Blueberry cheesecake buns with a fluffy milk bread brioche, cheesecake filling & fresh blueberries.
This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details. // Recipe updated 07/23/25. Previously named “blueberry cheesecake danish”
blueberry cheesecake buns
Hello hello! If you’re looking for some delicious and fluffy blueberry cheesecake buns, you’ve certainly come to the right place. These here are made with quite possibly the softest and fluffiest milk bread brioche buns, filled with a super creamy and rich cheesecake filling, and topped with fresh blueberries.
Below you’ll find a bunch of tips, tricks, and information that (I hope) is helpful for successfully making these blueberry cheesecake buns, and yeast breads in general. So let’s get into it! 🙂
why you’ll love these blueberry cheesecake buns:
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Cheesecake & blueberries: the cheesecake is super rich and creamy & pairs beautifully with fresh blueberries.
- They’re easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for blueberry cheesecake buns
Brioche dough:
- Bread flour: for structure and chewiness. I recommend bread flour because it yields a fluffier, taller bun but you can* use all purpose flour. Please be sure that you are using a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will probably need to add in some more flour – which will dry out the dough.
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand (more notes on that later on.)
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the dough. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the brioche and helps the yeast with rising.
- Eggs: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche and giving it a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is quite variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
blueberry cheesecake filling:
- Cream cheese: I recommend using full fat cream cheese, but you can substitute in neufchâtel cheese!
- Granulated sugar: just a little bit of sugar here to help sweeten up the cream cheese.
- Egg: we’re going to take one egg, whisk it, and use 2 tbsp. of that whisked egg in the filling. The rest of the egg will be used for an egg wash so be sure to keep it.
- Whole milk: to thin out the cheesecake filling a little bit.
- Blueberries: for some freshness to compliment the brioche and cheesecake filling. You can use fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries / wild blueberries.
PISTACHIO STREUSEL:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, you can also use salted butter here.
- Light brown sugar: for flavor and sweetness.
- Bread flour: for structure.
- Pistachios: for flavor and structure – you can use roasted, salted, or unsalted here. You could also easily sub in hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts.
how to make blueberry cheesecake buns
Here are some pictures showing the process of putting together the danishes. The full recipe is at the end of the blog post!
- Make the dough and let it rise in a warm environment until it has doubled in size, then divide it into 6 pieces.
- Roll each piece out into a circle.
- Make the cheesecake filling while the dough rises.
- Press the centers of the buns down to make a divot for the filling. Fill each divot with the cheesecake filling and blueberries. Top with streusel then bake, serve, and enjoy!
blueberry cheesecake buns recipe q&a
how to store blueberry cheesecake buns
Like any fresh bread recipe, these will definitely taste the best and the most fresh on the day that they are baked. However, they can be stored out at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and split the dough into 12 balls. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, just note that your dough will double in size faster.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Blueberry Cheesecake Buns
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 80 g whole milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg room temperature
- 180 g bread flour* (1 ½ c.)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
Cheesecake Filling
- 110 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. egg whisked
- 1 tbsp. whole milk
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 170 g frozen wild blueberries (1 c. + 2 tbsp.)
Egg Wash
- 2 tbsp. egg
- 1 tbsp. whole milk
Pistachio Streusel
- 28 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp.)
- 35 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 30 g bread flour (¼ c.)
- 45 g pistachios chopped (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Instructions
Brioche Dough
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, heat the milk to 100°F / 38°C. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar. Set aside until the mixture begins to foam. (~5 minutes)
- While waiting, add the flour, salt, egg, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add it in to the rest of the ingredients.
- Knead the dough on low speed for 1 minute to allow the ingredients to come together. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the dough passes the windowpane test.**
- Once the dough is done kneading, butter the inside of the bowl, form the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. At this point, you could set the dough in the fridge to rise overnight, or continue with completing the recipe in one day. If doing in one day, set the dough in a warm area and wait for it to double in size (~1 hour.)***
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it.
- Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.
- Use a rolling pin to roll each piece out into a ~4" circle. If the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 minutes, then try rolling again.
- Transfer the buns to a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them apart to allow room for spreading. Leave the buns in a warm environment until they puff up a little, ~30 minutes. In the meantime, make the cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake Filling
- In a small bowl, whisk an egg.
- Add the cream cheese and sugar to a small mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and smooth.
- Add in the milk, vanilla, and 2 tbsp. of the whisked egg. Beat until well combined.
Egg Wash
- With the remaining egg, make an egg wash by whisking in 1 tbsp. of milk into the egg.
Pistachio Streusel
- Melt the butter in a small microwave safe mixing bowl. Then, add in the sugar, flour, and chopped pistachios and mix until well combined.
- Once the buns have puffed up, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Lightly flour the bottom of a cup or bowl that is ~3” in diameter. Press the cup down onto each of the pastries to form a divot for the filling.
- Pour ~1 ½ tbsp. of the cheese filling into the center of each bun. Then, top the cheesecake with the frozen wild blueberries (or fresh, if using.)
- Brush the edges of each bun with the egg wash. Then, sprinkle on the pistachio streusel. (Or, you can sprinkle on crushed hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, etc. here as well.)
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the edges of the buns turn golden brown. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Great recipe, so fluffy and delicious!
Hey, it doesn’t say how much heavy cream in the recipe. Could you please update the recipe? I would love to try this.
Sorry about that! It’s there now 🙂
Made these. So yummmmm!!! Wasn’t too complicated to prepare. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe 🥰