Sunshine buns
These soft sweet buns with a vanilla pastry cream center are a classic in Swedish bakeries. The dough is pillowy with aromatic cardemum seeds and a silky vanilla center, rolled in sugar for a sweet and crunchy exterior. Let these Sunshine buns bright up your winter days!
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!