Bright up your dark winter days with these sweet Sunshine buns! These are a staple at Swedish bakeries and for a good reason. Soft cardemum buns are filled with vanilla pastry cream in the center, then rolled in sugar for a sweet crunch.
What is a Sunshine bun made of?
This cloudy deliciusness is made of:
Soft cardemum yeast dough – The base of our Sunshine buns are made of cardemum yeast buns. The cardemum adds a delightful flavor and crunch. I highly recommend using a mortar and pestle to ground them yourself just before adding them to the dough. This will not only make the aromatics much stronger, but also you end up with some smaller and some bigger pieces that explode in your mouth with each bite.
Vanilla pastry cream – The center of the Sunshine buns are made of homemade vanilla pastry cream. In my recipe I used vanilla paste but vanilla bean pod is of course the best if you have it! If you use vanilla extract, make sure to add it after the pastry cream is cooked. Mix it in during the step of whisking in the butter. This will allow the vanilla flavor to remain strong instead of cooking it away and getting dull.
Sugar coating – This adds a sweet crunch and beautiful look to the finished Sunshine buns. Typically this is added by brushing melted butter and then dipping into the sugar. But I decided to make a simple syrup instead of the butter. This is because as the syrup dries it will create a barrier on the buns making them less prone to drying. This barrier is not crunchy or hard as we use very little syrup, but it makes such a difference in my opinion! Also, it does not make the finished Sunshine buns overly sweet either.
Tips for making moist cardemum buns
Use room temperatured butter and egg – The butter should be room temperatured and soft when added to the dough. If it´s too cold, it will be hard to incorporate with the dough. If it´s too warm and liquid, it will soak up more of the flour which will require more flour to offset the stickiness and thus creating a more tough and dry dough.
Fingerwarm milk – The milk should be warm to the touch but not hot. Too cold and the yeast will not activate. Too hot and the yeast will die. Either way you will end up with dough that does not rise properly. Use a thermometer for best results, the milk should be 98 F / 37 C. If you don´t have a thermometer, check with you finger. It should feel around the same temperature as your fingers so no cold or hot sensations.
Thanzong method – This is used in those soft milkbreads (Shokupan) and work perfectly in this recipe as well. The method is to create a roux with flour, milk and water before adding it to the rest of the dough. This hydrates the dough making it more soft and fluffy.
Aim for a stickier dough – The more flour in your dough, the more dry it will turn out. Add the flour gradually. If the dough is too sticky after adding all the flour, incorporate 1/2 cup (50 g) at the time. The goal is to have a dough that is shiny, elastic and stretchy, and ever so slightly sticky (not wet at all). The dough can stick to your fingers but it should come off easily.
Knead/mix for a long time – The secret to really soft buns is to have a stretchy dough with gluten developed properly. To get this simply mix for a long time, every kitchen mixer is different but I had mine for a total of 40-45 minutes from start to finish. Note if you are kneading by hand, this will take double the time!
Window gluten test – To check if the dough is ready, pick up a small ball and stretch it out thinly enough to see the light from your window. If the dough breaks while pulling, then it is not ready (keep kneading/mixing). Otherwise the gluten has developed = it´s ready!
How to store Sunshine buns
These Sunshine buns are best kept at room temperature as the fridge will dry them out. Store them in a airtight container at a dark and cool place. They will keep for 5 days. For freezing, skip the sugar coating step and simply pop them in the freezer after they have cooled down from the oven. I like to use a ziplock bag and suck the air with a straw to create a “vacuumed” effect. This will keep the buns fresh and not taste like “freezer” for longer.
Sunshine buns
Ingredients
Thanzong starter
- 28 g flour
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- 3 tbsp water
Cardemum dough
- 40 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dry yeast)
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp (250 ml) whole milk
- 2/3 cup (160 g) granulated sugar
- 3 2/3 cup + 1 cup if needed (460 g + 100 g if needed) flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (100 g) butter
- 1 tsp freshly grounded cardemum seeds
- 1 tsp salt
Vanilla pastry cream
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp (250 ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or 1 vanilla bean
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 tbsp (25 g) butter
Syrup
- 4 tbsp boiled water
- 2 tbsp sugar
Topping
- 1 cup (160 g) sugar
Instructions
Thanzong starter
- In a small sauce pan, whisk together all the ingredients for the thanzong on medium heat until thickened. This will occur at around 140 ℉ / 60 ℃.
- Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Cardemum dough
- For dry yeast: In a large electric mixing bowl, combine the flour with the dry yeast. Allow the yeast to activate for 10 minutes. Then, add the milk and follow the instructions below as the third step.
- For fresh yeast: Crumble the yeast into a large electric mixing bowl, pour finger warm milk (98 ℉ / 37 ℃) over and allow the yeast to dissolve.
- Add the flour, sugar, freshly grounded cardemum seeds and thanzong starter and mix on low speed for 10 minutes.
- Whisk an egg and to the dough along with the salt, combine for another 5 minutes on low speed.
- Cube the butter and feed the dough one piece at the time, allowing the dough to fully incorporate the butter in between.
- Increase the speed to a medium and mix for 20-30 minutes. The dough should be elastic and shiny when ready. Do a gluten test by grabbing a small piece of the dough and stretching it out thin enough to see the light from the window come through the dough. If the dough breaks, then keep mixing for another 10 minutes and redo the test.
- Once the dough is shiny and elastic, take it out on a clean surface and roll into 15 small balls about 80 g each. Roll the buns by cupping your hands over the dough and moving your hands in circular motion against the surface. The dough can be slightly sticky so a little flour on the surface can help, but not necessary.
- Place the buns on baking trays with parchment paper, with at least 2 inches (5 cm) in between each bun as they will rise double their size. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to proof for 2 hours. I like to place mine the oven with the oven light on but no heat. If you live in a warmer climate, this might not be necessary.
Vanilla pastry cream
- In a heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until pale in color. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla paste (or vanilla bean seeds) on medium low heat.
- Temper the eggs by slowly pouring little splashes of the steamed vanilla milk into the egg yolk mixture as you continouosly whisk. Continue until all is combined.
- Pour the mixture back to the sauce pan and heat up slowly on medium low heat. Continouosly mix until the cream thickens. Once you see a bubble, cook for another minute then remove from heat.
- Whisk in the butter and pour the vanilla pastry cream into a heatproof container to cool down. Cover with a plastic wrap, patting the plastic on the surface of the cream. Chill in the fridge while the dough is proofing.
Sunshine buns
- Once the dough has proofed about double its size they are ready to be filled. Take them out of the oven and set the oven to 375 ℉ (190 ℃)
- Fill a piping bag with a round tip with the pastry cream. Gently push in the center of each bun finishing with a circle on top. Be careful not to push too hard as the buns can deflate.
- Brush with milk or egg wash and bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the buns are golden brown, take them out and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile prepare the syrup by mixing boiled water with the sugar in a mug until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside a shallow dish with granulated sugar for the topping.
- Once the buns have cooled down, brush them with the syrup and immediately dip them in the sugar. The Sunshine buns are ready to be devoured!