Slow Food Cape Town CSA

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: SWEET BUTTERNUT CUSTARD BAO

Posted by Kate | Filed under Recipes, Summer 2010

Yes, I know this is more labour-intensive than the recipes I usually give, but these are so technically easy, impressive and delicious that I think these sweet Chinese bao (buns) are worthy of a little effort on weekends. The recipe is adapted from Chef Joe Ng of the Chinatown Brasserie in New York which, in my humble opinion, makes the best baked custard buns I have ever tasted.

FILLING

60g butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup maizena

1 ½ TBS cake flour

1 egg, beaten

½ cup coconut milk or cream

230g cooked, peeled butternut (approx 300g small whole butternut)

pinch salt

DOUGH

360g cake flour

5g dried yeast (half a packet)

1 cup milk, slightly warmed

4 TBS butter, melted

2 TBS sugar

pinch salt

1 egg, beaten

icing sugar (optional)

METHOD

To make the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and cake flour in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg with the butter. Add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine, and then whisk in the coconut milk.

Puree the butternut with a hand blender or push through a sieve. Mix into the coconut milk mixture, and place in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and does not taste of flour, about eight minutes. Remove from the heat, and leave to cool.

To make the dough, put the year, sugar, salt and flour in a bowl. Pour the butter and milk into the middle and stir to combine. Turn out onto a counter and knead for about five minutes, until smooth. Place in a bowl and cover, and leave to rise for one hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl, and place on a counter. Roughly shape into a log, and cut into 14 roughly equal sized pieces. Lightly roll each into a ball with your hands, and then roll out with a rolling pin, into a 3-5mm thick circle. Place a spoonful of cooled custard into the middle of each dough circle, and wrap the dough around the custard, pinching the dough together at the top to seal. There will probably be custard left over, but this can easily be taken care of by a spoon and a hungry volunteer.

Place the buns seal-side down on a lightly oiled or lined baking tray, about 3cm apart. Let them proof uncovered for another 30 minutes.  Brush with the beaten egg, and bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes, until firm and lightly golden on top (if your oven is fierce, rotate the sheet after five minutes). Dust with icing and serve warm.

You can leave them in the oven (with the oven turned off and the door ajar) for half an hour if you do not wish to eat them immediately, or reheat them covered with a kitchen cloth at 160C before serving. These keep a day or so in a sealed container.

Enjoy them!

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Comments (0) | March 22nd, 2010