CHRISTMAS COURONNE WREATH

Every Christmas table needs a centrepiece, and this wreath is both stunning and delicious. The tangzhong technique originates from Japan and involves making a water roux, which is then added to the main dough. It helps the baked bread retain moisture – allowing for a softer final bread, which rises higher and stays softer for longer. I love using the tangzhong technique in enriched doughs, as it has a brioche-like texture, but is much quicker to make and contains much less butter. Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

For the tangzhong paste 25g strong white flour 100ml water

For the yeasted dough

160ml whole milk

50g unsalted butter

30g caster sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

Grated zest of 1 orange

Grated zest of 1 lemon

420g strong white bread flour,

plus more for flouring 7g fast-action instant yeast

For the filling 60g dried cranberries 50g mixed peel 50g raisins Juice of 1 orange 100g salted butter 90g soft light brown sugar

45g plain flour

30g almonds, roughly chopped 30g pecans, roughly chopped

To finish 40g apricot jam 150g icing sugar (plus a little extra), mixed with a small amount of water to make a runny icing 40g chopped pistachios 8-10 glacé cherries 50g green fondant icing

Plus

Vegetable oil to grease work

surface while shaping

METHOD

First, make the tangzhong paste. Whisk the flour with the water in a pan until smooth. Place the pan on

low heat and stir continuously using a spatula. It will thicken and become pudding-like in consistency. If you have a

thermometer the paste should reach 65C before you take it off the heat. Transfer the tangzhong mix to a small bowl, cover with cling film (make sure it touches the surface of the tangzhong) and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool. Meanwhile, warm the milk in the microwave. It should be tepid. Melt the butter in the microwave. Add the milk and butter to a

large bowl, plus the sugar and salt. Take the tangzhong out of the freezer and add to the bowl along with the egg and grated zests. Whisk it

all together.

Add the flour and yeast. If using a stand mixer, knead

for 10 minutes with the dough hook attachment. If working by hand, then use a wooden spoon to combine everything into a shaggy ball of dough, then turn out on to a floured surface. Knead by hand for about 10-15 minutes. The dough will be sticky to start with, but don’t add more than a tablespoon of flour – it will gradually become less sticky as you knead it. If the dough sticks to the surface, use a dough scraper to scrape it off. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth. Place the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Leave to rise at room temperature until about doubled in size. This takes about an hour, but it greatly varies depending on the ambient temperature of

where you leave it. While the dough is rising, add the cranberries, mixed peel and raisins to a bowl, and squeeze over the orange juice. Set aside and leave to soak. Cream together the

butter and light brown sugar until smooth and paler in colour. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Stir in the nuts. Cover with cling film and set aside. When the dough has risen, turn it out on to a lightly oiled surface and knock out the air. Roll out to a roughly 45cm x 30cm rectangle (ensuring the rolling pin and surface are oiled to prevent sticking), with the longer side

facing you.

Stir the soaked fruit (including orange juice) into

the butter/sugar/nut mixture. Spoon out on to the

rectangle of dough, spreading the filling evenly.

Roll up the dough (starting from the long edge facing you) until it’s shaped

like a Swiss roll. Seal the edges by pressing with your fingers, and then cut in half lengthways, so that the filling is exposed in its layers. Twist the two pieces of dough together, and join the ends together so that it forms a circle. Transfer to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. The dough is quite wet and heavy with all the filling, so you may find it easier to do the twisting of the dough directly on your baking sheet so that the whole thing doesn’t need to be

lifted later. Loosely cover the couronne with lightly oiled cling film, and leave to rise

for 30-45 minutes – the dough should spring back about halfway when poked

with your finger. Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. It may brown quickly – so once it’s golden brown, cover it with foil to prevent further browning. Once baked, transfer to a wire rack and brush with apricot jam (mix with a tiny amount of boiling water to make it fluid enough to brush). Leave to cool completely before drizzling with icing and then scattering over the chopped pistachios and decorating with the

glacé cherries. Roll out the green fondant and cut out two holly shapes (using a plunger cutter or biscuit cutter) and arrange on the wreath, using a glacé

cherry cut into two to represent red berries. Best

served straight away.

The only tricky part of this recipe is the sugar-glass centre – but if you don’t fancy this, you can leave the centre empty, or sandwich together two biscuits with a

tasty filling.

Makes 12 INGREDIENTS

For the gingerbread biscuit 150g salted butter, room

temperature 120g dark muscovado sugar

2 tsp black treacle 2 tbsp from 1 beaten egg

2 tbsp ground ginger ¾ tbsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves 225g plain flour, plus more for dusting

For the sugar centre 225g caster sugar 150ml liquid glucose

50g water Orange gel food dye Sprinkles of your choice

For the royal icing

150g icing sugar 30g egg white (or aquafaba to

make vegan) Black and orange food dyes

METHOD

First make the biscuit dough. Add the butter, muscovado sugar and treacle to a large bowl. Mix using an electric whisk on a high speed, or by hand using a balloon whisk, until smooth and fluffy. Add the two tablespoons of beaten egg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Mix until just combined. Add the flour and combine using your hands until it forms a ball. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and roll out, then use cutters to stamp out circles (7.5cm diameter) and transfer to a lined baking tray that you can fit in the fridge. Stamp out a smaller circle (approximately 4cm) out from the lower third area of the biscuits. Use a straw (or similar) to stamp out small holes right at the top of each biscuit for a ribbon. Chill the biscuits for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5. Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes, or until just beginning to colour (make sure they are not underbaked as this will mean they may break when hanging up with ribbon). Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray, before carefully transferring to a wire rack. When the biscuits are cool, transfer them to a sheet of clean greaseproof paper, then make the sugar glass for the centre. Add the caster sugar, liquid glucose and water to a small saucepan. Stir to combine. Add a drop of orange food dye to colour. Heat on high, and don’t stir at all until the mixture reaches 150C. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the sugar syrup into the centre of the biscuits. Immediately scatter over sprinkles. Leave the sugar syrup for about 20 minutes until hardened completely, then peel off the greaseproof paper. Next, make the royal icing. Whisk together the icing sugar and egg white (or aquafaba) until smooth and a pipeable consistency. You may need to add a little icing sugar or egg white/aquafaba to adjust to get the right consistency. Spoon a third of the mixture into a piping bag. Then, divide the remaining icing between two bowls and use food dye to colour one lot black and the other lot orange. Transfer each colour to a piping bag and snip a small opening on each. Use to pipe a robin design (refer to pictures for guidance). Thread a ribbon or string through each hole created at the top, and hang on your Christmas tree.

TOP TIP

Once the leftover sugar syrup has cooled to a certain point, you will be able to stretch it with your hands into simple shapes. You can stretch the sugar into a long flat ribbon shape, and then cut it into pieces for the wings. Then, stick these on using a little royal icing.