Cream Buns with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream and Raspberry Jam. A baked version of the New Zealand Classic Bakery jam doughnut. A fluffy soft brioche bun is filled with piped sweetened whipped cream and raspberry jam.
Table of contents
Baked Cream Buns with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Hello! I hope you are keeping safe and healthy, and staying home if you can. Things are so weird and scary at the moment for everyone. It’s an extra weird time to be living in a country that you are not a citizen of, and it’s very strange knowing that I don’t have the backup option of hopping on a plane and going home to my family like I usually do. I have been coping the best way that I know how - with lots and lots of baking.
I made these Baked Cream Buns a wee bit ago, inspired by my trip back home. New Zealand has some amazing bakery classics - custard square, raspberry buns, and cream buns, which are usually in a doughnut form, filled with mock cream (which is basically a buttercream), and then dolloped with jam. I wanted to see if I could develop a baked version, and these come pretty damn close to the real deal.
Jam Cream Buns - A New Zealand Bakery Classic
Doughnuts are great, but they do have one downside - you have to eat them on the same day that you make them, or things get super weird. The sugar on the outside makes them soggy, and they lose that beautiful crisp exterior from the frying and just don’t taste great. So while I love making them so, so much, we do get a little overwhelmed with them when I make them, so I wanted to develop a recipe for cream buns where the bun itself could be used for a few different things.
And ohhh man, these cream buns are good. I made a super super soft brioche dough, which I shaped into buns, brushed with egg wash and baked up into golden brown buns that kinda resemble potatoes, but in a good way. The bun itself can be used for a whole bunch of things (see notes) - we are having hot dogs in them tonight, but I gave these ones the cream bun treatment, and split them down the middle, dusted them aggressively with powdered sugar, and then filled them with a sweetened vanilla bean cream and some dollops of raspberry jam. The combination of soft and fluffy brioche bun, sweet vanilla cream and jam is so, so good. I hope you give these cream buns a go - they sure give a bakery cream bun a run for its money! x
A few wee tips for making Baked Cream Buns
- I prefer, for shaping purposes, to work with cold dough for these rolls. I find that they come out a bit neater. You can either do your rise overnight, or I have been playing around with a cold same day rise recently. Putting the dough in the fridge just slows things down a bit in terms of rising. Also, because this dough has butter in it too, it firms it up which can be helpful for rolling out and shaping.
- I have found 2 hours rise time in the fridge seems to be the minimum time that works. keep an eye on it, you need it to double in size. The cold rise is preferable because it means I can be a little more flexible with things in terms of timing. If I have to leave it for a few hours then I’m not worrying about over proofed dough etc. I often make the dough early in the morning. Then, I can pull it from the fridge when I’m ready to work with. You get the benefit of cold dough but don’t have to wait overnight.
- So there are three options now! Overnight in the fridge, same day but in the fridge, and a room temp rise. All of them work, but I do like working with cold dough a little more. I find that it is easier to shape.
- The recipe for the brioche makes 12 buns. The good thing about these is that they can be used for all kinds of things. I use the dough for hot dog buns, slider buns, etc etc. Rich eats them with just jam for what he calls ‘lunch dessert’. You can shape some into rounds too and use as burger buns - do whatever you like! My one recommendation is that you skip the vanilla in the dough if you want to use some for savoury. Just do extra in the cream!
- The buns freeze well too if you want to save some for another time. Just let them thaw and then freshen by quickly microwaving.
- I used raspberry jam for these, but anything you have on hand will work great.
- These are best served soon after you pipe in the cream. If you aren’t planning to eat them all in one day, keep the components separate and assemble as needed! Keep the rolls in an airtight container.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer for the brioche you can do it by hand but it will need some elbow grease. Put the butter in at the beginning with the rest of the ingredients and then mix from there. It will be a workout but so worth it!
- I baked two trays at once in my oven, switching half way through. If you like, you can do one at a time - I place the second tray into the fridge about 10 minutes before I start baking the first to let it finish off rising in the fridge so it doesn’t over proof at room temp.
- When you are whipping cream to pipe, stop the mixer before it gets to stiff peaks and finish by hand. You only want medium stiff peaks so that it doesn’t get gritty and pipes nicely.
- I filled these ‘bakery style’ with fancy looking piping. If you want to just fill with cream either with a spoon or just with a plain round piping tip that works great too! You do you here.
For more New Zealand Recipes, check out:
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Baked Cream Buns with Vanilla Bean Cream and Jam
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour plus rising and chilling time
- Yield: 12 buns 1x
Description
A baked version of the New Zealand Classic Bakery jam doughnut. A fluffy soft brioche bun is filled with piped sweetened whipped cream and raspberry jam.
Ingredients
Brioche Buns
- 280g whole milk, lukewarm
- 50g (4 Tbsp) sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 565g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 90g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water
Whipped Cream Filling (this can easily be halved for 6 buns)
- 700g heavy cream
- 120g powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch of salt
- Raspberry Jam or jam of your choice, to finish
Instructions
BRIOCHE BUNS
- Place the lukewarm milk, 2 Tbsp (25g) of the sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl, and stir to combine. Leave for 10-15 minutes, or until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the remaining 2 Tbsp (25g) sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla, and mix well to combine.
- Add the milk mixture and the egg to the dry ingredients, and mix on low for 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium, and mix for a further 10 minutes. Add the butter a little at a time, waiting until it is incorporated until adding the next piece. Mix for a further 10-15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or for minimum 3 hours. Alternatively you can do the first rise at room temperature - it will take about 45 minutes (see notes for tips on rising your dough)
- Turn the dough out onto a surface (I try not to flour it if I don’t need to), and weigh the dough. Divide into 12 equal portions, then shape each into a ball and place a piece of plastic wrap or a tea towel over the top to help stop them drying out.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To shape the buns, take a ball of dough and flatten slightly, then roll into a sausage about 4” (10cm) long, making sure it is even and the ends are rounded. Place onto the baking sheet. Repeat the shaping with the remaining pieces of dough, spacing the rolls out well on the baking sheet.
- Cover the baking sheets lightly with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 30 to 45 minutes (will be slightly longer if your dough is cold), or until puffy, and a small indentation is left when poked gently with your finger.
- While the buns are rising, preheat your oven to 350°f / 180°c.
- Brush the buns with the egg wash. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the trays half way through, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
FILLING AND ASSEMBLY
- Place the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Whip until medium peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a closed star tip (I used an ateco #856).
- Cut each bun vertically down the centre, making sure not to cut the whole way through. Dust the tops of each with powdered sugar. Pipe the cream filling into the middle of each bun. Place some raspberry jam into a piping bag and pipe blobs onto the top of the cream, or dollop blobs using a spoon.
- Best served the day that they are made (see notes).
Keywords: cream bun, brioche bun, jam bun, new zealand, baked doughnut
Comments
I used this recipe to make brioche buns to have with our pulled pork tonight, And oh my, how delicious are they! I love an overnight fridge rise (almost essential with 2 young kids). I baked them this afternoon, and looked as good as they tasted. I will definitely make them again. I actually shaped 4 in the this donut shape, so tomorrow I might whip up some cream, and have some cream buns 🙂
Made with bread flour and were delicious, will do again with cake flour to see if it matters.
SO glad you loved! Please don't use cake flour as it is too low in gluten so they won't hold. All-purpose will work great though!
I made a loaf out of these buns and dammmmmnnnnn so good!!!
★★★★★
Gosh, these look so delish. I can't wait to make them.
Damn! These are WORTH the TIME and PROCESS. Damn! I cannot get over how good these are!! Without a doubt if you have time to do the overnight rest do it, makes a big difference. Had these for a small crowd and they loved it...
Thankyou for this wonderful recipe.
★★★★★
Yay so so happy that you love! x
Damn! These are WORTH the TIME and PROCESS. Damn! I cannot get over how good these are!! Without a doubt if you have time to do the overnight rest do it, makes a big difference. Had these for a small crowd and they loved it...
Found that I had too much cream left over after piping but was kept for adding to the bun if you wanted more. Shaping and needing the bun is defiantly best cold, found that even when they started to warm they became sticky and somewhat needed flour compared to not needing any at all.
I look forward to trying more of your recipes +Thankyou for this wonderful recipe.
★★★★★
Yay you are so welcome! So happy you loved 🙂
Hello, I have tried brioche recipes before with some success and I cant wait to try this one! 2 questions: how do you keep your dough from getting too hot when mixing for 20 to 25 minutes? Do I have to worry about killing the yeast? Also, I only have dry instant yeast, is it a straight substitution or do I need to adjust the amount? Can you help?
I made these Baked cream buns. I followed the recipe exactly. I did the rising in the fridge overnight. I didnt need to add any additional flour at all when I shaped them.
They looked great - just like in the pictures. However the bread bun was dry. I am disappointed as they looked so lovely. The only difference I can think of was I left them for 1 and half hours to rise after shaping. This was because the dough had risen in the fridge overnight.
Any thoughts...or what did I do wrong
★★★★
Any chance you over baked it? They shouldn't be dry!
Definitely didnt over bake them. However I may have used the wrong type of yeast. It was a dry yeast that we use for making wholemeal bread in the breadmaker. I put the dough in the fridge. Before I went to bed I checked and the dough had risen right to the top of the plastic covering the bowl. When I took it out next morning the dough had deflated but was still bubbly.
Not sure where I get "active dry yeast"
Ah yes that will do it! Different yeasts behave very differently. I just get it from the supermarket - the one I have in the fridge right now is called 'active yeast' 🙂
Is it possible to make these gluten free by switching the flour and adding xanthan gum?
No sorry! Gluten free bread is a completely different beast
What a treat! These remind me of home so much!
★★★★★
Making these tomorrow! Is making the dough in the food processor or by hand ok?
Hi! You can do it by hand but not in the food processor! My rhubarb custard buns have by hand instructions - you can double those quantities 🙂
I’ve made these a few times and my family love them!
I’m making them today for the first time in sunny Queensland (previously made them in NZ) but the dough ball is just not forming after 25 minutes of kneading. Is this due to the heat? It’s all a sticky mess at the moment.
Any suggestions?
★★★★★
Hi hi! Sorry I just saw this! It may be the kind of flour, or the weather! You can add flour a teaspoon at a time if it is not coming together well.
For goodness’ sake, please leave out the sugar and vanilla in the cream. Other countries’ cream might need flavouring, but New Zealand cream certainly doesn’t. It’s heavenly just whipped, or as it comes from the bottle.
★★★★
"For goodness' sake"? Laraine, there are people who have just lost everything in a cyclone the last few days and you're complaining about whipped cream in a free recipe. Just leave it out if you don't want to use it, but please, if you have this much time, maybe spend some of it doing something more productive. This recipe is a copycat of a cream doughnut from a bakery. The cream always has sugar in it. The great thing about making recipes at home is you can make them however you like.