Description
Silky Italian cream buns deliver pure pastry perfection from Naples bakeries. Sweet ricotta and delicate pastry create a heavenly experience you cannot resist sampling.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 cups (280 grams) Manitoba flour
- ⅔ cups (150 ml) warm milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup (57 grams) butter
Flavoring Ingredients:
- ¼ cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) quick rise instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey
- Orange zest from 1 medium orange
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) salt
Egg Wash and Cream Topping:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 2 cups (473 ml) heavy whipping cream (35%)
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- Amarena cherries (optional)
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, blend flour, sugar, and yeast thoroughly, creating a central cavity.
- Pour warm milk (110°F / 43°C) and egg yolk into the well, using the dough hook to incorporate ingredients until a cohesive mixture forms.
- Infuse the developing dough with fragrant orange zest, delicate vanilla bean seeds, and golden honey, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Incrementally introduce softened butter, working it into the dough, then add salt, kneading continuously for 8-10 minutes to develop a silky, elastic texture.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl, ensuring complete surface coverage, then shield with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment until volume triples, approximately 2 hours.
- Gently divide the expanded dough into 12 uniform portions, carefully folding and shaping each into a smooth, rounded ball.
- Arrange dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, loosely cover with sprayed plastic wrap, and permit a secondary rise for 60 minutes.
- Prepare a luxurious egg wash by whisking one large egg with heavy cream (35% milkfat), then delicately brush over each risen dough ball.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C), bake the buns for 20 minutes until golden brown, then transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling.
- Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff, voluminous peaks emerge.
- Carefully slice each cooled bun, pipe the whipped cream filling generously, optionally garnish with a maraschino cherry.
- Finish by dusting with powdered sugar and crown with an elegant whipped cream rosette and an additional cherry.
Notes
- Master your dough by ensuring warm milk isn’t too hot, which could kill the yeast and prevent proper rising.
- Create a cozy, draft-free environment for dough rising to help it develop rich, soft texture and maximum flavor.
- Knead butter gradually into the dough to guarantee a silky, elastic consistency that produces tender, light buns.
- Use fresh ingredients like real vanilla bean seeds and orange zest to elevate the delicate flavor profile of these Italian cream buns.
- Allow sufficient proofing time for the dough to triple in size, ensuring airy, delectable texture that melts in your mouth.
- Brush egg wash generously before baking to achieve a gorgeous golden-brown, glossy exterior that looks professionally crafted.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 302 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg