I was making my sheng jian bao the other day and was inspired to make these Mini Matcha Custard Buns.
These Mini Matcha Custard Buns have a pan-fried top and bottom and are filled with a luscious matcha custard.
Admittedly, my inspiration comes from imagawayaki, which is a Japanese-style wheel cake. However, these buns are not similar as they are made with dough, rather than batter.
WHAT IS A CUSTARD?
A custard is a mixture of egg yolks and milk with a thickener of flour and/or cornstarch.
It can range in viscosity — from thin to thick.
I love pairing custard and buns together, like in these Steamed Custard Buns.
INGREDIENTS IN THE MATCHA CUSTARD BUNS
There are 2 main components to the buns:
- bun dough
- matcha custard filling
Bun dough:
- bao flour / or all-purpose flour + cornstarch
- baking powder
- whole milk
- water
- sugar
- active dry yeast
- oil
Bao flour vs. all-purpose flour
Bao flour is a specialty flour that is used primarily for making steamed buns.
The flour is lower in protein and in gluten, and produces a lighter, whiter and fluffier bun.
However, it can be difficult to find bao flour/mantou flour (usually found in Asian grocery stores).
In this case, you can use all-purpose flour and add in cornstarch to produce a lighter bun.
Matcha custard:
- egg yolks
- sugar
- all-purpose flour
- matcha
- cornstarch
- coconut milk
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
I chose to add coconut milk since it adds richness and holds the custard at a nice viscosity while working with it at room temperature.
HOW TO MAKE THE MATCHA CUSTARD
First, whisk together the egg yolks and dry ingredients in a bowl.
Next, heat the milk separately in a saucepan.
Then, pour the the warmed milk slowly and gradually into the egg yolk mixture, while at the same time whisking the egg yolks. This process is known as tempering, which warms up the eggs without scrambling them.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until thickened.
Chill the matcha custard in the fridge.
HOW TO MAKE THE BUN DOUGH
Combine the dry ingredients into a bowl.
Activate the dry yeast with warmed milk, water and sugar.
Knead the dough with your hands until it comes together, and add in the oil. Continue to knead until shiny and smooth.
Cover the dough and leave to rest until it doubles in size.
Roll the dough into a long log and divide into 12 equal portions.
Flatten each portion out into a circle with a rolling pin, leaving a slight raised hump in the centre, and thinner edges.
ASSEMBLING THE BUNS
Place a teaspoon of matcha custard into the centre of the dough, gather, pleat and pinch to seal the edges.
Repeat with the remainder.
COOKING THE BUNS
Preheat a dry flat-top griddle (with no oil) over medium heat.
Place the buns down on the griddle, lightly spray the tops of the the buns with water, cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes, until lightly golden brown. (Adjust the heat if it’s browning too quickly).
Flip and cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes.
SWEET LITTLE TREATS
Best eaten while slightly warm, the crust from the pan-fried exterior melds into a soft and creamy interior.
These Mini Matcha Custard Buns are creamy, slightly sweet, earthy, and gosh darn cute! They’re perfect as a little snack or dessert.
If you love matcha, be sure to check out my other matcha recipes:
Let me know if you try out this recipe — tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to see your re-creations!
Mini Matcha Custard Buns
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Matcha Custard:
- 2 egg yolks
- 25 g granulated sugar
- 6 g all-purpose flour
- 3 g cornstarch
- 5 g matcha
- 65 g coconut milk canned
- 60 g whole milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Bun Dough:
- 90 g bao flour or sub with all-purpose flour
- 7 g cornstarch if using all-purpose flour
- 4 g baking powder
- 125 ml whole milk
- 15 ml water
- 4 g granulated sugar
- ½ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 g oil
Instructions
Make the matcha custard:
- In a small glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch and matcha.
- In a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk and whole milk over medium heat until scalding hot.
- Gradually stream in the warmed milk while whisking the egg mixture (this is tempering the eggs so that they don't scramble).
- Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan and place it on the heat. Continue to whisk over low heat until the custard thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the custard to a bowl and place a piece of parchment paper over the top (to prevent a skin from forming).
- Let cool, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Make the bun dough:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder.
- In a small bowl, add in the milk, water and sugar. Give it a stir. Heat (microwave) the mixture until lukewarm.
- Add the yeast to the liquid mixture, give it a stir and let it become bubbly.
- Pour the activated yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and knead the dough until it comes together.
- Add in the oil and continue to knead until the dough becomes soft and shiny.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm location, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- Roll the dough out into a log and divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
- Flatten the dough into a circle, leaving the centre a little raised, and the edges thinner.
- Remove the matcha custard from the fridge. Divide into 12 equal portions.
- Place 1 heaped teaspoon of matcha custard in the centre of the dough, and pleat and pinch to seal the edges together.
- Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remainder.
- Preheat a flat griddle over medium heat.
- Place the buns onto the griddle, spray the buns with a little water, cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes until lightly golden brown on the bottom (you may need to adjust the heat). Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Best served warm or at room temperature.
- Store the buns in an airtight container and place into the fridge for up to 3 days. Lightly warm before serving.
These little matcha custard buns sound so amazing Michelle! I really love that luscious filling inside. So yummy!
Thanks Christie! It really is such a treat π
Perfect buns filled with a delicious custard? Yum! Love how generously filled they are and the pretty hue! Bet they’d go so well with my coffee right about now π
Thanks Dawn! They would definitely go well with coffee π
This sounds great! My husband loves matcha so I’m excited to try for him. If I don’t have coconut milk, can I just sub more whole milk? Or evaporated milk?
Also once you flip them, should I cook with the lid and water again?
If you don’t have coconut milk, you can use whole milk. I personally used coconut milk so that it would remain more “firm” while working at a cooler temperature. If the custard is too loose, it may be difficult to wrap it in the bun dough.
After flipping, there’s no need to cover with the lid and spray with water. Hope that helps.
The matcha custard looks so creamy and those buns look super soft. The perfect pairing in textures! One of these with my morning coffee would be delightful!
Thanks Leanne! Yes, coffee would be amazing with it! π
Oh, how delicious! I really do love custard, but have never had it in a bun before. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you so much! π The custard definitely is a sweet surprise!
Your beautiful homemade buns are perfect by themselves, but then you infuse them with this amazing matcha custard. This recipe is so totally scrumptious!
Thank you Heidi! π
Michelle, I always love your matcha treats. These look SO good! I can’t get over how perfect your buns are! You got good buns, hun π
Thanks Katherine! Haha! π
Oh, I am loving these little matcha buns! Such a treat…would be perfect with my late morning coffee!
Thank you Annie! It would be excellent with a coffee! π
What a beautiful creation, Michelle, they look scrumptious! I probably wouldn’t be able to stop eating them once I started.
Oh my goodness, Michelle, the day I would try one of these slightly warm delightful and super cute buns would be a very, very good day. I love the look and sound of these and the matcha custard filling sounds absolutely delicious. Thank you for inspiring me yet again!
What a fun treat idea, Michelle! Laura loves matcha, and she often whips up a matcha – almond milk drink as a mid-morning snack. I’m thinking a batch of these buns would be perfect for that snacktime as well! π
I like matcha tea but have never tried anything else with the powder. I totally need to try these buns. These look awesome.
Thanks you Balvinder!
I’m all for anything with custard! Yummm!!! And I love the way these look!
Can I use all regular milk to replace the coconut milk? I’m using it as a filling for snow skin mooncake π
Yes, you can omit the coconut milk and just use regular milk. π
This matcha custard was so delicious and came together quite quickly and easily! I was making steamed char siu baos and wanted to use the leftover dough to wrap the matcha custard in (kind of like a steamed leaky custard bun). I also didn’t have cornstarch so I just kept whisking in tapioca starch by the tsp and kept adding until the custard thickened completely. The custard was so deliciously creamy and I made mine dairy free too (only had full fat Oatly milk and coconut milk in my fridge). I imagine this custard would be delicious in a cream puff as well. Next time I’ll have to make the pan fried bao to go along with it!