Almond Cream Buns

I think I’ve waited long enough to post this recipe! I made these back when we were still in NYC, I think it was the last baked good I brought over to my family’s house before we moved, so it brings a lot of bittersweet memories. I miss my family a lot. It’s hard when you know you’re missing big birthdays and holiday celebrations. I miss the laughs, the jokes and of course all the babies! Makes me sad to think that I won’t see them grow up along side my kids. But we'll always have plenty of memories and visits along the way. So these Almond cream buns are a way to keep me connected to them and my last few weeks in nyc. 

This idea came out of my love for almond croissants and my readers know how much I adore Maison Kayser croissants and baked goods. So when I came across a recipe for almond cream, I thought why not marry the best of both worlds? A sweet, buttery and nutty almond filling, surrounded by a soft and fluffy milk bun! Yes! These are probably one of my favorite buns out of the many many that I make! And that's saying something. Not to mentions they were a hit with my family at our gathering, so here it is folks! Almond cream buns! 

This starts out with a super easy milk bun bread dough that I adapted slightly from The Woks of Life Blog. They are seriously awesome for anyone trying to make their own homemade Chinese food! This Milk bread doesn't use the typical Tsanzhong method where you make a milk and flour paste. This is the very best dump and mix bread dough ever! All the ingredients get thrown into a bowl and mixed for 15 minutes! The dough becomes soft, slightly tacky and elastic. You know it's ready when it passes the windowpane test!

Allow the dough to proof for an hour and make the almond cream. This is a simple mixture of softened butter, sugar, eggs almond flour and extracts. Put that in a mixer and mix until smooth. Let this mixture sit in the fridge till you're ready to use it. 

Once the dough has proofed, punch it down and divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. (you won't need to flour the board for this) Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Now it's time to fill! Roll each dough ball out into a pancake making the middle slightly larger than the side. Add 1-2 tbsp of almond cream into the middle then pull the sides up around it and pinching together to create a tight seal on the bottom. Turn these over and place into your 9 inch cake pan. I like to line mine in parchment just in case, Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Allow the filed buns to rise for another 40 minutes.

Once risen, spread any left over almond cream on the tops of the buns and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

These buns are super soft, fluffy and give a really great almond flavor! I can't get enough! Let me know if you get a chance to try this recipe! You won't regret! And follow me in instagram for more foodie photos and fun recipes! You won't regret that either!

Almond Cream Buns

Yields 16 buns

Ingredients:

For the almond cream

• 9 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature,
• 3/4 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds if you don’t have flour)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

For the Buns

• ⅔ cup  heavy cream (at room temperature)
• 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk (at room temperature)
• 1 large egg (at room temperature)
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ cup cake flour, leveled
• 3½ cups  bread flour, leveled
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• Egg wash: whisk together 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water

Method

1. Make the almond cream by creaming the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs and beat until combined.
2. Mix in the flours and extracts and mix until well combined. Place into a bowl and set in the fridge to chill while you make the dough,
3. To make the buns:
4. Place all the ingredients into a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.
5. Turn the machine on and mix on low for a minute to start to combine the ingredients. Once everything is wet, turn the machine up to medium or if you're using a kitchenmaid mixer, I usually set up up to 4. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 15 minutes. The dough is ready when you can pinch a piece of it and pull it apart so that it's thin enough to see light through the dough. This is called the window pane. 
6. Cover and place the dough in a warm place to proof for an hour. 
7. Once proofed. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto your board. Divide the dough into 16 pieces.Loosely cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes before continuing. 
8. Shape the dough into balls then press out into a thick disk with the center a bit thicker than the outer edges. Place about 1 tablespoon of chilled almond cream into the center. Bring up the sides of the dough and pinch it together to close the bun. Place the bun seam side down into a 9" round pan. Do the same with the rest of the dough balls. (8 buns should fit into a pan)
9. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven for 350F.
11. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes.