Apple Buns
Indulge in these soft, fluffy apple cream buns, crafted to look like adorable apples! Filled with a sweet apple filling and luscious homemade pastry cream, they’re baked to golden perfection and topped with playful cinnamon sticks and pumpkin seeds for that perfect apple stem and leaf touch. Follow this step-by-step recipe to create these charming, delicious buns in your own kitchen!
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- 1 ½ cups (225 g) bread flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 egg
- ½ cup (112 ml) warm milk
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- room temperature butter to grease hands and work surface
For the Filling:
- 2 medium apple, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Pastry Cream:
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
For Decoration:
- cinnamon sticks (broken pieces)
- pumpkin seeds or almonds
Additional Equipment:
- Muffin pan
- 6 muffin liners
Yields 6 Apple Buns
Instructions:
1. Prepare the Dough:
- In a large bowl, mix together the bread flour, sugar, and yeast using a spatula.
- Add the egg and warm milk. Stir to combine.
- Knead the mixture using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment on medium speed. After 3-5 minutes, add the salt and cold butter. Continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Perform a stretch test to ensure the dough doesn’t tear and is well-developed.
- Lightly grease a bowl with butter. Transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm place for 60minutes. Adjust your proving times depending your climate.
2. Make the Apple Filling:
- While the dough rises, dice the apple and mix with sugar and cinnamon. Microwave the mixture for 4-5 minutes in a heatproof bowl. Let it cool, then strain excess liquid. Divide the apple filling into 6 portions.
3. Prepare the Pastry Cream:
- In a saucepan, heat the milk, vanilla, and sugar over medium heat until it comes to a boil, then remove from heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cornstarch, and flour.
- Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the egg. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring it to a boil, whisking vigorously until thickened.
- Remove from heat, stir in the butter until smooth, and let the pastry cream cool completely.
4. Shape and Fill the Buns:
- After the dough has risen, punch it down to release air. Divide it into 6 equal portions (use a scale for accuracy). I grease my hands and work surface with some butter as the dough can be sticky.
- Flatten each portion, add a portion of the apple filling to the center, and pinch the edges to seal.
- Line the buns in a muffin pan with liners and cover with a towel. Allow them to rise for another 60 minutes. Adjust your proving times depending your climate.
- Finally gently add a small piece of cinnamon stick on top of each bun, and brush leftover pastry cream to stick the pumpkin seed for decoration.
5. Bake the Buns:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the buns for 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through (after 10 minutes). Let the buns cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Fill and Decorate:
- Once the buns are cooled, pipe the pastry cream into each bun from the side.
Enjoy your delicious apple cream buns!