Blueberry Cheesecake Buns
Soft and fluffy milk bread brioche buns with a creamy cheesecake filling, wild blueberries, and a pistachio streusel.
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
Affiliate links: Kitchen Scale (my favorite) | Kitchen scale (great starter option) | Oven Thermometer | Cordless Hand Mixer | Stand Mixer
*I recommend bread flour because it has more structure and produces a better dough. You can use all purpose flour, just make sure it has a higher protein percentage such as King Arthur Flour, which has 11.7% protein.
**Take a small piece of dough and stretch it gently as far as you can. If it tears super easily, keep kneading. If it's able to spread to the point where it's super thin and you can see light through it, it has passed the windowpane test and is good to go!
***At this point you could leave the dough in the fridge overnight, and proceed with the rest of the recipe the next day.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bunCalories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 10gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 253mgPotassium: 229mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 766IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 1mg