Orange Cranberry Cheesecake Brioche Buns
These Sweet Orange Brioche Buns are filled in the center with a cheesecake & cranberry filling, then topped with an orange drizzle!
Equipment
- 2 Large baking sheet
- 1 Stand mixer with hook attachment
Ingredients
Sweet Brioche Dough
- ¾ cup +1 tablespoon warm milk, 110℉ (202g) (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast (7g)
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- zest of 1 whole orange
- 3 cups (360g) bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
Cranberry Sauce
- ¾ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- Zest of one whole orange
- ¼ cup freshly juiced orange
Cheesecake Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese, full fat softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Egg wash
- 1 egg + a little water (whisk together egg and a splash of water)
Icing
- ⅔ cup Powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon freshly juiced orange
Instructions
Sweet Brioche Dough
- Yeast: 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.Sugar zest: In the stand mixer bowl, combine the sugar and the orange zest, and using your fingers, rub them together. This helps bring out the oils in the zest, which yields more flavor.¾ cup +1 tablespoon warm milk, 110℉ (202g), 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 package active dry yeast (7g), zest of 1 whole orange
- First knead: to the sugar, add flour, 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.3 cups (360g) bread flour, ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 egg yolks, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Second Knead: 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.6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Important: Don't add more flour. Let the dough knead and come together. It will be tempting to add more flour, but trust the process. If you weighed your ingredients using a scale, the dough should all come together.
- 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.
- First proof: Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover and let rise for at least an hour.
Cranberry Sauce
- While the dough rises, prep the cranberry sauce.In a medium sauce pan, add the cranberries, sugar, zest of one whole orange, and freshly squeezed orange juice, and place on medium heat. Stir all ingredients together and let come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the cranberries start to burst and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, and let cool completely.¾ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar, Zest of one whole orange, ¼ cup freshly juiced orange
Cheesecake Filling
- In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat using a hand mixer until completely smooth.6 oz cream cheese, full fat, 3 tablespoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Shaping & Filling
- Prepare two large baking sheets and line them with parchment paper.
- Shape: Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and divide into 10 equal pieces using a kitchen scale. Roll each piece into a ball and place them on the baking sheet, making sure to leave room between them.
- Second Proof: Once all have been formed, transfer them to a baking sheet, cover lightly with saran wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size. Try to make sure there is enough space between them so that they aren't touching when rising.
- Once dough balls have risen, Preheat oven to 375℉
- Create indent: Once doubled in size, take a cup or a small bowl (make sure it's floured so it doesn't stick) and create an indent in the center. I like to use a ⅓ cup measuring cup.Brush egg wash on the sides of each bun.1 egg + a little water
- Fill: Fill half with cheesecake and half with cranberry sauce.
- Bake: Bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns become golden brown. Start checking at 12 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Glaze
- Make glaze: Combine powdered sugar and orange juice and mix until a pourable thick consistency forms. Once buns are cooled enough, drizzle with icing.⅔ cup Powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoon freshly juiced orange
- 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.
Nutrition
Calories: 378kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 7gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 239mgPotassium: 95mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 521IUCalcium: 52mgIron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @siftwithkima or tag #SiftwithKima on Instagram!
