Prep time is 45 minutes + an overnight prove in the fridge .
The amount of scrolls made below is a LOT: I often make a 3/4 mix of the dough (with the same amount of filling), and then bake the dough in a 20x30cm tray rather than individual muffin tins as described above.
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 1 tablespoon active dried yeast
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 900 g high grade flour
- 1 1/4 cups walnut pieces
- 1 cup dates , chopped
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter , diced
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 55 g full fat cream cheese
- 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
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Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the milk and heat until warm (but not hot as it will kill the yeast)
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Sprinkle over the dried yeast, cover and set aside in a warm place for a few minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
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Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved and the eggs are getting frothy.
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Pour the yeast mixture into the eggs and stir to combine.
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Add the flour to this mixture and stir to combine. This step you can either to by hand or with the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer. If by hand, vigorously stir the mixture with a metal spoon for about 10 minutes until it become glossy. If using a stand mixer, mix on a low speed for about 8 minutes until it becomes very glossy.
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The dough will be very wet at this stage, but don’t worry - you shouldn’t be able to knead it by hand. You may add a tablespoon or two extra flour near the end of mixing, but resist the urge to add much more flour! By the end of mixing, it should just start to occasionally pull away from the sides of the bowl, but will still be very sticky and will not hold together in a ball.
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Loosely cover the bowl with glad wrap and leave in the fridge overnight to prove and double in size.
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The next morning, preheat the oven to 180°C and grease 12 texas muffin tins.
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In a food processor, blitz the walnuts, dates, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon until the ingredients are all finely chopped and fully combined - it should have a sticky, coarse breadcrumb-like consistency.
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Empty the dough onto a floured bench and gently roll and press it out into a large rectangle just under 1cm thick so the longer side is facing you (about 60cm long).
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Spread the walnut-date mixture over the dough, spreading right to the edges.
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Roll up the dough into a log, starting from the longest side closest to you. Slice it into even pieces with a serrated knife - about 5cm wide or enough to end up with 12 scrolls. Place each scroll in a muffin tin. Often my log is thicker in the centre (oops!) so I put the biggest scrolls in one tin and the smaller ones in the other tin, so when they are cooking I can take the small ones out first if they need a little less time.
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Leave the tins in a warm place (like on top of the preheated oven) for 20 minutes to prove the dough. Check by poking the dough gently with your finger tip it should be puffy and spring back slowly.
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Meanwhile, make the egg wash by beating together 1 egg and a tablespoon of milk. Just before baking, lightly brush the tops of each scroll with the egg wash.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C or until golden brown.
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Take the brioche out of the tins while still warm to prevent the sugary mixture from sticking them to the bottom of the tins.
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Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately!
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Mix all ingredients together with 1-2 tablespoons of hot water as required to make a smooth, runny glaze. Dollop this over the scrolls and spread across with an offset spatula or similar.