Apple Streusel Cheesecake Buns

Ingredients

Buns

300 g bread flour
125 ml milk lukewarm
1 egg
45 g sugar
7 g yeast
30 g butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Apple Topping

2 apples
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter

Cream Cheese Filling

200 g cream cheese
50 ml heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Streusel

1 tbsp sugar
20 g butter
60 g flour

Instructions

Preparing the Streusel

In a bowl combine together the flour, butter and sugar. Once combined, crumble everything up. Place in the fridge until it’s time to bake the buns.

Prepare the Cream Cheese Filling

In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla and sugar. Set aside.

Prepare Apple Topping

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the chopped apples, sugar, butter and cinnamon. As soon as the apples start to soften - it might take up to 3 minutes - add the cornstarch. Let the mixture cook for another 3 minutes. Take it off heat and let it cool slightly before using.

Preparing the Brioche Buns

In a mixer bowl activate the yeast by adding the yeast, milk and sugar. Let the mixture foam for about 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, add together the flour, salt and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Once the yeast is activated, add the dry ingredients together with the egg to the mixer bowl. With a hook attachment, knead the dough for about 3 minutes, until a soft dough starts to take shape.
Then gently add the diced butter one piece at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Let the dough knead for about 10 minutes. Make sure it passes the windowpane test*.
Cover the dough and let it rest for an hour in the warmest place in your kitchen until it doubles in size.
Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and dust it with flour. Set aside.
Once the dough is doubled in size, transfer it to a well floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and form into balls. Punch the centre slightly down with your fingers of each ball. Place the buns on the prepared tray keeping a good amount of space between each one. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F while the buns are rising.
Once the buns have rested, flatten again the centre of the buns. Brush with the egg wash. Add a generous scoop of cream cheese filling, add the diced apples and sprinkle on top the streusel.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the buns have a nice golden brown colour.

Notes

*To carry out the windowpane test, take a small amount of dough and hold it with both hands (using the thumbs and first two fingers). Gently, spread open your hands so to stretch the dough. Keep stretching gently until the centre part of the dough is translucent. If the dough doesn’t break that means that the gluten has developed and you can prepare your dough for the rising part. However, if the dough breaks easily when you open your fingers, the gluten hasn’t yet fully developed so it needs more work. Therefore, transfer the dough ball back to the main dough and let it knead for more minutes. Try again until the dough passes the windowpane test.

Nutrition