Custard buns are soft milk bread filled with a creamy custard filling in the centers. They are delightful soft buns that make perfect snacks or breakfasts.
Bread, bread on the blog again.
It may seem to you that I am slathering the blog with bread recipes lately, and I have no argument with that. From last week’s recipe, the Ube bread rolls, we now have these custard buns that filled our house once more with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread baking in the oven.
These buns are soft and slightly sweet, and they are actually the same buns from the milk bread recipe that I posted weeks back.
I find the recipe so versatile and easy to make that I have been experimenting with incorporating delicious elements to it. This time, the addition of custard filling makes them even more special.
The sight of golden bread and light brown pastries make my heart jump and these custard buns are no exception. Seeing them bake beautifully inside the oven fills me with glee that I find myself wanting to bake bread over and over again.
I am hooked on it. The process, the smell, the sight and yes, the carbs.
Custard Buns: The Process
You start off by heating the milk and heavy cream mixture to a temperature of 115 F. Then you add the ingredients in a specific order stated in the recipe.
You are going to knead the dough on the stand mixer here. A good 15 minutes of kneading time ensures you have a dough with properly developed structure.
Kneading the Dough
- The dough will start off as a sticky and shaggy mass. After 15 minutes of kneading, the dough should be smooth and has lost its stickiness, but when you touch it, it should still feel a little bit tacky.
- It will also gather itself in the center of the mixing bowl, cleaning the sides of the bowl as the mixer runs and attaching itself to the dough hook.
The Custard Filling
Dissolve flour and cornstarch into beaten eggs, then cook it in a saucepan over medium heat together with the milk, salt and sugar.
As you cook this, it is important to keep stirring until the mixture turns into a thick, creamy paste. Then for a final, delicious touch, stir in butter to the custard.
The custard filling blends beautifully with the bread each time you bite. It adds notes of sweetness and creaminess to the bread. I always grab one of this buns for a quick fill me up during the day, and of course, they are perfect with a mug of your hot drink for breakfast.
Additional Notes
- The filling recipe is enough for half the dough in the recipe to yield about ten buns. You can store the other half of dough in the fridge and use it within three days, or you can store it in the freezer for later use.
- You can bake them without filling, like in this recipe, or you can make another batch of the custard filling to elevate things up.
- Either way, bake the bread and make your house smell good, then enjoy soft, warm and fresh bread out of the oven.
- These buns are best enjoyed within two days of baking, and you can also warm them up for 12 seconds or so in the microwave if you desire.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. And if you think you still don’t have enough bread in your life, or if you enjoy baking bread, stay tuned for I have more bread lined up here in the blog for the coming weeks.
See you around!
Custard Buns
Ingredients
FOR THE MILK BREAD
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
FOR THE CUSTARD FILLING
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp butter
FOR THE EGG WASH
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 large egg
Instructions
MAKE THE CUSTARD FILLING
- Sift together cornstarch and flour. Using a whisk, combine the beaten eggs and the flour mixture until the powders are dissolved. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together milk, sugar and the salt. Once the sugar and salt are dissolved, add in the egg mixture and keep stirring everything until the mixture thickened up into a paste consistency. This should take about 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
MAKE THE MILK BREAD
- Combine milk and cream in a large microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it reaches 115 F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ingredients in the following order : cream and milk mixture, egg, sugar, flour, yeast and salt. Attach the dough hook and run the mixer, starting on low just to initially wet the dry ingredients.
- Turn speed to medium and run the mixer for 15 more minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. In about 7-10 minutes into the mixing, you will see the dough starting to gather into the center and attaching itself into the dough hook. If your dough looks like it is not coming together at this point, sprinkle a little amount of flour (about half a teaspoon at a time) into the bowl and continue mixing. You can add up to two tablespoon of flour and you should soon see the dough starting to gather in the center of the bowl. As you approach the 15 minutes mark, you should hear the dough slapping the sides of the bowl as it clings to the dough hook. This is a good sign that your dough is ready for proofing.
- Gather the dough into a ball, sprinkle a little bit of flour into a bowl and place the ball of dough inside it. Cover the bowl with kitchen towel and set it on a warm place for one hour to one hour and a half, until size of the dough is doubled. Meanwhile, Grease a baking pan with butter. After the dough has risen, return it into the mixer with the dough hook and mix on medium for 5 more minutes.
- Divide the dough in half. Wrap the other half with plastic and store in the fridge for use within three days or store in the freezer. Divide the remaining half of dough into ten equal portions. Using your palms, shape each portion into a ball then flatten it into a disc with a diameter of 4-5 inches. Spoon 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the disc and wrap the dough around it. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the filling for piping the top of the buns. Seal the edges of the dough underneath and place each assembled dough in the greased baking pan. Leave about an inch of space in between the dough to allow room for their rising. Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let rise for another hour until doubled in size. After the rolls have risen, pour the remaining filling in a piping bag with a small circular tip. Pipe the custard filling in circular patterns on top of the buns.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Make the egg wash by beating together 1 tbsp of milk and 1 egg. Brush the surface of the assembled dough with the egg wash. Bake the rolls in the 375 F oven for 10-12 minutes. The surface should be golden and a thermometer should register 200 F. Store leftovers in a covered container at room temperature and re-heat in the microwave for 10-12 seconds, if desired.
Recipe Notes
These came together well (I hand-kneaded) and quite tasty. However, am I the only one where timing was way way way off?? At 12 minutes at 375 they looked practically raw and internal temp was not hot enough. I cooked for an additional 15 minutes!! (Yes 27 minutes total at 375) and then broiled on low (very closely monitored) for 2 minutes to brown the tops.
I am so happy with how these turned out. I was really worried about the dough being too sticky, but because I was hand kneading, I knew it would take longer to come together than in the mixer. I used the exact measurements, and after about 10 minutes of kneading, the dough cafe together BEAUTIFULLY! I have never seen such a nice smooth dough before. The custard was fantastic! I ended up using salted butter and added just a little bit of vanilla to my liking, but without it, the custard reminds me of egg tart filling.
Quick question: I’m freezing half of my dough to make more buns next week. Do I use put the frozen dough in the fridge to thaw and then fill, and leave to rest again? Also: Can I freeze the custard to use next week or should I just whip up a new batch?
This was amazing. Thank you!
Hello! I am so glad you loved them! You are right on the frozen dough. Thaw it in the fridge, Assemble and let rise again at room temp. I am not so sure about freezing the custard though. I cannot guarantee that it will thaw well. Good luck!
Hello, I don’t have a mixer, can I still make this? I really miss the custard buns from my favorite bakery so I want to try making some!
Hello! Yes you can knead by hand. Just mix the dough ingredients with a wooden spoon, theb turn over on a board to knead until dough is smooth amd elastic.
Hi, I only have instant yeast, would it work with the recipe? I made your custard and it’s delicious.
Hello, Cindy! Yes instant yeast is fine to use in this recipe.
Such a lovely revipe!! Do you have an Instagram handle? Will bake these and tag you for sure!
Hello! Yes and tag me please. My handle is @sanna.womanscribbles Can’t wait to see your baked goods!
made first batch in shallow baking pan 2nd batch in deeper pan, the buns on browned on the bottoms, used egg wash both batches, any ideas why tops did not brown?
Hello Carol! I am thinking they need more time either kneading and/ or rising. 🙂
these were a hit with my family and taste just like what I remember the store bought ones being like. I used half all purpose and half bread flour. I did find the dough to be quite wet even with 4 cups of flour so I ended up adding quite a bit of extra flour until the dough balled up, probably an extra 4-5 tablespoons. I can’t wait to make a second batch with the leftover dough in the freezer!
I am so glad you liked this Sarah! Thanks for the feedback!
Hello there,
Thank you for the recipe!!! The buns turn out amazing … love the recipe so much!! Just one quick question about the remain dough, what should i do with them after in fridge if i want to make the same buns ?
Thank youu
Hi! I am glad you loved it! For the remaining dough, just take it out the fridge, shape and fill them and let them rise again for an hour or so, then bake:)
Can u make the dough and fill it ahead of time (like night before) and just bake on the day? Would they need to be at room temp?
Can’t wait to try
You can shape and fill the dough, store them all laid out in your pan in the fridge. Then allow to rise again before baking the next day. Enjoy!
This looks amazing! I want to try making it soon. Just want to ask… can you prep custard ahead of time and store it in the fridge? If yes, how long does it last? Thank you
Hi Joana! You can prep the custarda day ahead amd just store it in the fridge.When you are ready to use it, allow it to stand at room temperature first 🙂
Made the custard ahead and used another milk roll recipe and it was really good! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe with us!
Made these last night because we are missing our visits to our favorite Asian bakery in San Francisco. These were exactly the flavor and texture I was hoping for! So easy to make and they are delicious. My husband loved them, too!
I am so happy you loved them, Elizabeth!
Thank you for this lovely looking recipe. I would love to try it but I would
End up eating them all by myself. I will have to wait for this terrifying time to
Be beyond us so that I would be able to share. A lot of ladies from Newfoundland
Make these so I had to google for a recipe. This looks awesome.
I hope you make them soon, Mary! I hope you love them 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! They came out as good as the bakery I usually get them from in Atlanta. I won’t put custard on the outside next time (mine didn’t look pretty like yours ) but I followed the recipe exactly and they were wonderful! I will definitely make them again!
Thank you so much! I am glad you loved them:) and trust me, my bread did not look as good on the first tries too 🙂
Does heavy whipping cream work ion this recipe of heavy cream is not available?
Hello Nani! Yes, it will. I think heavy cream will be the same as heavy whipping cream. Good lUck and I hope you love them!
I’m so glad I found your blog! This recipe looks lovely and I cannot wait time try this! My nephew loves custard buns so I cannot wait to try this! For the bread, can I use bread flour instead of all purpose flour? Thank you!
Hello there, Ngoc! Yes you can use bread flour 🙂
Is it possible to make the buns first and then when you set them for the second rise leave them in the fringe over night and bake them in the morning ?
Yes Alyssa. Leave them in the fridge after you assemble them.Cover them with plastic wrap. You might have to let them rise the next morning until they are doubled in size.:)
Made these for my mom’s 66th (erm, Sweet Sixteen) birthday. Used my own hokkaido milk bread recipe, and your custard and baking instructions. Tasted just like my childhood!!! Thank you….
Aaaw Happy birthday to your Mom! I am glad you liked the custard! Thank you so much!
I have these in the oven now and I can’t wait to try them! They smell so good! They were so easy to prepare and they are turning out beautifully! My mom and I always grab these from the store when we go shopping together so I thought I’d try making them for a change. Glad I gave them a go! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Susan! I hope you loved them 🙂
followed your instructions exactly but my dough never came together, it remained way too liquid and sticky. I added almost a cup more of flour plus some corn starch and nothing helped. Even after letting it rise it was too sticky and I ended up having to throw out the whole batch.
Hello Emma! I am sorry to hear that you had trouble with this. This dough was tested though and used in most of the recipes. I will try and verify one more to check the issues you encountered.
is there a way to make these gluten free?
Hello Hannah! Unfortunately, I have not tried baking gluten-free 🙁
Hi the buns look beautiful! Did you use top and bottom heat in the oven to bake this? Or just bottom heat? I want to try making coconut custard buns (similar to this recipe but with desiccated coconut in the custard) and I’m scared that the custard and dried coconut on top will become crispy (they need to be soft!) or even get burnt while the bread is browning.
Thanks for your help!
Hello Villy! I used top and bottom heat. I have a similar recipe for coconut buns. I sprinkled the coconut flakes after baking so I do not run into problems of burning. However, I put the coconut cream on top prior to baking and it did not burn at all. I hope that helps. Happy baking!