Pineapple buns with custard (奶黃菠蘿包)

A few weeks before Mid-autumn Festival (中秋節) each year, I resolve to order some mooncake moulds from Amazon in an attempt to finally make mooncakes. Each year, without fail, I then think about how cool it would be to get moulds that have my Chinese family name on it (伍)—and then, realizing that it's nigh impossible to get such moulds from North America, I give up on my endeavour and put off mooncake-making for another year. Which means that to this day, I have still never made any mooncakes from scratch hahaha.

This year was no exception: I once again procrastinated on the mooncake-preparing, so I ended up with these instead! I had some leftover tangzhong and egg wash from making matcha shokupan beforehand: perfect for a HK bakery treat!

Now, the last time I'd made pineapple buns, my roommates admitted that they had been kinda surprised to bite into them and discover a savoury filling inside LOL (disclaimer: they are not Chinese so they are not used to this combo). So, to make up for that experience, I decided to go with a custard filling this time around :) There are a ton of recipes out there for pineapple buns with custard filling, but a lot of them had at least one component that was finicky (requiring milk/custard powder, or cream, or turmeric!). I've compiled the components that were easiest for me to assemble with the ingredients I had on hand.

Ingredients: Custard 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 5 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 tbsp cornstarch 1/2 tsp salt 1-3/4 cups milk, divided 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed 1 tsp vanilla extract Tangzhong 20g (2 tbsp) AP or bread flour 75g (1/3 cup) water Dough 145g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) whole milk 18g (1-1/2 tbsp) granulated sugar 7g (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast 490g (3-1/4 cups) bread flour 3g (1 tsp) Kosher salt 80g (4 tbsp) condensed milk 1 large egg 55g (4 tbsp) butter, melted Topping 1 large egg, beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract 145g unsalted butter, melted 100g powdered sugar 220g bread flour 5g baking soda Egg wash 1 large egg 2 tbsp water

Instructions: Custard In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and 1/4 cup milk. Separately, in a saucepan, heat up the rest of the milk until hot but not boiling. Slowly stream the hot milk into the custard mixture (while whisking to remove lumps), then pour the custard back into the saucepan on low heat until the mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. When slightly cooled, transfer to a glass bowl or container with a lid, place plastic wrap against the custard to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate. Tangzhong Whisk flour and water into small saucepan until combined. Cook over low/medium heat, whisking frequently, until the paste is thick enough that you can draw a line through it with your whisk. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Dough In a glass beaker, heat the milk for 40-45 seconds or until it reaches 90-110°F. Stir in the sugar and the yeast, and let foam for ~10 minutes while preparing the rest of the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add bread flour, salt, condensed milk, egg, butter, tangzhong, and the yeast mixture. Knead with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes or until the dough comes together and is much less sticky (can do windowpane test here too). Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and knead it several times before shaping it into a ball. Grease the stand mixer bowl, place the dough inside, cover with a towel and let rise for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled in size. Topping In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients with a spatula until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for 15 mins. Shaping Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and take the custard out of the refrigerator. Punch down the dough to release the gas. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into two equal pieces, returning the second portion into the bowl and covering it to prevent drying. Divide the first half into 6-8 equal pieces. For each piece, flatten it with the heel of your hand, then use a rolling pin or fingertips to make a wider circle with edges thinner than the centre. Place 1-2 tbsp of custard into the middle of the dough circle, and gather the edges of the dough to pinch it shut. Lightly roll the dough on the work surface to form it into an even sphere, then place seam side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Cover the entire baking sheet with a towel and let rise for another 30-45 mins. Assembly Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll the topping into a log, then divide it into 12-16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Place a piece of plastic wrap on your work surface. Place a topping ball onto the plastic wrap and flatten with the heel of your hand until the topping is large enough to cover a bun. Use the plastic wrap to help peel off the topping onto a bun. Repeat for the remaining topping balls. Make the egg wash by whisking together the egg and water. Brush the egg wash onto each bun. Bake the buns for ~15 mins or until the tops are golden.

Makes 12-16 buns. Both the custard and the filled buns freeze well—thaw in refrigerator overnight, and (for the buns) you can warm them up in a toaster oven the next day for a yummy breakfast treat (with HK-style milk tea of course)!

(custard recipe from Feast Magazine)
(dough recipe from Healthy Nibbles)
(topping recipe from Tasty Cooking Studio)