Chef - Matt Tebbutt
Ark of Taste Product - Somerset Cider Brandy
Producer - Somerset Cider Brandy Company
Matt's ethos has always been working with the freshest, local ingredients, using recipes which showcase the quality of the produce. This Recipe is a perfect celebration of Somerset Cider Brandy; a combination of a sweet, soft brioche dough, smooth cider brandy custard with roasted apples and fresh walnuts.
Method:
Brioche dough
– In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, vanilla and yeast. Work until crumbly and evenly distributed.
– Now beat in the eggs and soft butter until you have a sticky but elastic dough.
– Cover the bowl, leave to one side for an hour to swell in size then chill over night in the fridge.
Custard
– Beat the egg yolks with the small amount of brown sugar.
– Heat the double cream to boiling point and pour over the yolks, whisk to incorporate.
– Return the egg mix to the pan and gently cook the mix, stirring constantly over a low heat until thickened.
– Remove and pour in the cider brandy to taste….don’t be mean with it!
– Strain into a wide and shallow container and put away in the fridge overnight to set firm.
Next day
– Remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Twist and break of a large golf ball sized amount per person, and roll into a round and flatten with the heel of your hand.
– Place on a non stick baking tray. Cover and leave to rise for another hour or so, somewhere warm.
– During this time, wash but don’t peel the apples. Cut in half and then each half into 6 even sized segments. Toss in the smallest amount of lemon juice and a very generous slug of the cider brandy. Leave to macerate for thirty minutes or more until the brioche is ready to bake.
– Preheat the oven to 180°C.
– When risen & ready, place the apple segments on the dough, leaving a border all around. Sprinkle modestly with some caster sugar, a little more cider brandy and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or longer until golden and risen.
– Serve the brioche straight out of the oven; place on a serving plate and spoon over some of the set cider brandy custard. Finally grate or scatter over the walnuts.
Done!
Serves 4
4 Braeburn, cox or similar apple
1 lemon juiced
Somerset cider brandy
Caster sugar
A handful of fresh or wet walnuts to grate or scatter
Brioche Dough
150g strong plain flour
5 tsp caster sugar
120g soft salted butter
1 fresh vanilla pod, split & scraped
10 g fresh yeast
2 large beaten eggs
Cider Brandy Custard
250ml double cream
50g or so of soft light brown sugar
6 egg yolks
Cider brandy to taste.....around 30-50 ml