Saturday tasty treat: Sous Chef Zakhele Ndlozi’s Raspberry Cinnamon Brioche Cake

Growing up between Alberton and Soweto, Chef Zakhele Ndlozi is a former contestant of The Taste Master SA season 3. He has since risen through the ranks at Sun International after starting as a chef de partie in 2016 at The Maslow in Sandton and as a specialist Asian chef at Time Square Casino in Pretoria a year later. Some of his career highlights include personally preparing sushi for celebrity chef Siya Mtongana, who now has her restaurant at The Table Bay, and TV presenter Bonang Matheba.

With Easter weekend around the corner, he shared his Raspberry Cinnamon Brioche Cake – perfect for a tea time treat or Sunday dessert.

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Raspberry Cinnamon Brioche Cake

Ingredients

Dough:

• 300g Flour
• 4g Yeast
• 1g Salt
• 40g Castor Sugar
• 15g Milk Powder
• 150ml Milk
• 100g Butter (room temperature)
• 3 Egg Yolks

Finishing before oven:

• 1 Egg
• 2 Tsp Milk

Filling:

• 200g Fresh Raspberries (crushed)
• 250g Mascarpone (room temperature)
• 50g Icing Sugar
• 5g Vanilla Essence
• 350ml Thick Cream
• 80g White Chocolate (chopped)

Cinnamon sauce:

• 5g Cinnamon
• 5g Corn Starch
• 50g Sugar
• 200g Water

Garnish:

• 50g Fresh Raspberries
• White Chocolate

Method

Dough:

1. To activate the yeast, combine the castor sugar and lukewarm milk in a bowl and leave aside for a few minutes. When the top becomes frothy, incorporate the beaten egg yolks into the mixture.
2. In the mixer, add flour, milk powder, and salt, then add the wet ingredients and mix for 10 minutes until a very wet soft dough forms.  Then mix in the melted butter in intervals until completely combined, about 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a buttered bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm location until it has doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes.

Cinnamon sauce:

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn flour, cinnamon, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce becomes clear rather than cloudy. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
2. After the dough has risen, transfer it onto a lightly floured countertop. Roll it out to a thickness of 2cm, with dimensions of 35cm by 20cm, and shape it into a cylinder.
3. Utilizing either string or, amusingly, dental floss, slice the cylinder into disks measuring 5cm each. Grease a cake tin lightly with butter and arrange the dough pieces inside, allowing them to rise for a second time, approximately 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 165°C, then brush the dough with a mixture of egg and milk. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Use a skewer as a cake tester.  Insert it into the centre of the brioche, it should come out clean, then your brioche is cooked.  

Filling:

1. While the brioche is baking in the oven, whip cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Incorporate the softened mascarpone, icing sugar, and vanilla essence, whisking until stiff peaks form. In a bowl, crush the raspberries with a fork. Then, gently fold in the crushed raspberries and half of the cinnamon sauce to create beautiful swirls and set the mixture aside.
2. To finish, once the brioche has cooled, slice it into three layers. Spread one-third of the cream filling onto each layer, stacking them up, and finishing with the top layer. Garnish with raspberries and chocolate, then drizzle with cinnamon sauce.

Chef’s notes:

• When preparing baked goods humidity plays a role in the product you are baking. You may need to use more milk in the highveld instead of the coast.
• Each oven has different temperature settings, so after 35 minutes check your brioche using the skewer.

*This recipe was developed by Executive Sous Chef Zakhele Ndlozi and is courtesy of Sibaya Casino.

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