Cream Cheese Brioche (HM)

In the past week or so I have done a lot of creams and desserts with cream: pastry cream, torta della nonna (with pastry cream), banana mousse tiramisu....Today, I really wanted to make something a bit more simple, light, I would say even humble. That's how I came out with this recipe. No creams, no icing, no big messes...just these plain, light and fluffy brioches.



Don't let the name I gave them trick you though: they don't taste like cream cheese at all! What the cream cheese does, instead, is to give them this spectacular softness that make them perfect both for breakfast as well as for an afternoon snack.

If the promise of taste and fluffiness were not enough to convince you about the grandness of these brioches, you should also consider the fact that they are made without eggs, therefore being not only very light but also suitable for those who are allergic.

Searching through my favorite blogs I found a similar recipe at Dulcis in Furno, where instead of cream cheese you find ricotta. I think it's a wonderful idea, except that here I really cannot find a tasty ricotta like the fresh one we have in Italy. You should still check out that recipe! (if you scroll down there is an English translation)

Cream Cheese Brioches

Ingredients: 

yields 14-15 small brioches
170 gr (6 oz) all purpose flour
50 gr (1.75 oz) sugar
70 gr (2.5 oz) cream cheese

15 gr (0.5 oz) melted butter
50 ml (1.7 fl oz) warm milk + 3 or 4 extra tbsp for brushing
5 gr (1 tsp) sugar

7 gr (1 and 1/2 tsp) instant yeast  

few drops of vanilla extract 

Dissolve the yeast in some of the milk, together with one teaspoon of sugar. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients with the dissolved yeast and the remaining milk until the dough is homogeneus. Don't get scared if the dough seems to be a bit too fluffly as long as it stays compact. 

Place the dough in a clean bowl,  cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (at least 2 hours).

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface into a 10-12inch square then roll. Using a string cut into 1/2inch thick piece. Place them onto the baking sheet covered with baking paper, cover and let rise until doubled volume. 

Brush the risen dough with a mixture made of 3-4 tbsp of milk and just a few drops of vanilla extract. 
Bake for 20 minutes maximum or until lightly golden brown. (make sure not to overbake them as I almost did!)
Let cool on a rack. Serve them plain or with some butter or jam.

Check out all the other goodies of this week at YeastSpotting