Caramel and Walnut Brioche Scrolls

Caramel and Walnut Brioche Scrolls
Home Cooking

I can't even remember the last time I published a home cooking post. It's not that I don't cook at home anymore (although I admit that is a factor) but when I do cook, I'm very much a home cook and tend to chuck whatever I have in the fridge/pantry into a pot or pan at unspecified quantities. The end result tends to be quite tasty but nothing worth blogging about.


These scrolls are the first new and proper recipe I followed in many months. I decided to make them out of pure greed. One day, I was having coffee by myself at Koko Black in Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and I sampled their caramel walnut escargot. I ordered it so that I would have something to blog about but I ended up loving it so much that I immediately wanted another one.

I started Googling recipes for caramel scrolls that I could make at home. There are many recipes out there for dessert scrolls but I knew this one would have to be brioche based because the one at Koko Black had a dense and buttery brioche-like texture. I ended up going for this recipe but added crushed walnuts to the filling mixture.

Caramel and Walnut Brioche Scrolls
Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk, warmed slightly
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp (or 1 x 7g satchet) instant yeast
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 250g flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 75g butter, slightly softened

For the filling...

• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts

Procedure:

1.  Combine the milk and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir to mix. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes until foamy.

2. Stir in the egg yolks to the milk and yeast mixture.
3. Place the liquid ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (I used my food processor). Add the flour and salt. Mix for about 15 minutes. The dough will make a slapping sound on the side of the bowl when it is ready.

4. Incorporate the butter little by little into the dough until the butter is blended. Scrape any butter from the sides of the bowl with a spatula if needed. The dough should be shiny and smooth and coming away from the sides of the bowl.
5.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm, draught-free location fr 2 hours.

6. Knock the dough back and knead it briefly. Roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 20 x 28cm on a lightly floured surface.

7. Combine the brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon and walnuts to form a sugary paste. Spread this mixture evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly along the longer side to form a scroll.

8. Cut the scroll into 4cm slices and arrange on a lined baking tray. Brush with any remaining butter. I recommend sprinkling a bit more brown sugar over the top (it creates a gorgeous sticky glaze).

9. Leave to rise again until the brioche are puffy (about 20 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

10. Bake the brioche in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until they are light golden brown.

I tasted this scroll both warm and cold and although the idea of a freshly baked caramel scroll sounds (and certainly smells) amazing, I actually liked it better cold. I've always felt that brioche-based products firm up a bit when they've cooled down, probably because of the percentage of butter, and I enjoy that dense, buttery, chewiness.

The scrolls were exactly as I hoped for. The outside of mine looked a bit dull, which is why I recommend introducing a glaze with more butter and brown sugar. The brioche itself was great, as I just described. It was actually pretty easy to pull the dough together too. You just need a bit of patience. With all the rising, this is not something you can pull together for breakfast if you're hungry right NOW.

I think that caramel and walnut is a perfect pairing. It went wonderfully well as a filling inside the brioche scroll. This was just right as a decadent breakfast treat; just add a cup of tea for the best start to the morning.