~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen
Makes 8 (rest of dough and pastry cream can be used to make Danish Pastries)
Brioche dough
Make 1/2 recipe the day before making Cherry Snails. Half recipe measurements are in parentheses). Make whole recipe if you wish to make a loaf of brioche bread or use for other recipes.
1 1/2 cups (3/4 cup) lukewarm water
1 tablespoon (1-1/2 teaspoons) Active Dry, or Quick-Rise yeast
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons (1-1/2 to 1-3/4 teaspoons) kosher salt
8 (4) large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (1/4 cup) honey
1 1/2 cups or 3 sticks (3/4 cup or 1-1/2 sticks) butter, melted
7 1/2 cups (3-3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
Pastry Cream (Can be made a day ahead) Vanilla pudding may be substituted but I highly recommend using this recipe!
1 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon extract)
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
1-1/2 tablespoon butter
Place milk in medium saucepan over medium heat. Split and scrape the vanilla bean, and add bean to pan along with scrapings. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in separate bowl, beat together sugar, cornstarch and yolks until mixture turns pale yellow. Gradually pour milk into yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Return mixture to medium heat and whisk continually until mixture thickens and just comes to a boil being careful not to let it get too thick. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter. Remove vanilla bean. Pour cream into a bowl, and place plastic wrap directly over the cream. This will prevent a skin from forming while the cream cools. Place in refrigerator to cool.
Cherry Snails
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup rum
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
About 1 teaspoon water
Drop of pure vanilla extract
Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.Place the dried cherries in a small saucepan and cover hot water. Allow to soak for about 4 minutes. Drain and return to the saucepan. Warm them over medium heat, stirring. When the raisins are very hot, remove from the heat and add the rum. Standing back, ignite the rum. (Fire starter guns work perfectly). Keep stirring cherries until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. The cherries and rum an be kept in a covered jar for up to 1 day.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end facing you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving a 1-inch border free all around. Scatter the cherries evenly over the pastry cream, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over them. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the rest.
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends where there is no filling, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. I like to rinse the knife after each cut. Put the snails on the lined baking sheet(s), leaving about 1-1/2 inches between them for rising space.
Lightly cover the snails with wax paper and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume (about 90 minutes) They should be puffy and soft.
When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven to 375F. If using two baking sheets you can divide the oven into thirds with the racks or if using one rack, place it in the center of the oven.
Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you're using two, from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes), or until they are puffed and richly browned. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
You may glaze the the snails at this point, if desired. Place one of the baking sheets under the cooling rack to catch the drips. Add the confectioners' sugar to a small bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of water. Add the vanilla extract. If the icing won't drip off the spoon easily, then add another drop or two of water. Then drizzle the icing over the warm snails.
Brioche Dough Adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
Pastry Cream Recipe formerly found on the website of Le Rêve Patisserie & Café
Cherry Snails Inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Brioche Raisin Snails from Baking, from My Home to Yours