Almond filled brioche with plum compote + "House of Cards"

After I finished watching the fourth season of “Breaking Bad” – I hope season 5 arrives soon here in Brazil – I immediately began watching “House of Cards”: I’d been wanting to watch the series ever since I first read that David Fincher was developing something for TV – I’m a huge fan and will watch anything this guy makes.

As usual, Fincher doesn’t disappoint: the series is fantastic – script, music, and the cast, everything in perfect tune. All the actors are giving excellent performances, but Kevin Spacey is the soul of the series – I might be biased because he’s one of my all time favorite actors and is part of movies I deeply love, but to me he’s kicking some serious ass as Frank Underwood, which might be one of the best characters ever played.

If the world were a fair place there would be 10 Kevin Spacey or 10 Bryan Cranston for each Robert Pattinson out there. :D

And if the world were really a fair place I would be able to eat brioche for breakfast every day, especially this almond filled version, very tender and so delicious, with a spoonful of homemade plum compote. Yum. :)

Almond filled brioche
adapted from two wonderful books: How to Bake and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Brioche:
500g strong white bread flour + extra for dusting (I used all purpose flour)
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
10g dried yeast
140ml whole milk, warm
5 medium eggs*
250g unsalted butter, very soft

Filling:
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe here
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the milk and eggs and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then on a medium speed for a further 6–8 minutes, until you have a soft, glossy, elastic dough. Add the softened butter and continue to mix for a further 4–5 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically to ensure that the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be very soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 7 hours, until it is firm and you are able to shape it. In the meantime, make the filling: place the butter, almond paste, flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, almond extract and orange flower water in a food processor and process until smooth.
Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.
Take your brioche dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead 3-4 four times, then roll it out onto a 35x20cm (14x8in) rectangle. Spread the almond filling evenly on top of the dough, then roll it like a cylinder, beginning with the longer side. Cut into 9 slices then arrange them about 2.5cm (1in) apart onto the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
When the brioche is proved, bake for 20-25 minutes or until brioche is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I only had large eggs at home, so I used 4; noticing that the dough was a bit dry, I added the 5th egg

Makes 9

Plum compote
own creation

250g plums, halved, stones removed, each half sliced into quarters
3 tablespoons granulated sugar - my plums were really sour; adjust the amount of sugar depending on the plums you have on hand
½ tablespoon lemon juice
pinch ground cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons water

Place the plums, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until plums are tender and juicy. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Serves 2-4