The Bun
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
- 1 cup, plus 1 tbsp milk (at room temperature)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ cup cake flour
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 ½ tsp salt
The Filling
- 6 tbsp softened butter
- 3 tbsp caster sugar or superfine sugar
- 3 tbsp cake flour
- ¼ cup dry milk powder
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- Start by making the bread dough, and be sure your ingredients are at room temperature. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer at its lowest setting.
- Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to about 1.5X its original size.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling by thoroughly combining all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and knead slowly for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 16-18 equal pieces.
- Flatten each piece of dough with your hands into a rough oval shape, about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Spread about a tablespoon of filling onto the middle of the dough, and roll it into a cigar, tucking the ends under the bun to completely seal the filling in. We like this method because it evenly distributes the filling throughout the bun.
- Transfer the buns to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Once the buns have risen, brush with egg wash. Pipe two stripes of your topping mixture onto each bun, and sprinkle each with sesame seeds. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and brush with the sugar syrup.
