Black Diamond Toast (Cream Toast)
The long-awaited Black Diamond Toast is finally made today. I find that my first attempt at any new recipe is always the most successful, probably because I put in extra effort the first time π After succeeding once, I tend to become more casual about it π€£ Since I never finish a whole box of heavy cream each time I open one, I now use high-fat heavy cream to replace butter in the toast recipe β but this requires some basic baking skills as a prerequisite. Of course, you can also use your usual go-to toast recipe for the toast part. This recipe makes two 450g toasts.
Ingredients
Steps
Place all dry ingredients except yeast into the mixing bowl and freeze together with the dough hook for at least two hours. (Adjust cooling methods according to your operational environment if needed.)
Add refrigerated egg wash, heavy cream, and milk (partially frozen into small ice cubes). Add the yeast.
Knead the dough until fully developed, ensuring the dough temperature does not exceed 28Β°C (I doubled the recipe since making it is labor-intensive and I also made two cream raisin toasts my daughters love).
Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a fermentation box, and cover it. Today, Shanghai's indoor temperature is 30Β°C, so I carried out the first fermentation at room temperature.
Manual labor time: line the loaf pan with a layer of parchment paper.
Done! How's my origami? Perfect score, right? π
Ferment until the dough is 1.5 times its size. When lightly pressed, it should not spring back or only slightly rebound.
Deflate and divide the dough into portions weighing 250β260g each. (More dough equals more bread in the finished loaf; less dough equals less. Adjust this to your preference.) Slightly round the portions and let rest for 15β20 minutes. If the dough doesn't shrink back significantly when rolled out, it's sufficiently rested.
Take a well-rested dough portion, lightly pat it to deflate, and roll it out.
Turn it horizontally.
With the smooth side down, roll it out to be no wider than the loaf pan's length.
Roll it up. You can place the loaf pan in front of you to compare and adjust the length.
Place the roll in the center of the loaf pan. Positioning it correctly ensures a visually appealing cross-section later. When the dough looks slightly puffed, you can start preparing the cocoa mixture. If room temperature is high and you're slow, you can begin making the cocoa batter right after placing the dough roll in the pan.
Heat the corn oil to about 80Β°C, pour it into a bowl containing cocoa powder, and stir with a small whisk until smooth without lumps. Let it cool to body temperature. βββ Then add warm milk (also body temperature). Stir until fully mixed and set aside.
Whip the whole eggs with sugar (added in three batches) until ribbon stage β the pattern from the whisk takes 7β8 seconds to disappear.
Sieve in the low-gluten flour in batches. Fold after each addition until fully combined.
Gradually pour in the cocoa liquid while folding.
Fold into a smooth, even cocoa cake batter.
As you can see from earlier, the dough has expanded significantly. Do not over-proof.
Pour half of the cocoa mixture into the pan and tap it to ensure it adheres well to the dough.
Pour in the remaining cocoa mixture and tap the pan again to release air bubbles.
After ten minutes, use a small knife to score a line down the center.
With ten minutes remaining in baking, adjust the top heat if necessary. I set mine to 150Β°C, while keeping the bottom heat unchanged at 170Β°C.
Once baked, remove from the oven and tap the pan. Transfer the toast to a cooling rack using the parchment paper.
Remove the parchment paper and let it cool.
Slice to check your results β perfect! Although there are some noticeable air pockets due to inadequate deflating and rolling. Better luck next time!