Description
Delight in these soft and fluffy Baked Custard Buns, also known as Cream Pan, filled with a rich, smooth vanilla custard. The buns have a tender crumb and a lightly golden crust, perfect for breakfast, tea time, or a sweet snack. This recipe combines a creamy homemade custard with a buttery, pillowy bread dough, shaped into charming buns and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
Scale
Custard Filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 70 g sugar (⅓ cup, or more to taste)
- 15 g corn starch (2 tbsp)
- 20 g cake flour (2 tbsp; can substitute all-purpose flour)
- 300 g milk (1¼ cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Bun Dough
- 250 g bread flour (2 cup)
- 50 g cake flour (⅓ cup)
- 30 g sugar (2 tbsp)
- 20 g condensed milk (1 tbsp; can be replaced with honey)
- 80 g cold water (⅓ cup)
- 80 g cold milk (⅓ cup)
- 1 egg (whisked, use about half in dough, save rest for brushing)
- 1 tsp instant yeast (ideally SAF instant yeast)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 30 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp, cut into 4–6 small pieces)
- Pearl sugar (for sprinkling, optional)
Instructions
- Make the Custard: In a heatproof bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, corn starch, and cake flour until smooth. Heat milk in a saucepan until steaming. Gradually pour half the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs, then add the remaining milk and mix thoroughly.
- Cook the Custard: Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking slowly and constantly. When it starts to thicken and stick to the whisk, increase whisking speed until fully thickened.
- Finish the Custard: Remove from heat and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds to ensure smoothness. Stir in vanilla extract and butter until combined. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and chill in the fridge.
- Prepare Dough: In a stand mixer bowl, combine bread flour, cake flour, sugar, condensed milk, cold milk, cold water, about half the whisked egg (reserve rest for brushing), and yeast. Knead on low speed until dough forms.
- First Rest: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. If room temperature is above 80°F (27°C), refrigerate during rest. Meanwhile, let butter come to room temperature.
- Add Salt and Knead: Add salt to dough and knead for 30 seconds. Then add softened butter pieces one at a time, kneading until the dough is smooth and passes the windowpane test. This takes about 6-8 minutes total.
- First Rise: Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place (80°F to 90°F) for 1 to 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
- Divide and Rest: Turn dough out onto a surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover with greased plastic wrap, and rest for 10 minutes.
- Assemble Buns: Roll each dough piece into a 3-4 inch round. Place 30-40 g (about 2 tbsp) custard in center. Pinch edges at 3 & 9 o’clock and 12 & 6 o’clock, then pinch remaining edges tight to seal. For semi-circle buns, roll dough into an oval, place custard, fold top over custard, pinch edges, and optionally make decorative cuts.
- Final Proof: Place buns on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat Oven and Brush: During last 10 minutes of proofing, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Brush buns lightly with remaining whisked egg.
- Add Toppings: Pipe custard in a swirl pattern on buns’ surface and sprinkle pearl sugar if desired. Make shallow decorative cuts if shaped as semi-circles.
- Bake: Bake buns for 12 minutes or until golden brown. If buns have custard topping, bake an additional 2 minutes using convection setting if available for even browning.
- Cool: Transfer buns to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Ensure custard wraps are sealed well to prevent leakage during baking.
- If dough is too sticky after mixing, add a little bread flour and knead for 1-2 more minutes.
- Chilling the custard thoroughly helps it hold shape inside buns.
- Use instant yeast for faster and more reliable rising.
- Proof buns in warm environment (80°F-90°F) for best rise; refrigerate dough if warm ambient temperature.
- You can substitute honey for condensed milk in dough for a different sweetness profile.
- Using convection bake enhances browning, especially if custard is piped on top.
- Leftover custard can be refrigerated and used within a few days.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Japanese
Keywords: baked custard bun, cream pan, Japanese bread, soft bread, vanilla custard bread, homemade custard filling, sweet buns
