Lifebuoy Kouglof

It's up to you.

17 detailed steps from preparation to service.

1. Prepare the raisins and paste ingredients

   Put the 100 g of raisins in a bowl and cover with warm water for 20 minutes. Weigh 350 g of flour, 70 g of sugar, 4 g of salt and 7 g of dry yeast; read its package, as some yeasts need to be rehydrated. Cut the 120 g of soft butter from the dough into cubes, distinct from the 20 g reserved for the mold.

2. Measuring milk and breaking eggs

   Heat the 120 ml of milk to about 30 °C, checking with a thermometer: it should be warm and not hot. If the manufacturer requests rehydration, mix the yeast with part of this milk according to its instructions, without adding any additional milk. Break the 2 eggs one by one in a small bowl, check the shells and beat them briefly with a fork.

3. Forming a first paste

   Pour the flour and sugar into the vat of the robot equipped with a hook or into a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs and milk, then the yeast prepared or dried according to its instructions; put the salt on the side before mixing immediately. Work at a small speed, or with a spoon and then by hand, until no dry flour remains at the bottom.

4. Knead before incorporating butter

   Kneaded about 8 minutes at slow to medium speed. By hand, fold the dough towards you, push it with the palm and turn it a quarter turn, for 10 to 12 minutes. It must begin to become smoother and elastic; resists the urge to add a lot of flour if it still sticks.

5. Stir in the butter cubes gradually

   Add 120 g of soft butter in three servings, kneading between each addition. Wait until the first portion is absorbed before adding the next; the dough may seem defeated at first and then gather. Kneaded again about 8 minutes with the robot, more by hand, until a soft and elastic paste that partially detaches from the walls.

6. Dry and distribute the raisins

   Drain the raisins in a strainer and spread them on clean paper or cloth to remove surface water. Add them to the dough and mix slowly for 1 minute, or fold the dough several times by hand. The raisins should be spread everywhere, without adding their soaking water to the dough.

7. Let double the volume

   Gather the dough into a ball in the bowl and cover it to prevent a crust from forming. Let rise about 1 h 30 in a temperate room, away from drafts. Observe the volume rather than the watch: the dough must roughly double; if the piece is fresh, extend the rise instead of placing it against a burning source.

8. Butter the mould and arrange the almonds

   Use the 20 g of butter reserved for the mould to carefully coat a 22 cm kouglof mould, including the grooves and the central chimney. Place the 20 whole almonds at the bottom, distributing them in the hollows; if the number of grooves differs, distribute the almonds regularly. The butter helps to maintain them during the placement of the dough.

9. Degassing and installing the dough

   Gently press the fist into the raised dough to flush out some of the gas, then fold it two or three times. Shapes a ball and opens a hole in the center with the fingers to let the chimney of the mold through. Place the dough in the mold, spread it around the fireplace and even its height without crushing it heavily.

10. Let it swell in the mold

    Cover the pan slightly and let rise for about 1 hour, until the dough reaches three-quarters of its height. Preheat the oven to 175 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) towards the end of this rise, with an oven rack at the bottom of the oven. Remove the cover before baking; the dough should be inflated, not dried on the surface.

11. Cook and control the heart of the brioche

    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. From 35 minutes, plant a long skewer in a thick part, without touching the fireplace: it must come out without raw paste glued. If the top color too fast, cover with a sheet of baking paper, without blocking the circulation of air; prolong a few minutes if the center remains raw.

12. Unmold and let cool

    Pull out the mold with oven gloves and wait 10 minutes. Lay a grille on it, hold the whole with the hands protected and then turn it over with an assured movement; gently lift the mold. Let it cool completely at least 1 hour before the decor, because the chocolate would flow too quickly on a hot brioche.

13. Prepare the brioche for the tablecloth

    Slightly powder the sides of the cold kouglof with 20 g of icing sugar through a small strainer, without burying the almonds. Put it on its serving plate. Weigh the 12 g of freeze-dried raspberry powder in two parts of 6 g; the first will tint the chocolate, the second will finish the pink strips.

14. Melt and separate the white chocolate

    Chop the 120 g of white chocolate and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Pour 2 cm of water into a saucepan, heat until it simmers and then lower the heat. Set the bowl over the pan without letting it touch the water. Stir with a spatula and remove as soon as the last pieces melt. Wipe the bottom of the bowl: no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Weigh 40 g of melted chocolate in a second small bowl and keeps the remaining 80 g white. Add 6 g of raspberry powder to the reserved 40 g, then mix gently until a homogeneous pink color is obtained, without adding juice or water.

15. Napper the summit in white

    Place the 80 g of white chocolate on top of the crown with a spoon. Spread following the ring, then let down some short runs outwards. Keep the central hole open and the fluted sides widely bare; the cover should not hide the brioche shape or almonds.

16. Drawing the Pink Bands

    Using a small spoon or wide-open cornet, divide the pink mixture into four to six wide strips on the crown. Each strip starts from the outer edge and joins the edge of the hole, like a ribbon laid flat on the white layer. Spread gently if the mixture is thick, without adding liquid or making a layer on all sides.

17. Allow to be taken and served

    Sprinkle the remaining 6 g of raspberry powder only on the still-flexible pink strips. Let the decor take 30 minutes in a cool room, then cut the brioche with a bread knife. The crown remains directly on its plate and the decor remains a simple alternation of white and pink areas.