Lemon meringue brioche polonaise

The origins are not clear for brioche polonaise, although it comes from the bakers wanting to utilize the day-old stale brioche. Back then the stale brioche would then be soaked in syrup to moisten it and filled with crème patissiere. Now I am not trying to belittle my fellow colleagues but brioche, pastry cream and meringue sounds tad too heavy for me! As one of my all time favourite desserts is lemon meringue pie I thought I will do a modern take on it using brioche. My version of it is filled with lemon curd to balance the sweetness of the syrup and the meringue. The brioche itself is pillowy and lighter than air (light in texture not calories!). I will be using classic brioche moulds for my polonaise but you can use any foil moulds you have on hand or even a muffin tin! I just love turning pie flavours into modern desserts and this one will definitely not disappoint you!

Ingredients for the brioche

• Instant yeast: Yeast will be the rising agent for the brioche. You can also use fresh yeast if you prefer but you would need 15g of fresh yeast as instant yeast is much stronger.
• Whole milk: Brioche is not the kind of bread that you will have when you are on a diet! Whole milk will give the desirable texture to this bread.
• Strong flour: Strong flour is high in gluten making it ideal for bread where dough needs to expand and rise well in order to produce a light loaf.
• Salt: Salt not only flavours the dough but also tenderises the bread.
• Caster Sugar: The brioche does not actually contain much sugar as it will get most of its sweetness from the syrup and the meringue
• Eggs: Brioche is very high in eggs and it is where is gets its light yellow colour and rich texture.
• Butter: Butter is the star ingredient for any brioche recipe. Don’t be intimated by how much butter goes into the recipe as it is what makes this bread extremely decadent. The butter needs to be slightly softened but not too soft that is melting!

Ingredients for the lemon curd

• Egg yolks: The egg yolks will act as a thickening agent for the curd and give it a lovely yellow colour and richness.
• Fresh lemon juice: Leave the bottled stuff on the shelves and use real lemons for a true lemony flavour. We will use both zest and juice so there is no waste here!
• Caster sugar: The addition of caster sugar is much needed in this tangy curd.
• Unsalted butter: The butter will be added at the end when the curd is cooked and off the stove. The butter will make the curd super creamy.

Ingredients for the Italian meringue

• Egg whites: Egg white is the base for any meringue recipe. Make sure that the egg whites are at room temperature and there is no egg yolk left as the meringue won’t be as glossy!
• Caster sugar: Caster sugar is ideal for meringues as its ultra-tiny crystals dissolve more easily and completely when you whip them with the egg whites.
• Glucose: Together with the water and caster sugar, glucose will be heated to 121°C and poured over the egg whites to create a glossy and stable meringue.

Ingredients for the simple syrup

• Water and sugar: For most simple syrups the ratio is 3 parts water and 2 parts sugar which creates a soaking syrup for sponges, cakes and poaching fruits.
• Peel of a lemon: The skin of a lemon will infuse the syrup and give it extra lemony flavour.
• Vanilla pod: One vanilla pod split in half will flavour the syrup beautifully. You don’t have to use the seeds; you can simply use the seeds for another recipe and throw the pods in the syrup.

For the brioche (makes 10 buns/60g)

• 3g instant yeast
• 35ml whole milk
• 250g strong flour
• 7g salt
• 15g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 175g butter softened

For the lemon curd   

•  4 egg yolks
• 140g caster sugar
• Zest from 2 lemons
• 160ml fresh lemon juice
• 100g butter

For the Italian meringue

• 60g egg whites (about 2 eggs)
• 100g caster sugar
• 8g liquid glucose
• 30ml water

For the syrup

• 220ml water
• 180g caster sugar
• Peel from 1 lemon
• 1 vanilla pod split lengthways

For the egg wash

• 2 egg yolks
• 10g milk
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar

How to make the brioche dough

1. In a small bowl place cold milk and yeast. Whisk together till the yeast is dissolved.
2. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the eggs to the flour mixture together with the yeast mixture and beat together.
3. Continue beating for 10-12 minutes until the mixture is elastic and comes away from the sides.
4. Add the softened butter to the dough in the machine bowl.
5. Continue to beat until the mixture comes away from the sides again around 10-12 minutes. The dough is ready when you can stretch it with your hands as thin as you can without it tearing*.
6. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the mixture to prove in a warm place for about 45 minutes until double in size*.
7. Knock back, cover with cling film, then place in the fridge for at least 1 hour but ideally over night.

How to make lemon curd

1. On a heat proof bowl over a double boiler place the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
2. Turn the heat on medium and keep whisking until the curd reaches 75°C on the thermometer*. It should have the consistency of a crème patissiere.
3. When the curd is cooked and thickened take it off the heat.
4. Whisk in the butter until fully incorporated.
5. Place in a heatproof container, cover with cling film and let it cool at room temperature before transferring to the fridge.

How to make the simple syrup

1. Place water, sugar and lemon peel in a saucepan.
2. Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the water and drop in the empty bean too.
3. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Take off the heat and leave aside until needed.

How to bake the brioche

1. Start by preparing the moulds.
2. Spay some non stick oil inside 10 moulds (10cm size) making sure they are all very well oiled.
3. Divide the dough into 60g pieces and roll a smooth ball between your hands, making sure to work as quickly as possible so that the butter will not melt.
4. Place the balls into the moulds and push slightly down the centre until they reach the side of the moulds.
5. Place the moulds on a tray and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size.
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C
7. For the egg wash mix together the egg yolks, milk, salt and sugar. Using a pastry brush gently brush the brioche with the egg wash.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

How to make the Italian meringue

1. Whisk the egg whites in the clean bowl* of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
2. Combine the sugar, glucose and water in a saucepan. Brush any excess sugar left on the sides of the pan with a clean brush and some water. Bring to the temperature of 121°C over a medium heat.
3. Gently pour the boiling syrup very slowly into the meringue while having the machine on slow speed.
4. When all the syrup is incorporated, return the machine to full speed and whisk to a stiff meringue and until the mixture is cold in temperature.

How to assemble the lemon meringue brioches

1. After the brioches are completely cool we are ready to assemble.
2. Place the now cooled lemon curd into a piping and cut a small hole.
3. Using a medium sized round nozzle make a hole at the back of each brioche.
4. Reheat the syrup over a low heat if necessary until warm.
5. Add the brioche to the warm syrup and leave to soak well; about 30 seconds.
6. Take the brioche out of the syrup and transfer to a cooling rack to get rid of any excess syrup.
7. Fill with the lemon curd.
8. Now with the round top part of the brioche facing down, dip each bread halfway into the meringue, twist and pull out to create a peak*.
9. Torch the meringue or carefully broil for about 3 to 4 minutes.
10. The brioche polonaise is best served on the same day.
11. Enjoy! 🙂

Notes

• As the dough contains a very big amount of butter it is best to let the dough rise naturally in a warm spot. A 30°C and above oven temperature would be too warm for the dough and the butter would melt.
• The best way to make sure the gluten is developed is to stretch a small piece of the dough into a square creating a ‘window’- if the dough gets very thin and translucent and doesn’t tear in that window, the gluten is well developed. This is called the windowpane test!
• I strongly recommend cooking the lemon curd over a double boiler because mixing these ingredients over direct heat quickly leads to burning.
• Even a drop of fat from the egg yolk, water or oil will prevent the egg whites from foaming. So be sure that the whisk attachment is clean too!
• If you don’t feel confident dipping the brioche into the meringue you can simply pipe some meringue on top of the brioche with a piping nozzle of your choice. The sky is your limit!

Meringue kisses,
Athina xx