Instructions: In small saucepan, combine sugar, 1/2 cup butter and milk. Cook over low heat until butter just melts. Remove from heat, transfer to large bowl and cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over mixture; whisk with fork to blend. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add salt and eggs to yeast mixture; whisk to blend. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with wooden spoon. When mixture becomes too stiff to stir, turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough until it is only slightly sticky and holds a shape, adding flour as needed.

Transfer dough to bowl buttered with part of remaining 1 tablespoon butter, turning to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap buttered with remaining butter, then cover with moist towel. Set bowl in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk (about 2 1/2 hours). Punch down to force out air. Cover again with buttered plastic wrap and moist towel; let rise again until doubled.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shape 1/3 of dough into 12 small balls; shape remaining 2/3 of dough into 12 larger balls. Place each larger ball into lightly buttered 3 inch brioche tin (or use ramekins, custard cups or jumbo muffin tins). With a floured thumb, make an indentation in each larger ball. Push a small ball into each indentation.

Let dough rise again until doubled (about 30 minutes). Whisk together egg yolk and cream; brush on brioches. Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees; bake until brioches are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped (15 to 20 minutes). Cool 5 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling.

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