Cream cheese and raisin buns.

Singaporeans have a tendency of having food crazes.
Previously being bubble tea, doughnuts, and now bubble tea again for example.
We just like to queue!

Anyways, after a recent visit from my Aunty , I discovered that the lastest craze in Singapore is the cream cheese and raisins buns from BarCook Bakery.
I have never tasted them or seen them before, but just the thought of them made me drool.
After she left for Sydney, I just couldnt get the thought of those buns out of my head.
The sweet and savory combination pushes all the buttons for me for it solves my problems of being fickle.
During breakfast, i can never decide on whether i should have something sweet like pancakes or something savory like eggs benedict.

So, i did some research, and found a recipe for a really soft and fluffy bun to compliment a rich and creamy filling.
The bun was superb when it came out of the oven, all hot and steamy inside.

If you havent tried baking bread before, i recommend you give it a shot, cause theres nothing better than homemade. =)




Cream cheese raisin buns

makes 10 buns.

Sweet bun recipe adapted from Happy home baker and Cream cheese filling from Lily Wai Sek Hong.

Ingredients for Sweet raisin bun:

150g bread flour
150g cake flour
5g active dry yeast
3g salt

60g caster sugar
1/2 cup raisins

125g milk
1 egg
50g butter

(1 egg, beaten, for glazing)

1/4 cup grated cheese for top of bun.

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add in milk, egg and butter. Mix into a dough using a electric mixer with an attached dough hook (about 15 mins) or by hand (25 mins). The dough will appear to be very sticky at first but dont add flour, it will come together eventually. The dough is sufficiently kneaded when a piece can be stretched out into a thin layer without tearing easily.

2. Place the dough in the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel or cling wrap to seal in the moisture. Allow the dough to proof until double in bulk in a warm environment (about 1 hours). To test whether the dough has been fully proofed, press a finger into the dough and withdraw quickly. It should leave a deep impression and spring back very slowly. For an insufficiently proofed dough, the impression will spring back instantly.

3. Take out the dough and punch out the gas produced. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

4. Divide the dough into 60g portions. Shape and add cream cheese filling (recipe below). Arrange dough in a greased or lined pan. Rest for about another 15 minutes.

5. Brush the top with whole egg mixture. Add grated cheese on the top of the buns..

6. Bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 190 degC. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Filling:

30g castor sugar
100g cream cheese
1 egg lightly beaten
18g cake flour
100ml warm milk
1 - 2 tsp lemon juice (adjust amount according to your preference)
10g butter

Method:

1. Cream cheese and sugar till a smooth paste is formed.

2. Add in lightly beaten egg 1/3 at a time and mix well before adding the next portion.

3. Stir in the sieved flour.

4. Add in the warm milk and mix well.

5. Microwave cheese mixture for 2 minutes on HIGH and stir it. After stirring it, send it back to the microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH again. Blend well till you get a smooth paste.(Alternatively, you can cook the mixture over the stove for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly until ixture thickens)

6. Stir in the lemon juice and butter. Send it to chill in the refrigerator and roll slightly harden cheese paste into 35g balls to be used as filling for the raisin buns.