These Sweet Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns are filled in the center with a raspberry cheesecake filling, then topped with raspberry preserves and powdered sugar.
It was about time a new Sweet Brioche Buns recipe was featured on the blog. These Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns are an adaptation of my previous brioche buns recipes. If you missed it, check out my Lemon Curd Brioche Buns & Apple Cheesecake Brioche Buns for other sweet brioche bun ideas!
These Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns are made with a soft and enriched brioche dough, then filled with raspberry cheesecake and topped with raspberry preserves and powdered sugar. They're such a perfect sweet treat to add to your brunch menu.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Soft Brioche Buns: These Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns are made with a super soft and subtly sweet dough that not only tastes wonder, but it stays soft for days!
- Perfect Brunch Treat: This recipe is perfect for Sunday brunches with family, or to take with you to a gathering.
- Make-Ahead: You can proof the dough the night before for the first rise!
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Ingredients You'll Need for This Recipe
Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns Dough
- Bread flour: I love using King Arthur Baking Bread Flour because it has a higher protein content which then yields more gluten. It can also absorb more liquid than regular all purpose flour, and we are all about that in this rolls recipe!
- Milk: I love using whole milk in my enriched doughs because it contains more fat than 2% or other milks. If you’re in a pinch, you can use a lesser fatty milk.
- Yeast: I like using active dry yeast to first activate the yeast before adding it to my dough mixture.
- Sugar: For both the yeast mixture as well as to sweeten the dough.
- Egg Yolks: Because it's an enriched dough, I like using only egg yolks to create more of an enriched dough, and I liked to leave out the whites so that there isn't too much liquid.
- Vanilla extract: Since this is a sweet brioche dough, adding a little vanilla extract enhances the flavor of the dough.
- Butter: Softened butter added to the dough creates a silky and smooth dough that is a dream to work with.
Raspberry Cheesecake Filling
- Cream cheese: I use full fat cream cheese block.
- Raspberry Preserves: You could make your own, but I like Bonne Maman and you can find it at just about any grocery store.
- Granulated sugar: To sweeten the filling.
- Vanilla extract: To enhance the flavor of the filling.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns
Make the Dough:
- In a small bowl, combine the warm milk, packet of yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and let sit and foam for about 5 minutes.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add flour, sugar, salt, 2 egg yolks, vanilla extract, and the activated yeast mixture and let knead for at least 10 minutes until the dough comes away from the bowl and forms a sort of ball.
- Start adding the softened butter slowly until all is incorporated and knead for an additional 12-15 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball and does not stick to the sides of the bowl. When touching with your finger, the dough should not stick at all. The dough will be tacky and a lot smoother/silkier than a regular dough.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover and let rise for at least an hour.
Make the Filling
- In a bowl, combine cream cheese, raspberry preserves, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat using a hand mixer until completely smooth.
Shape & Bake the Buns
- Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces using a kitchen scale. Roll each piece into a ball, then using your fingers press into the center of each ball, forming a center indent, which creates a soft of disc that has a hole where we will fill them with the sweet cream cheese. Cover with saran wrap, then let them rise.
- Once risen, Take a cup or a small bowl (make sure it's floured so it doesn't stick) and create an even larger indent in the center (I used a ¼ cup initially, but found that a ⅓ cup was better).
- Add the raspberry cheesecake filling to each bun.
- Brush the sides of each bun with egg wash. This will create a deeper color.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns become golden brown.
Top the Buns
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes, then top with raspberry preserves and powdered sugar.
Variations You Can Try
I have several different brioche buns variations that you could try.
Lemon Curd - switch out the cranberry sauce with lemon curd, like my Lemon Curd Buns recipe.
Pumpkin - A perfect fall recipe, or any other time you're craving pumpkin, use my Pumpkin Brioche Buns.
Apple - This is one of my favorite, and also a favorite of many readers, for many years. Switch it up and add apples, like my Apple Cheesecake Brioche Buns.
Pastry Cream - Make an easy pastry cream and turn these buns into Vanilla Custard Buns.
Cranberries - Use my Orange Cranberry Buns recipe for a holiday or winter twist.
Savory - Turn these buns into a breakfast delight with my Breakfast Brioche Buns recipe.
How to Make Ahead
You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time by letting the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight for the first rise. When you're ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and continue with the recipe. You won't need to let the dough come to room temperature because you'll still need to proof a second time, so it will have plenty of time.
How to Store
Once completely cooled, store the Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns in an airtight container or a ziploc bag and keep it at room temperature. You can eat them at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave or oven.
More Brioche Buns Recipes to Try
Pro Tips
- Measure Flour Correctly: As always, with any recipe, use a kitchen scale, as it is the best form of measuring your ingredients. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour, scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off.
- Don't Skip Kneading: Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes before adding the softened butter. This will ensure the dough forms and pulls away from the bowl. Then once you add the butter, knead for another 10-15 minutes until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough has pulled away from the bowl again.
- Don’t add too much flour: This dough will be tacky, but shouldn’t stick to your hands. It will also be very silky (this due to all the butter added). If while kneading, the dough doesn’t come together after 15 minutes, you can add one tablespoon of flour at a time. But be patient before adding the flour. You don’t want a dry dough.
- Make Ahead: You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time by letting the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight for the first rise. When you're ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and continue with the recipe. You won't need to let the dough come to room temperature because you'll still need to proof a second time, so it will have plenty of time.
FAQ
Brioche Buns recipe or Brioche bread recipes are different than regular dough recipes because of the amount of fat it contains. A regular bread recipe typically contains flour, yeast, water, salt. A brioche bread recipe is an enriched recipe that contains milk, eggs, and butter. My Brioche Buns recipe contain ¼ cup of sugar to give it an extra hint of sweetness, which is not typical in a regular bread recipe.
Absolutely! This Brioche Buns Recipe can be a base for so many bread recipes. You can top it with whatever you desire, sweet or savory. I have a few other Brioche Buns recipes on my blog for ideas.
You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time by letting the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight for the first rise. When you're ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and continue with the recipe. You won't need to let the dough come to room temperature because you'll still need to proof a second time, so it will have plenty of time.
My milk temperature is a guide so that you don’t use too hot of milk (could kill the yeast) or too cold of milk (won’t activate the yeast). Milk temperature between 105-115 degrees F. will do the trick and yield best results.
Reader Feedback
Since developing my first brioche bun recipe in 2022, I've had many people remake them, with such great feedback. I have, however, had people mention that the dough can be a little too sticky/wet and they needed to add more flour. For this reason, I went back to the drawing board to test the recipe with ¼ cup less milk, so only ¾ cup total milk instead of 1 cup, and it turns out great! However, this is with my controlled environment, and with using a scale to weigh my flour.
If you're a long-time reader who has had success with a whole cup of milk, then keep making the recipe that way.
📖 Recipe Card
Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns
Equipment
- 1 Large baking sheet
Ingredients
Sweet Brioche Dough
- ¾ cup +1 tablespoon warm milk, 110℉ (202g) (see notes)
- 1 package active dry yeast (7g)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3 cups (360g) bread flour
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
Raspberry Cheesecake Filling
- 1 8 oz Package cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Raspberry preserves
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Wash
- egg or milk
Topping
- Raspberry preserves
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh raspberries
Instructions
Sweet Brioche Dough
- In a small bowl, combine the warm milk, packet of yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and let sit and foam for about 5 minutes.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add flour, sugar, salt, 2 egg yolks, vanilla extract, and the activated yeast mixture and let knead for at least 10 minutes until the dough comes away from the bowl and forms a sort of ball.
- Start adding the softened butter slowly until all is incorporated and knead for an additional 12-15 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball and does not stick to the sides of the bowl. When touching with your finger, the dough should not stick at all. The dough will be tacky and a lot smoother/silkier than a regular dough.Humidity: If you live in an area with high humidity, you may need to add extra flour or reduce the amount of milk added to the dough. I've had readers have success with either adding more flour or reducing the milk. I've had to add more flour during the summer months when humidity is high.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover and let rise for at least an hour.
Raspberry Cheesecake Filling
- In a bowl, combine cream cheese, raspberry preserves, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat using a hand mixer until completely smooth.
Shaping the Sweet Brioche Buns
- Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces using a kitchen scale. Roll each piece into a ball, then using your fingers press into the center of each ball, forming a center indent, which creates a soft of disc that has a hole where we will fill them with the sweet cream cheese.
- Once all have been formed, transfer them to a baking sheet, cover with saran wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Try to make sure there is enough space between them so that they aren't touching when rising.
- Preheat oven to 375°
- After 30-45 minutes, the buns should now be doubled in size. Take a cup or a small bowl (make sure it's floured so it doesn't stick) and create an even larger indent in the center (I used a ¼ cup initially, but found that a ⅓ cup was better).
- Add the raspberry cheesecake filling to each bun.
- Brush the sides of each bun with egg wash. This will create a deeper color.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns become golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes, then top with raspberry preserves and powdered sugar.
- These Sweet Brioche Buns are delicious warm, but taste great at room temperature as well.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
Reader Feedback
Since developing my first brioche bun recipe in 2022, I've had many people remake them, with such great feedback. I have, however, had people mention that the dough can be a little too sticky/wet and they needed to add more flour. For this reason, I went back to the drawing board to test the recipe with ¼ cup less milk, so only ¾ cup total milk instead of 1 cup, and it turns out great! However, this is with my controlled environment, and with using a scale to weigh my flour. If you're a long-time reader who has had success with a whole cup of milk, then keep making the recipe that way. Tips for the best results:- Measure Flour Correctly: As always, with any recipe, use a kitchen scale, as it is the best form of measuring your ingredients. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour, scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off.
- Don’t Skip Kneading: Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes before adding the softened butter. This will ensure the dough forms and pulls away from the bowl. Then once you add the butter, knead for another 10-20 minutes until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough has pulled away from the bowl again.
- Don’t add too much flour: This dough will be tacky, but shouldn’t stick to your hands. It will also be very silky (this due to all the butter added). If while kneading, the dough doesn’t come together after 15 minutes, you can add one tablespoon of flour at a time. But be patient before adding the flour. You don’t want a dry dough.
- Make Ahead: You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time by letting the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight for the first rise. When you’re ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and continue with the recipe. You won’t need to let the dough come to room temperature because you’ll still need to proof a second time, so it will have plenty of time.
- Proof in pre-heated oven: One trick I love doing is to pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, then turning off the oven and letting my dough proof in the oven. This cuts down on proofing time, especially if I’m in a hurry, but it also helps in the winter when it’s especially cold.
- Windowpane test: To know if your dough is ready, perform the windowpane test where you take a small piece of dough and stretch it out between your fingers. If it stretches out without tearing and light can pass through, then it has passed the windowpane test. If it tears, let the dough knead another 5 minutes, then perform the test again.
- Humidity: Due to reader feedback, I've updated the recipe to reduce the amount of milk to ¾ of a cup instead of a whole cup. See Reader feedback for more info.
Karina says
The recipe was easy to follow and the buns came out yummy!
Jose says
I did this recipe 12/17/24, prepped the dough before hand and left it overnight to proof slowly in the fridge, following day I did the cheesecake mixture and baked the buns, every step provided by Kima was easy to follow, the end result was divine, I’m a novice baker but these buns had my family calling me a pro!
Hakima says
Aw this makes me so happy! I'm so glad they turned out great for you, Jose! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! 🙂