Blackberry Poppyseed Twist

Think giant cinnamon roll but fill it with a browned butter, poppyseed, blackberry filling and top it with a pomegranate glaze. This Blackberry Poppyseed Twist is basically the perfect Sunday brunch bake.

Can this be made in advance?

Yes! You can make it all in one day or make it across three. While I do recommend baking it the day you plan to serve it, it can be baked the day before. If you have some foresight but limited time each day, I recommend making the blackberry poppyseed butter on day one, then assemble the twist in the afternoon of day two, place it in the fridge overnight, and bake it in the morning of day three.

What can I use instead of a cast iron pan?

If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can also use a 9″ or 10″ springform or metal cake pan!

Do you have to grind poppyseeds first?

Ok for the filling, definitely, for the dough it’s a little bit more up to you. I don’t grind the poppyseeds in the dough because I like the look of them whole but I do grind the ones for the filling because it releases their flavor and helps create more of a paste. I recommend using a spice grinder or coffee grinder to grind poppyseeds, a blender or food process tend to require a lot of poppyseeds to actually get them to grind and not just fly around the container.

How do I know when the dough is finished kneading?

This dough should pass the window pane test which means that when a golf ball sized piece is torn off, you should be able to stretch it gently until light passes through but without it tearing. I usually check it once all of the butter has been fully kneaded into the dough.

You may also like…

• Cinnamon Roll Wreath
• Cherry Sweet Rolls (Kirschschnecken)
• Mohnstrudel (poppyseed strudel)

Tips for making a Blackberry Poppyseed Twist

• It’s important to keep a close eye on your butter when browning it because you want to get those delicious bits but you don’t want it to burn. Once it starts to bubble, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the bubbles around so that you can see the color underneath.
• Grinding a small amount of poppyseeds can be tricky so I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder but a mortar and pestle is great too. A blender or food processor will have a hard time grinding the seeds.
• I recommend buying poppyseeds from a bulk store or ordering them online because the spice jars tend to be on the pricey side but they will work as well!
• Fresh or frozen blackberries will work, but the fresh blackberries may need a little water added to the pot at the start to keep them from burning.
• When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned. This will happen twice while kneading the poppyseed dough, once before the butter is added and once after.
• When rolling out the dough, try to make it as rectangular as possible. This will help when it comes shaping and cutting the twist. I use a bench scraper to keep reshaping into a rectangle as I roll it because it can be tricky to reshape at the end.
• Don’t underbake this one, it will get nice and brown on top so cover it with foil after the halfway mark but be sure to bake it all the way through.

Ingredients

Blackberry Poppyseed Filling

• Butter: We are going to be browning the butter so it can be cold at this point.
• Poppyseeds: Technically called blue poppyseeds, these poppyseeds are the same ones you’ll find on a bagel or in any grocery store. They will be ground and then added to the browned butter.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar adds a bit of sweetness which balances the nutty poppyseed flavor.
• Frozen Blackberries: I like using frozen blackberries for this recipe because then I can make it any time of the year and it’s more cost effective but fresh blackberries will work too.
• Lemon juice: the juice of a lemon adds a nice highlight to the blackberries in the filling.

Poppyseed Brioche Dough

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough.
• Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply whisk it in with the warm milk and let it sit for 10 minutes first and then add in the remaining ingredients.
• Poppyseeds: Technically called blue poppyseeds, these poppyseeds are the same ones you’ll find on a bagel or in any grocery store.
• Salt: fine sea salt is used to balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavors.
• Milk: The dough use milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond milk.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There are two whole eggs in the dough.
• Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the twist.
• Butter: The butter adds moisture to the dough filling! I recommend Kerrygold unsalted butter for this.
• Lemon Zest: The zest of a lemon adds a little extra flavor to the dough.

Glaze

• Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is the base of most glazes. If yours is very clumped together I recommend sifting if before making the icing.
• Pomegranate Juice: I’m obsessed with using Pom Pomegranate juice for this glaze because of the color and flavor but you could also defrost more blackberries or raspberries, strain them, and use the juices! Alternatively a simple lemon juice glaze is also delicious.

How to make a Blackberry Poppyseed twist

Make the filling

• Grind the 50 grams of poppyseeds for the filling, I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder for this.
• In a medium pan, add in the butter. Place over medium low heat (medium if using electric and your stove isn’t very hot).
• Cook until bubbling, then use a rubber spatula to stir it gently until brown bits form. Keep scraping and stirring the pan until the butter is heavily speckled with brown bits but not burnt.
• Turn the heat of and immediately pour in the ground poppyseeds. Stir to combine.
• Then add in the sugar and vanilla and stir once more.
• Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
• Add all of the blackberries into a medium pan or small pot along with the lemon juice. Place over medium low heat, stirring frequently.
• Keep cooking the blackberries until thick. it won’t get jammy because no sugar is added but it will look like the excess juice has evaporated and all the blackberries have broken down.
• Pour the blackberries into a large shallow dish to cool off.
• Once both have cooled, use an electric mixer to whip the poppyseed butter until it becomes lighter in color. To cool the butter faster, place the butter in the fridge in 10 minute intervals.
• Pour in the cooled blackberries into the bowl and fold them into the butter.

Make the Yeasted Dough

• In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and poppyseeds.
• Sprinkle in the salt. Then add in the warm milk, two eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.
• Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 15 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
• Add half of the butter in and knead again until incorporated (about 5 minutes). Add in the second half of the butter and knead once more until smooth. The dough should pass the window pane test *see notes section for more info.
• Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.

Shape the Blackberry Bun

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Grease a seasoned cast iron pan with softened butter (what’s left on the butter wrapper is usually enough).
• Once the dough has doubled in size, briefly knead it to knock the air out. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 30 cm x 60 cm. Try to keep the dough as rectangular as possible while rolling it out and use flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
• Spread the blackberry poppyseed butter over the surface of the dough, but leave a 1″ border on one of the long sides.
• Roll the dough up, starting with the long side where no border was left. Be careful to keep the roll tight but don’t squeeze out the butter.
• Once fully rolled, place it seam side down, and use a long sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise.
• Twist the two halves together with the filling face up. Start by crossing the two over each other in the middle to make an X shape, then twist together towards both ends. Pinch the ends together so that you have one long twist.
• Starting with one end, roll the twist up into a giant cinnamon roll/snail shape. Tuck the starting end and the final end under the roll (at the center and edge respectively).
• Carefully lift and place it in the greased cast iron pan.
• Cover the pan with plastic and set aside for at least 45 minutes to proof while the oven preheats. It should become twice the size and puffy!

Bake the Twist

• Once the oven is heated up, place the pan onto the center rack in the oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes have passed, rotate the pan. Cover the twist lightly with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
• Once baked, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
• While it cools, make the glaze.

Pomegranate Glaze

• In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar pomegranate juice together. If it seems to thick slowly add more juice.
• If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
• Drizzle/pour the icing over the twist, then use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to spread it out.

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