Yummy Mummy Lemon Curd Bread is a delicious spooky treat for Halloween. It’s made with a sweet yeast dough, filled with cream cheese and lemon curd, and topped with a spooktacular cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients:
I used the following ingredients for the bread dough: All-purpose flour, sugar, water, yeast, salt, Greek yogurt, sour cream, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Making the Dough:
I started by making a sponge consisting of water, sugar, yeast, and flour. After 15 minutes, the sponge was nice and bubbly and ready to be used.
I added the sponge to the pan of my bread machine. Then, I added the yogurt, sour cream, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and all-purpose flour. I set the bread machine to the dough cycle, and walked away.
Making the Fillings for the Yummy Mummy Lemon Curd Bread:
While the dough was rising, I made the two fillings. The first filling was a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, and all-purpose flour. I mixed all of these ingredients together and set it aside. The second filling was a lemon curd consisting of eggs, lemon juice, sugar, butter, and heavy cream.
For the lemon curd, I started by whisking together the an egg, egg yolk, eggs, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Then, I whisked in some freshly squeezed lemon juice. I set the pan over medium-low heat, and cooked the mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickened. This took around 5 minutes. After removing the pan from the heat, I whisked in some butter and cream.
I pressed the lemon curd through fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. I always strain the lemon curd because I inevitably end up with pieces of scrambled egg. Then, I pressed a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerated the lemon curd until I was ready to use it.
Putting the Yummy Mummy Lemon Curd Bread Together:
When the dough was ready, I cut it in half, and covered one piece with plastic wrap. Then, I rolled the other piece into a 10×15-inch rectangle on a floured piece of parchment paper.
I lightly scored the dough lengthwise to divide it into three sections, making sure that I didn’t cut all the way through. Then, I spread half of the cream cheese filling down the center, leaving about an inch on all sides. Next, I spread half of the lemon curd on top of the cream cheese filling.
I cut away the four corners of the dough. Then, I cut 1-inch strips down each of the long sides to the filling. Next, I folded the end pieces of dough over the filling. Starting on the left side, I gently lifted the first strip of dough and brought it diagonally over the filling. I repeated this with the first strip on the right side. After that, I continued in this manner, alternating the strips in a diagonal fashion. I repeated this process with the other half of the dough.
Yummy Mummy Lemon Curd Bread
Ingredients
Sponge
- ¾ cup 6 ounces warm water
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
- ½ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) all-purpose flour
Dough
- All of the sponge
- ½ cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) plain yogurt
- ¼ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) sour cream
- ½ cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ cup (3.5 ounces, 99 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 cups (21.25 ounces, 602 grams) all-purpose flour
- Egg wash 1 egg and 2 teaspoons water optional
- Pearl or sparkling white sugar optional
Cream Cheese Filling
- ⅔ cup (5 ounces, 142 grams) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (1.75 ounces, 50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) sour cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (1 ounce, 28 grams) all-purpose flour
Lemon Curd
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup (1.75 ounces, 50 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (0.5 ounce, 14 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (0.5 ounce, 14 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
Sponge
- In a small bowl, combine water, sugar, yeast, and flour. Stir well to combine. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and allow to proof for 15 minutes.
Dough
- Add the starter, yogurt, sour cream, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and flour to the pan of a bread machine. Program to the dough cycle. Allow the dough cycle to complete itself.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Mix together cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, and all purpose flour until smooth. Set aside.
Lemon Curd
- Whisk egg, egg yolk, sugar, and salt together in a small saucepan. Whisk in lemon juice; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and cream. Press through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to surface of curd. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Making the Lemon Curd Bread
- Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover half with plastic wrap and set it aside. Lightly score the dough lengthwise to divide it into 3 equal sections. Spread half the cream cheese filling down the center section, and top with half the lemon curd, leaving 1-inch free on all sides of the filling.
- To form the mock braid, cut 1" crosswise strips down the length of the outside sections, making sure you have the same number of strips down each side. Beginning on the left, lift the top dough strip and gently bring it across the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side with the top dough strip, so that the two strips crisscross each other. Continue down the entire braid, alternating strips to form the loaf. Repeat with second piece of dough.
- Set both loaves aside, lightly covered, to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, or until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 35-°F. Brush the loaves with egg wash (one lightly beaten egg, 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt), and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. If desired, decorate with cream cheese frosting.
- Yield: 2 Yummy Mummy Lemon Curd loaves.
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