Strawberry cheesecake buns with a fluffy milk bread brioche, cottage cheese filling & strawberry jam.
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strawberry cheesecake buns
It’s almost summer which can only mean one thing in the baking world: it’s time for light, bright, fruity desserts. These strawberry cheesecake buns use the same light, fluffy and delicious milk bread dough you’ll see in a lot of my other recipes (such as these raspberry brioche buns). They’re filled with a creamy, slightly tangy cottage cheese filling & topped with strawberry jam and streusel. If you ask me, they’re the perfect summer brunch treat.
why you’ll love these strawberry cheesecake buns:
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Cottage cheese & strawberries: this is probably the best way to eat cottage cheese & it pairs so well with the strawberry jam.
- 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.
be careful heating the milk
Heating the milk is important for bringing the yeast to an optimal temperature for rising. The milk should be heated to ~100°F / 38°C but it does not have to be exact. As long as the milk is between 95°F – 110°F, it is good to be used. If the temperature exceeds 110°F, wait for it to cool down before using so that you do not kill the yeast!
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.
strawberry cheesecake buns ingredients
Brioche dough:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. 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.
streusel:
- Unsalted butter, light brown sugar & all purpose flour: all the usual suspects of an easy, delicious streusel. In a pinch you can use granulated sugar in place of the brown sugar.
Cheesecake filling:
- Cottage cheese: full-fat is best here. If you’re not a fan of cottage cheese you can do a 1:1 sub with cream cheese here.
- Egg: for binding the filling together.
- Granulated sugar: for a little bit of sweetness
- Vanilla: for flavor
- Strawberry preserves: for putting on top of the cheesecake filling. Use your favorite brand of strawberry preserves or strawberry jam here – or substitute in a different fruit!
how to make strawberry cheesecake buns
Here’s just a little overview of making these strawberry buns. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Make the dough and let it rise in a warm environment until it has doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a tight ball and let it rise in a warm environment.
- Press the centers of the buns down to make a divot for the filling.
- Fill each divot with the cottage cheese filling.
- Then add in the strawberry jam and top the buns with the streusel. Bake, serve, and enjoy!
strawberry cheesecake buns
recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store strawberry 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 16 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, let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or whatever the instructions are on your yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
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.
my yeast mixture isn’t foaming, what should I do?
The mixture should start foaming around 5 minutes in. If it has not foamed after 10 minutes, the yeast is likely dead. You want to make sure that the milk temperature does not exceed 110°F / 43°C or it will kill the yeast. If you try it again and it still does not foam, the yeast you are using may be expired and you will want to purchase some more before proceeding.
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
Strawberry Cheesecake Buns
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g all purpose flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Brioche Dough
- 90 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg room temperature
- 240 g all purpose flour (2 c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. salt
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
Streusel
- 28 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp.)
- 35 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 45 g all purpose flour (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Cheesecake Filling
- 170 g cottage cheese* room temperature (¾ c.)
- 1 tbsp. egg whisked
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 170 g strawberry preserves (¾ c.)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add the flour and milk to a microwave safe bowl and whisk them together. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. The mixture should now be a thick slurry, but if it’s not, microwave it in 10 second intervals until it has thickened.
Brioche Dough
- Add the milk, sugar, yeast, egg, flour, salt, butter, and tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or the bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.**
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape it into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)***
- 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 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece tightly into a ball.
- 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 streusel.
Streusel
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add in the sugar and flour, then stir the mixture together until you have little clumps of dough. Set aside.
Cheesecake Filling
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
- Add the cottage cheese, 1 tbsp. of the whisked egg, sugar, and vanilla to a food processor. Process the mixture until it’s fully smooth and combined.
- With the remaining egg, make an egg wash by whisking in 1 tbsp. of milk into the egg.
- 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 cheese with 1 ½ tbsp. of strawberry jam and swirl it around.
- Brush the edges of each of the buns with the egg wash, then sprinkle the streusel over the edges.
- Bake for 15-20 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.
I made this recipe just today and it was an absolutely delicious! The bread was so incredibly soft with an amazing crumb. I followed the recipe using metric measurements, subbed cream cheese for the cottage cheese, and doubled the streusel. The only thing was the brioche took pretty much an hour to knead by machine rather than 10-20 minutes.