Vanilla Custard Brioche Buns
Soft, fluffy Vanilla Custard Brioche Buns, made with a fluffy dough and filled with homemade creamy vanilla bean custard, then baked to golden perfection. These sweet, rich buns offer a delicate balance of buttery dough and velvety custard, perfect for a cozy breakfast or dessert.
Equipment
- 2 Large baking sheets
- 1 Stand mixer with hook attachment
- 1 medium sauce pan
- 2 Mixing Bowl
- 1 whisk
- 1 fine-mesh sieve
Ingredients
Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 1⅓ cup (325.33 g) milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped from whole vanilla bean) or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 (68 g) large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoon (16 g) cornstarch
Sweet Brioche Dough
- ¾ cup (202 g) +1 tablespoon warm milk, 110℉ (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoon (7 g) active dry yeast 1 package
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (360 g) bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon (4.5 g) salt
- 2 (36 g) egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon (8 g) vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon (84 g) unsalted butter softened
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
- Prep a heatproof mixing bowl with a fine-mesh sieve on top and set aside (this will be used for the finished custard at the end).
- In a another medium to large heatproof bowl, add the egg yolks and cornstarch and whisk vigorously until completely combined and smooth. Set aside while you make the milk.4 (68 g) large egg yolks, 2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch
- In a medium sauce pan, add milk and sugar, and whisk. Then add the scraped out seeds* from the vanilla bean, as well as the vanilla bean.*To scrape seeds from vanilla bean: massage the vanilla bean to soften it if it's dry. Place the bean on a cutting board and using a small knife, cut a lengthwise slit along the pod, slicing right down the middle. Pry it open, then using the edge of the knife, scrap out the seeds from both sides.1⅓ cup (325.33 g) milk, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped from whole vanilla bean)
- Place the pot over medium heat and let the milk come to a simmer, then remove it from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean, then slowly start pouring the milk into the egg mixture, but make sure to whisk the eggs as you slowly pour the milk in. Whisking continuously will help prevent eggs from curdling or scrambling (if it does a little, it's ok. We'll be running it through a sieve).
- Once completely mixed in, pour the custard back into the sauce pan and place it back on medium heat, whisking constantly. It will start to thicken pretty quickly, so keep a close watch and whisk continuously. It will take about 30-60 seconds to reach custard thickness.
- Once thick enough, turn off the heat, remove the pan from the heat and run the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into the clean heatproof bowl. Cover with saran wrap, making sure the saran wrap touches the surface of the custard - this helps prevent a film from forming over the custard. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
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.¾ cup (202 g) +1 tablespoon warm milk, 110℉, 1 tsp (4 g) granulated sugar, 2¼ tsp (7 g) active dry yeast
- First knead: In the bowl of a stand mixer, 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 (360 g) bread flour, ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar, ¾ tsp (4.5 g) salt, 2 (36 g) egg yolks, 2 tsp (8 g) 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 tbsp (84 g) 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.
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℉
- Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator and mix very well since it will be cold and maybe a little clumpy. I like to use a handheld mixer with beater attachments and give it a good mix for about 30 seconds to a minute. You can then transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag to easily fill each bun. I use a piping bag and just cut a hole with a scissors. If you don't have piping bags, you can use a ziplock bag.
- 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.
- Fill: pipe pastry cream into each bun, filling it to the top.
- Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes until the buns become golden brown.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled, you can add fruits or powdered sugar, if you like.
- Crème brûlée option: Add sugar to the top of each custard bun and even it out, then using a kitchen torch, melt and caramelize the sugar. Even though I did this with a few of them, I did find it a little tricky because the edges of the custard (which is essentially the buns) started to burn before all the sugar would melt and caramelize. The taste is delicious, so if you can, I do recommend trying it with at least one bun. It's a little fun!
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Since they have custard filling, they should be stored refrigerated, which will dry them out. To reheat, you can pop them in the microwave for 45 seconds or so.
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: 318kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 8gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 201mgPotassium: 136mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 449IUVitamin C: 0.002mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @siftwithkima or tag #SiftwithKima on Instagram!
