Peck is legendary in Milan, a veritable gastronomic temple full of culinary delicacies right in the beating heart of the city, near the Duomo. Here, food lovers can find everything from fine meats to high-quality cold cuts to every kind of fresh pasta. You can just wander around looking at the counters or get lost among the countless labels of the wine cellar. On the first floor, you can taste traditional Milanese dishes interpreted by award-winning chef Matteo Vigotti, who is always searching for the best raw materials, perfectly in keeping with the Peck philosophy.
At the center of the historic luxury shop on Via Spadari is Piccolo Peck, the gourmet café where breakfast becomes a ritual, a way to pamper yourself in the morning. Here coffee isn’t just a simple coffee; you can choose from a blend of 5 different arabica beans or one of 12 single-origin coffees offered on a rotational basis. The croissants are made using the classic French dough layered with butter from a Belgian creamery, while the brioche dough is rich with eggs and flavored with vanilla, lemon zest and orange zest, and the pastries are filled with almonds, pistachios or raspberries.
The real must-have, though, is the Veneziana, a special brioche that’s hollow or filled with a cream made with three kinds of vanilla (Tahiti, Indonesia and Madagascar Bourbon) while the dough is scented with lemon zest and orange zest. How much does it cost? The same as in any other café.
For those who want to try to recreate this sweet moment at home, here is the recipe from pastry chef Galileo Reposo, the man behind the creations that are sold and served in the Peck bar and restaurant.
Baked Veneziana with Cream
For the brioche: 12 cups bread flour, 2 tbsp salt, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 2 lbs eggs, 3 oz brewer’s yeast, 4 cups butter, 2/3 oz malt, 1 orange (the zest),1 lemon (the zest),1 vanilla bean pod (the seeds)
Combine all the ingredients except for the butter. Work the ingredients together well until you have an even and elastic dough. Add the cold butter and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight. Shape into 1-ounce balls and let rise for about 4 hours at 82° F
Crumble:1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 3/4 cups pastry flour, 2 cups almond flour, 1 gram vanilla (the seeds)
Combine all the ingredients and spread on a baking sheet to a height of 1/4 inch. Chill. Crumble finely using a sieve. Bake in a preheated oven at 340° F for about 10 minutes Let cool.
Pastry cream:1 qt milk, 12 oz egg yolks,1 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup cake flour, 2 oz cornstarch, 1/3 pod Tahiti vanilla, 1/3 pod Indonesia vanilla, 1/3 pod Madagascar vanilla
Cut the vanilla and remove the seeds. Add the seeds to the milk and bring to a boil. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar. Add the flours. Add the eggs to the milk and boil for 2 minutes. Let cool and whisk before using.
Before baking: Using a pastry bag, pipe a little cream into the brioche.
Brush with egg to make golden and top with the vanilla crumble. Bake in a hot oven at 350° F for about 18 minutes.
Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.