"brioche" news and stories

On occasion I will make a stop at a french bakery a few miles away to pick up something indulgent. In all honesty, I've had much better breads, but they do make a lovely array of pastries. One of their best is the brioche sucre. Brioche is a rich, yeast dough that has a high percentage of eggs and butter. Its buttery flavor is a great base for sweet pastry fillings, but the dough itself is not sweet and can be used for many savory applications, like wrapping brie for a hot, baked appetizer. These sweet buns, or sweet brioche, are a classic example of one of the sweet uses of the dough. The unbaked buns are topped with a thick coating of sugar that caramelizes and crisps during baking. The feather-light dough and the crisp sugar crust make this simple pastry a perfect breakfast treat.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

The traditional King Cake is a ring of rich pastry, similar to brioche or Danish pastry, which is filled with a rich filling, like cream cheese, marzipan or a buttery cinnamon mixture. The cake is frosted with brightly colored icing: purple to represent justice, green to represent faith, and gold to represent power. King Cakes are served some time between Epiphany and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras and can be eaten with breakfast or as a dessert.