French Custard Pudding Buns | Baked with Raw Cane Sugar

A bake for anyone who loves bread and custard equally.

Each bun is baked once until golden and soft, then opened up, hollowed out and filled with a silky custard. A second bake sets the filling and gives the top a light colour. One bite, two textures.

The sugar

Raw Cane Sugar (原蔗糖) has clear, golden grains that dissolve easily, with a clean cane sweetness.

It does two jobs here. In the dough, it feeds the yeast and helps the crust turn golden. In the custard, it dissolves into the eggs without leaving grains behind and gives the filling a soft, rounded sweetness that lets the milk and cream come through.

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What makes it work

Knead in two stages. Work the dough until it stretches into a thick film before adding the yeast and butter, then keep going until it pulls into a thin, elastic membrane. That second stage is what makes the crumb soft.

For the custard, heat the milk and cream only until bubbles form at the edge, and pour it into the eggs slowly while whisking, so the eggs do not scramble. Cook it back in the pan over low heat and stop as soon as it thickens. Let it cool before filling the buns.

Recipe

French Custard Pudding Buns

Ingredients

Dough

• Bread flour 250g
• Ship Brand Raw Cane Sugar 25g
• Salt 3g
• Egg, 1
• Milk 155g
• Fresh yeast 8g
• Butter 20g

Custard

• Eggs, 3
• Egg yolk, 1
• Ship Brand Raw Cane Sugar 20g
• Cornflour 10g
• Milk 250g
• Whipping cream 70g

Method

1. Put the bread flour, raw cane sugar, salt, egg and milk into a bread machine or mixer. Knead until the dough can stretch into a thick film.
2. Add the fresh yeast and butter and keep kneading until the dough stretches into a thin, smooth, elastic membrane.
3. Place the dough in a sealed container and leave it to rise until doubled in size.
4. Knock the dough back, divide it into 6 equal pieces, shape into rounds and leave for a second proof.
5. While the dough proofs, make the custard. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, raw cane sugar and cornflour until smooth with no lumps.
6. Heat the milk and whipping cream until bubbles appear at the edge. Pour slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
7. Return everything to the pan and stir over low heat until thick. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
8. Bake the proofed buns at 190°C for 15 minutes until golden and soft.
9. Cut off the tops, carefully hollow out the centres, and pour in the cooled custard.
10. Bake again at 190°C for 15 minutes until the custard sets and the top takes on colour.

Closing

Tear one open and the custard is smooth and just set inside a soft, golden shell. A small project for a slow weekend.

Ship Brand (帆船牌) is the retail line of Yuen Tung Sugar Factory Industrial Company Limited. Sugar refined in Hong Kong since 1987. Shop the collection.