Matcha & Strawberry Cream Buns

fruity and creamy italian style buns

Hello friends,

I’ve been itching to make some dough lately. The edible kind. Cakes and cookies are usually what I find myself leaning towards for both work projects and leisurely baking but every now and again, I get a real hankering for something yeasty and squidgy. That feeling of having silky soft dough in your hands once it’s been kneaded always brings out this playfulness that I really enjoy. These days, I often knead dough in my stand mixer for convenience and speed but I’ll always finish off the last few minutes by hand. It forces you to pause, even just for a little bit and really focus on what’s in your hands and what they’re creating.

This week I decided to channel those cravings for something bready into a recipe for some fluffy cream buns heavily inspired by the now iconic Italian Maritozzi. I’ve only ever tried these Italian buns at Forno bakery in Hackney and they were intensely good. A ridiculously light and gently sweetened brioche bun filled very generously with fresh whipped cream. Simple and wonderful.

The dough I’ve made in this recipe isn’t strictly a brioche (which is why I’m just calling these cream buns rather than Maritozzi) - it would need much more butter and eggs for that! But I wanted something that was pretty easy to work with - something you could start and finish on the same day without needing to chill overnight. Just a soft, supple dough that could be the perfect vehicle to hold in all that cream and fruit.

You could of course just fill these with plain whipped cream but to give this a more summery vibe, I’ve added in spoonfuls of macerated strawberries and topped with a cloud of matcha cream. I don’t know about you but I’ve been seeing tonnes of matcha flavoured drinks and bakes all across my feed recently. Matcha has always been that girl - grassy, a little bitter and possesses the most beautiful shade of green. I tend to have ceremonial grade matcha at home which is what I’ve used here but a good quality culinary grade would be just as good too. Now that the weather is nice and warm, start these buns in the morning and they’ll be ready to bake and fill in time for lunch.

And for paid subscribers, keep an eye out for an additional newsletter tomorrow with my July round up and an extra recipe for the weekend.

Enjoy!

Benjamina x

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MATCHA & STRAWBERRY CREAM BUNS

I make the dough in a stand mixer but it can definitely be done completely by hand! If you do make it by hand, the trickiest and messiest part will be kneading once you’ve added in the butter. It’ll look it doesn’t want to incorporate into the dough but I promise it will, just persist and take breaks when needed!

RECIPE

makes 6 buns

For the dough:
390g bread flour
2 teaspoons fast action dried yeast
50g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
100ml warm milk
70ml water
1 large egg, plus 1 egg for egg wash
50g unsalted butter, room temperature.

For the filling:
150g strawberries
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons matcha
600ml double cream
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

METHOD

1. Start by making the dough. Add the flour and sugar to a large bowl and add the yeast and salt on separate sides.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, water and egg. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. Knead the dough in a stand mixer for about 6-7 minutes on medium speed until it’s no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. (This will take about 10-12 minutes by hand) Let the dough rest uncovered for 5 minutes and then tip in the softened butter. Continue to knead for another 5 minutes or until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough feels smooth and silky.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place to prove. Timings for this will vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen but you’re looking for it to nearly double in size.

4. Once risen and puffy, knock the air out and turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Split the dough into 6 even portions and roll each one tightly into an oval shape. I do this my making a tight ball first and before making it a little elongated - it should be shorter and fatter than a hot dog bun.

5. Place them on two lined baking trays, cover loosely with cling film or a clean tea towel and let the rise again for 20-30 minutes until puffy.

6. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan.

7. Carefully egg wash the buns and bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until well browned. The bottom of the buns should sound hollow when tapped. Set aside to let them cool completely.

8. To prepare the filling, hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces. Add them to a bowl with the sugar and set them aside to macerate for 10 minutes.

9. Add the matcha powder to a bowl and pour in about 100ml of the cream. Whisk this together briefly to get a thick paste and no lumps of matcha. Pour in the rest of the cream along with the icing sugar and vanilla and whip together until the cream is thickened with soft peaks. (It’s best to slightly under whip it at this point).

10. When you’re ready to fill the buns, use a sharp serrated knife to slice them open in the middle from the top down, making sure not to slice all the way through. Spoon in some strawberries add then add in a generous amount of matcha cream. Use an offset spatula or palette knife to smooth out the surface of the cream and to clean up the edges.

11. Dust generously with icing sugar before serving. Once the buns are filled, they’re best served on the same day.