Description
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pineapple Buns are soft, fluffy bread buns filled with a luscious strawberry cream cheese filling and topped with a sweet, fruity cookie crust flavored with freeze-dried strawberries. Featuring an overnight tangzhong sponge for extra moisture and fluffiness, these buns are baked to a delightfully crispy topping and perfect for a special breakfast or dessert treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Tangzhong Paste
- 25 g bread flour (2½ tbsp)
- 30 g boiling water (2 tbsp)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 170 g cream cheese (6 oz, softened)
- 70 g strawberry jam (¼ cup)
- 20 g sugar (1½ tbsp, or to taste)
- 1â…“ tbsp freeze dried strawberries (pulverized into powder)
Bun Dough
- 250 g bread flour (2 cup)
- 30 g cake flour (¼ cup)
- 30 g sugar (2 tbsp + 1 tsp)
- 15 g honey (a little bit less than 1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 25 g beaten egg (½ large egg, ⅛ cup, save the rest for making cookie top)
- 80 g milk (â…“ cup)
- 60 g water (¼ cup)
- 4 g sea salt (½ tsp)
- 30 g cold unsalted butter (2 tbsp, cut into 6 pieces)
- all Tangzhong Paste (prepared overnight)
Cookie Top
- 70 g butter (5 tbsp, softened)
- 60 g powdered sugar (¼ cup + 2 tbsp)
- 25 g beaten egg (use the rest of the egg from making bread dough)
- 20 g condensed milk (1 tbsp)
- 120 g bread flour (1 cup, plus more for dusting)
- 2 tbsp freeze dried strawberries (pulverized into powder)
Instructions
- Make Tangzhong the Night Before: Combine 25 g bread flour and 30 g boiling water in a bowl, stir to form a sticky dough, let cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Prepare Cream Cheese Filling: Mix cream cheese and strawberry jam until smooth. Adjust sugar to taste, add pulverized freeze-dried strawberries, mix well and refrigerate until use.
- Make Bun Dough: In a stand mixer, combine all dough ingredients except salt and butter on low speed until formation. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Add salt and knead until stretchy to about 2 inches. Add cold butter gradually and knead until smooth and passes windowpane test.
- First Proof: Shape dough into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise in warm place (82°F to 90°F) for 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled.
- Prepare Cookie Top: Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add beaten egg in 4 batches, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add condensed milk and mix. Fold in bread flour and pulverized freeze-dried strawberries, then knead gently until combined. Shape into a log, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate.
- Assemble Buns: Divide dough into 8 pieces, form into balls, rest covered 5 minutes. Flatten each into 3½” disks, thinner at edges. Place cream cheese filling in center, wrap dough over filling and pinch to seal. Cut cookie dough log into 8 pieces, roll each piece to cover bun tops only. Place cookie tops on buns, pressing gently to adhere without gaps.
- Second Proof: Arrange buns on lined tray with 2½” spacing. Optionally score crisscross patterns on cookie top. Cover and proof in warm place for about 50 minutes until cracks appear on cookie tops.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Place buns on middle rack, and an empty tray on rack above to prevent over-browning. Bake for 16 minutes until tops are crispy.
- Cool and Serve: Transfer buns to cooling rack, let cool for 15 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Tangzhong paste is key to achieving soft, fluffy buns with a longer shelf life.
- Adjust sugar in cream cheese filling based on the sweetness of your strawberry jam.
- Freeze-dried strawberries must be pulverized into powder to mix evenly into cream cheese and cookie dough.
- If dough is too sticky to handle, add small amounts of bread flour gradually during kneading.
- Ensure cookie dough sticks evenly to the bun without gaps to prevent cracking during baking.
- Use the bench knife for neat folding and cutting of cookie dough and for scoring the tops.
- If cookie dough softens too much during assembly, refrigerate portions to firm before use.
- Proof buns in consistent warm temperature (82°F-90°F) for best rise.
- The empty tray placed above buns during baking prevents excessive browning on cookie tops.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container to maintain freshness, reheat gently before serving.
