I Heart Bread - Cinnamon Apple Custard Cupcake Bun

Few days ago, I bought some granny smith apple and planned to make either tarte tatin or apple pie. But since I usually bake after dinner, once I finish the dessert it will become a sugar overload late night supper. Since my family just finish the bread I made the other day, so I decide to put the apple in bread. The first thing come to my mind is to have cinnamon with my apple, due to some technical issue, I just though a custard would be good to combine with cinnamon apple to put into bun. (Just so it would mess up too badly when I fold it in.)

This time I use a muffin tray to bake my bread as I have a sudden craving for cinnamon sugar coat; just like the one you have outside of donut, literally the only reason why I eat donut (yummy!!!). This bread happens to fool some of my friends and thought it was a cupcake or muffin not bread.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, it good to have some little twist on your usual breakfast which will satisfy your craving for cupcake, bread and donut at the same time.

Ingredients (12 serves)

120g Tangzhong Water Roux (Recipe here)

125ml Milk

1 Egg

55g Sugar

4g Salt

350g Bread Flour

1 tablespoon Milk Powder

1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

6g Instant Yeast

30g Butter Softened, room Temperature

Cinnamon Apple Custard Filling

25g Corn Flour

50g Sugar

3 egg yolk

300ml Milk

20g unsalted Butter

2 tablespoon Sugar

½ teaspoon Cinnamon Powder

1 tablespoon lemon sugar

10g butter

2 Granny Smith Apple, Peeled, cored and diced

Cinnamon Sugar Coat

20g butter, melted

50g Sugar

1 tablespoon Cinnamon Powder

1) Bread Machine: According to your bread maker instruction, select dough function. Add in the wet ingredient and then dry ingredient, once it start form dough add in the butter. Once the dough cycle finish, let it rest until dough double in size.

Hand Knead: Put all dry ingredients in a clean working surface, make a well and put all wet ingredients in. Knead until it becomes dough and gluten has developed. Cover with wet towel until it double in size (Approximately 45-60 minutes).

2) Meanwhile, sift the cornflour together with sugar, mix in the egg yolk until combined. 

3) Bring the milk into shimmering. Mix 1-2 tablespoon hot milk with the mixture and eventually add in all milk and mix together.

4) Bring the mixture back to the pot and keep stirring until thicken. Quickly add in the butter and keep stirring until combined. Put in fridge and set aside for use later.

5) Heat the butter in pan. Combine diced apple with lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar to prevent browning.

6) In medium heat, pan fried the apple until it soft and tender.

7) Combine the cinnamon apple with custard, mix well together.

8) Once it cool down, put about 1 ½ tablespoon of cinnamon apple custard into cling wrap and form a ball shape. Put in freezer to harden so it easier to fold in later.

9) Your dough should be done by now. Transfer to clean floured working surface, gently deflated the dough and squeeze all the air out. Divide dough into 12 portions about 60g each. 

10) Roll the dough into ball shape and rest for 15 minutes.

11)Roll the dough flat and fold in the custard. 

12) Put the dough at a lined muffin tray.

13) Cover with Cling wrap and rest for 45-60 minutes or until double in size.

14) Pre-heated oven to 180 degree C. Brush egg wash on top of the bun.

15) Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. (If the top is browned too quickly put an aluminium foil on top to prevent further browning.)

16) Transfer to rack and let it cool down.

17) Once the bun cool down, brush a thin layer of melted butter on top.

18) Roll in cinnamon sugar on top.

Bon Appetite.