A Cup of Tea and a Snail, a Brioche Raisin Snail of course!

I got a lovely package in the mail this week from my friend, Honey, who lives in Oregon. (How could someone named Honey fail to be sweet?) I was so excited when I saw the postman tripping down the drive with it in his hands and I could hardly wait to get it inside so I could open it!!! Honey had told me that something was coming, but not what it was and I was thoroughly delighted when I opened the box, and found the loveliest of lovely teapots inside, in a beautiful butter yellow china. It was an "Alice in Wonderland" kind of a teapot and the colour was absolutely perfect for in my kitchen here at Oak Cottage . . . blue gingham and butter yellow go perfectly together, don't you think??? And the tea, well, how thoughtful was that? Constant Comment, perfectly orangey and spicey, and a wonderful memory of home . . . JUST perfect also to go with this week's Tuesdays With Dorie challenge!!!

This week's challenge was Brioche Raisin Snails, as chosen by Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody . I was really excited by the thoughts of baking these and for once chose to make them early, and it's a good thing I did too, because, there were several elements included in the recipe and it was definitely not a "make it in one day" type of a challenge!

You also really needed to have a kitchen aid mixer to really be able to cope with it. I say that, only because I am lazy, and the thought of beating the batter with a wooden spoon for hours just did not appeal to me. I don't have a kitchen aid mixer at home (it is on my want list though) but they do have one up at work, so thankfully I was able to create the dough up there with no problems. (The cat being away and the mice being able to play and all that!)



I found it to be rather a sticky dough though, and I had my reservations when I put it in aside to rise, as to whether this was actually going to turn out for me or not, but I kept my doubts to myself and whispered a little wish to the baking fairy that it would all work out! I could hardly wait to get stuck in to flaming those raisins, but I made myself wait until after I had made the pastry cream.

Making pastry cream was one of my most favouritest things to do when I was at culinary school, and not just because I got to lick the spoon and scrape out the pot when it was done either!

Pastry cream is one of those magical things. It's simple to do, uses simple ingredients and always turns out for me. Silky and smooth without being overly sweet, it's rich and delicious and, well . . . absolutely moreish!!! It is one of those things that you can play with a bit and vary the flavour with just a few additions, but for this recipe we left it plain. As I was whisking it together I was imagining just how good it was going to be in the snails, along with those flamed raisins.

The raisins, the raisins! My most favouritest part! I put the drained raisins into the pot and place the pot on top of the AGA to dry them out, then poured on the rum. (Have I mentioned that rum and raisin ice cream is my most favouritest ice cream flavour in the world? Well, NOW you know!!) I chose a long handled match to light them ablaze and it's a good thing I did! Woa baby! That was some big time flame going on there. I had forgotten to read the stand back bit, but thankfully I was not hovering right over the pot or I'd have had to go to church on Sunday without any eyebrows! I grabbed the longest handled wooden spoon that I could and stirred and stirred and stirred. Finally they went out, but for a moment there, I had visions of the whole house going down in a rum and raisin inferno! (what a glorious way to go!)

I put all the ingredients . . . the pasty cream, the raisins . . . into the fridge to wait with the brioche dough until all was ready to assemble. I was still quite nervous about that sticky dough and whispered another little wish to the baking fairy once more.

All my fears were for naught though, as when I went to roll out the dough the next afternoon it rolled out perfectly on a floured board! The pastry cream was a little hard to spread. I should really have taken it out earlier and let it warm to room temperature first, but eventually it did spread as it warmed up, and then I sprinkled the lovely rum soaked raisins over the top. (I am a freak of nature, I love raisins in everything!) I sprinkled on the cinnamon sugar and then I rolled it up as tightly as I could, next came the slicing part . . .



I hadn't yet discovered all the tips posted on the Tuesdays With Dorie page so I did like the recipe asked, and began to cut them using my chef's knife . . . ugh!!! What a chore. I had to flour the knife repeatedly after each cut, the idea of using dental floss never entering my mind, but when later on I read the tip to do just that, I had a DOH! kind of moment! (no pun intended!)



I stuck them into my oven as it was the warmest place in the house for them to rise and waited patiently. They rose somewhat, but not as high as I would have hoped. I had made tiny little brioche's with the other half of the dough and they did not rise at all, or at least not how I would have liked. Never mind, I baked it all anyways and was rewarded with some scrummy snails at the end for Todd and myself, and the birds had a lovely treat of pretty little brioches, which they gobbled up only slightly quicker than Todd and I did the snails!



I was a bit disappointed in the flavour of the raisins though . . . as I could barely detect the rum flavour in them at all, and if I do make these again, I will certainly add more cinnamon as that was also barely detectable. I guess, even though these were not as high as I would have thought they should be, they were not altogether bad, and the satisfied smile on Todd's face as he tucked into them was reward enough for all my hard work, but these are definitely an eat on the day kind of baked treat as they definitely lost something when stored overnight. Never mind . . . these are so good you could easily scarf down the lot like a glutton on the day of baking anyways. I had planned to take them to the Young Women at the church on Thursday night for a treat, but am grossly ashamed to say . . . they did not make it . . .



*Brioche Raisin Snails*
Makes about 12

1 cup moist, plump raisins
3 TBS dark rum
1 1/2 tsp sugar
scant 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche Loaves, chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe)*
1/2 recipe Pastry Cream*
For the Optional Glaze:
3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp water
drop of pure vanilla extract

Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water and let them steep for about 4 minutes, until they are plumped. Drain the raisins, return them to the saucepan and, stirring constantly, warm them over low heat. when the raisins are very hot, pull the pan from the heat and pour over the rum. Standing back, ignite the rum. Stir until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. (the raisins and rum can 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 toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving a 1 inch strip bare on the side fartherst from you. Scatter the raisins over the pastry cream and sprinkle the raisins and cream with the cinnamon sugar. 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 for 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 remainder.)

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they are very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snailes on the lined baking sheet, leaving some puff space between them. Lightly cover them with waxed paper and set the baking sheet in a warm place until the snails have doubled in volume - They'll be puffy and soft - about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Getting ready to bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven, depending on the number of baking sheets you have, either centre the rack iin the oven of position the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat the oven to 180*C/375*F.

Remove the wax paper and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you are using two, from top to bottom and from back to front after 15 minutes) or until they are puffed and richly browned. Using a metal spatula, transfer the snails to a cooling rack.

To Glaze: Put a pice of wax paper under the rack of warm rolls to act as a drip catcher. Put the icing sugar in a small bowl and stir in the teaspoon of water. Keep adding water drop by drop until you have an icing that falls from the tip of the spoon. Add the vanilla extract, then drizzle the icing over the hot snails.



Are you hungry yet?
**If you are interested in making these and want the recipes for the pastry cream and the brioche dough please e-mail me and I will send them to you post haste! (Or you could buy the book on Amazon. It's well worth the money!)