now, if you feel stumped, dance-phobic, or not quite sure whether to lead or follow with all of this, here’s an example of how you might proceed.

Recently I was rummaging in our freezer and saw the remnants of our rhubarb from last spring. I need to use that, I thought. Chilling in the fridge was a curd I had just made with a leftover bottle of key lime juice. Seeing the rhubarb and considering the curd, I had an idea that went something like this:

Key lime curd: bright, puckery, buttery, and smooth. Rhubarb: acidic and tart, but if sweetened and cooked down, able to add a punch of color to contrast the bright yellow curd. Maybe that’s my filling, I think?

I chop the frozen rhubarb into pieces, add to a pot with sugar, and simmer until thickened. I need an aromatic to soften and round out all the acid. I look around and reach for rose extract. I pass the result around the house, polling opinions, and the consensus comes back that rhubarb perfumed with rose is a winner.

I chill the compote and decide to lighten the lime curd with lime-infused whipped cream. The texture I want should fall between rich pudding and light whipped cream – something like a mousseline. I'll pipe some of the cooked rhubarb in after filling the pastries, and I'll make a white chocolate ganache (tinted pink in a nod to the rose) for garnish, topped with crushed pistachios for color and crunch.

I make the whipped cream and add lime zest. I cut the curd with the whipped cream, starting at a 2:1 ratio, curd to cream. I taste it. It’s good but it’s not light enough – too “stodgy,” and too much pucker. So I go to 1:1, curd to cream, and it’s perfect. I could eat a bowl of it but I stick to a spoonful: light, buttery, full of zing, ready for pastry.

But I look at the cooled rhubarb compote. While the flavor is outstanding … the color isn’t right – it’s more greenish-brown than the red I need to see when the pastry is cut open. So, rhubarb is out. I consider replacing it with strawberry jam, but that doesn't complement the pistachio garnish. Then remember that I have rose petal jelly. That seals the deal — to me, rose and pistachio are soul mates.

Rose-pistachio suprême filled with lime curd cream

So here’s the full routine. Lime whipped cream mixed 1:1 with lime curd. I pipe it into the suprêmes, alternating with just a little rose petal jelly. To finish, I make a white chocolate ganache (dyed light pink) and dip the tops (or pipe a drip) and finish with crushed green pistachios. A dusting of confectioners sugar heightens the laminations and voila, done. Rose-pistachio suprême with a lime curd.

So that’s my dance. Or, at least one routine. And it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Rather than piping, you can simply cut open the back of the pastry and fill it with store-bought chocolate pudding and whipped cream (just note that the store-bought whipped cream does not hold up out of the canister, it collapses, so make your own). This jiffy version will likely be as good as my Fred Astaire routine.

Chocolate-cinnamon suprême with ganache and cocoa nibs

Before we get to some recipes, here are a few more notes to consider.

Every suprême filling that I’ve made has started with either the basic vanilla pastry cream from my book (a reduced-batch version is below) or something with a similar texture, such as the curd I mention, above. The vanilla pastry cream can be infused with ginger, citrus, or other flavors, even lavender, or bergamot. Or, for a chocolate version, simply add good chocolate after the cream thickens, once it’s off the heat. Once chilled, as with the lime curd, I add an equal portion of whipped cream (or less for more intensity, you decide).

To make a raspberry filling, I add fresh raspberries (or jam) and freeze-dried raspberry powder (I grind up the freeze-dried raspberries you can find in the dried fruit section at Target) to the vanilla pastry cream (after chilling), then fold in whipped cream until I reach a consistency I like. Garnish with chocolate ganache, meringue, or simply dust with confectioners’ sugar and call it a day.

Garnishes. For the chocolate garnish I use a ganache that’s equal parts good chocolate (60% cocoa) and heavy cream. I have to warn you, I think that nailing the drip (not too hot, not too cold) was one of the hardest parts of this process. If you’re set on learning the perfect drip, have a look at this video from Cupcake Jemma: it’s excellent.

Raspberry suprême with meringue, raspberry cream filling, and raspberry powder

For the raspberry, I used a meringue of equal parts egg whites and sugar with a small amount of cream of tartar for stability. After piping in the filling (described above), I dipped into the meringue and then used a hand torch to toast. After toasting I dusted with a 50/50 blend of raspberry powder and confectioners sugar. All of this is optional, of course. You could simply pipe whipped cream and add a couple raspberries – done.

Once you’ve decided on fillings and garnishes and have everything ready, it’s time to fill the suprêmes. Begin by establishing what will become the bottom of the roll. Some have a natural flat spot where the end of the wrapped dough attaches. If the roll doesn’t feel like it will sit naturally on that spot, gently run it across the zester side of a box grater to create a slightly flat but unnoticeable footer. Then on the exact opposite side of the roll (if viewed as a clock with the bottom at 6:00, the top would be 12:00), poke two holes with a chopstick and move the stick around inside the roll to clear space for filling. Take your time with this, clearing as much of the interior structure to create a void. If done properly, you should be able to fit between 50 and 70 grams of filling. (If you place the empty suprême on a scale and tare it, then add filling, you’ll be able to track the amount added.)

To fill, use a pastry bag fitting with a filling tip. Place the tip into one of the holes, and add the filling into the depth of the pastry until it fills and begins to exit the second hole.

For the chocolate version, use chocolate cream filling, then add the ganache chocolate drip edge (details below with the ganache recipe), and garnish with cocoa nibs.

For the raspberry version, use raspberry cream filling, then dip the pastry into meringue, then toast with a hand torch. I like to dust them with raspberry powder that I've blended with an equal amount of confectioners’ sugar to lighten the color.

Ok. Enough talking. Recipes are below for pastry creams, lime curd, ganache, and meringue. That should be enough to get you grooving.

Martin

Supporting recipes

Note: This is a very small batch of pastry cream. Be careful to stir constantly and avoid too much heat or it will start to curdle. If, in spite of your best attempts, the texture isn’t perfectly homogenous, simply strain it and proceed. Or, double the batch (which gives a slightly larger margin for error) and enjoy what’s left over as chilled pudding or freeze and eat like ice cream.

Vanilla Pastry cream, chocolate pastry cream

Milk, 150g

In a small pot bring the milk to a simmer.

Sugar, 32g
Cornstarch, 9g
Salt, fine, 1g
Egg yolks, 50g

While the milk heats (keep a close eye on it), stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the egg yolks and whisk until homogenous.

Add half the warm milk to the egg mixture to temper it. Stir vigorously to combine, then whisk the tempered milk and yolk mixture back into the pot.

Return to the heat and stir constantly until thickened.

Butter, 9g
Vanilla, 8g

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Chocolate, 60%, semi-sweet, 38g (use whatever chocolate you prefer, even white)
Cinnamon, ground, 2g

To make chocolate pastry cream, add the chocolate and cinnamon and stir until melted and homogenous. Cover well and chill until use.

Lemon Curd*

3 egg yolks
Lemon zest, ½ lemon
Lemon juice, 56 grams
Sugar, granulated, 78 grams

Add the yolks, zest, juice, and sugar to a small pot. Heat over medium-low, whisking constantly, until thickened. About 5 minutes.

Butter, unsalted, 56g, cut into pieces

Whisk in the butter. Cover and chill until firm.

*Recipe adapted from Serious Eats

Meringue

You can make any amount of meringue you like, just maintain the proportion of equal weights of the whites and sugar.

Egg whites, room temperature, 50g
Sugar, granulated, 50g
Cream of tartar, 1g (¼ t)

Whisk the whites with the cream of tartar until soft, loose peaks form. Add the sugar in stages and beat until stiff peaks. Note, don’t do this too far in advance, preferably at the last moment.

Ganache

Chocolate, 60%, semi-sweet, 50g
Cream, heavy or whipping, 50g

Add the chocolate and cream to a small bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Stir briefly then continue to pulse in 5-second intervals (in my microwave this process takes 20 to 25 seconds maximum), stirring between and checking to see that the chocolate melts. While stirring the mixture will become homogeneous. To create the chocolate drip, add the ganache to a squirt bottle and let it cool for a few minutes. As the ganache cools it will run less quickly. Test the drip on a plate or similar to determine if it’s ready to apply.

Whipped Cream

Cream, heavy or whipping, 200g
Confectioners’ sugar, 20g
Vanilla, 5g

In a cold bowl whisk the cream until it begins to thicken, then add the sugar and vanilla. Continue whisking to medium peaks (firm but not grainy). Reserve cold until use.