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These delicious Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns are made with soft, fluffy milk bread dough and filled with a rich cream cheese filling and sweet raspberry jam. Each bun is topped with juicy raspberries and baked until golden brown, creating a bakery-style treat that’s a perfect balance between creamy, fruity, and lightly sweet.
These Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns are the softest and most delicious treat! The milk bread base gives these buns their signature pillowy texture, that lasts for days! While the cream cheese center stays smooth and slightly tangy after baking. Whether you’re making them for brunch or breakfast or a special dessert these homemade raspberry cream cheese breakfast buns taste like they came straight from the bakery.
If you haven't tired the tangzhong method (the method used in milk bread), you'll never want to go back after you try it. It might sound like an extra step, but it a simple and quick extra step that will make for extra fluffy dough!
For more bread recipes, try my Giant Cinnamon Rolls, Blueberry Cream Cheese Buns and Almond Croissant Buns.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Tangzhong dough: The dough for these buns is so soft and incredibly delicious! You'll never want to make another dough than this one!
- Cream cheese filling: Each bun is filled with the sweet cream cheese filling.
- Raspberry jam and raspberries: The buns are filled with raspberry jam that melts right into the center and they are topped with delicious raspberries.
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Yeast: I use fresh yeast but you can also use instant dry yeast
- Butter: Take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
- Whole milk and water: Heat the milk and water up to 37ºC, make sure it's not warmer as it can kills the yeast if it's too hot.
- All-purpose flour: I use all-purpose flour. It is used both in the tangzhong and with the rest of the dough.
- Cream cheese: It's important that it's full-fat cream cheese and it's at room- temperature when using it. Take the cream cheese out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
- Raspberries: I recommend using fresh for these buns.
WHAT MAKES THEM SO SOFT: TANGZHONG MILK BREAD METHOD
Tangzhong origins from Japan’s yokone (or yudane). Tangzhong is a method used in yeasted bread and was popularized around Asia by Taiwanese cookbook author Yvonne Chen. It is a slurry that is made of flour and a liquid before adding it together with the rest of the ingredients. By precooking the flour and milk, it makes your bread incredibly soft and fluffy, more tender and extends the shelf life.
Source: King Arthur Baking
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Here is how to make and bake these Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns. This recipe needs a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and two large baking trays lined with baking paper.
The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.
STEP 1: Start by making the tangzhong for the dough. Add the milk and flour to a small saucepan. Place it on the stove over medium-high heat and constantly stir until it becomes a thick paste. Add the tangzhong to a small bowl and place it in the fridge until room temperature.
STEP 2: Heat up the milk and water until it’s lukewarm (37ºC). Crumble the fresh yeast into your mixing bowl and pour in the heated milk and water. Stir it together until the yeast has melted. If you are use instant yeast, mix it instead together with the flour before pouring over the milk and water mixture.
STEP 3: Add the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, tangzhong, egg and using the dough hook, mix the dough on low speed for 4 minutes.
STEP 4: Continue on medium speed and add salt and the butter in two parts. Add the second part of the butter, once the first part has mixed into the dough. This part looks messy but don’t worry. Once the second part has incorporated, keep mixing the dough for 6-7 minutes. It should end up looking smooth and glossy.
STEP 5: Add the dough to a clean slightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place it in a warm room temperature area in your house. Let it rise for 1 hour.
FILLING AND ASSEMBLING
STEP 1: For the cream cheese filling, mix together all of the ingredients until one paste and set it aside.
STEP 2: After the first rise, divide the dough into 12. Roll the dough into balls and place them on two baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the buns down to get more of a donut shape. Let them rise for a second time on the kitchen counter for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 190ºC/ 375ºF conventional oven.
STEP 3: After the second rise, use a ⅓ cup measurement or a cup that is around 5 cm in diameter. Press down the middle so it leaves an indent. Add the cream cheese to a piping bag and pip the cream cheese in the middle.
STEP 4: With the back of a spoon, make an indent in the cream cheese filling. Add the raspberry jam into the indent and top the buns with raspberries.
STEP 5: Bake them for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. After they have baked, place them on a wire rack to let them cool down a bit. Dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy them lukewarm or cooled down completely.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
- Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.
FAQ
Yes, start by reducing the yeast to 2 g instant yeast or 6 g fresh yeast. Mix the dough together as written, then let it rise for 20 minutes on the kitchen counter before letting the dough rise the rest of the 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight, proofing for no more than 16 hours. Then follow the recipe instructions and let the dough do its 2nd rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes depending on how warm your home is.
Yes, you can use strawberry jam.
You can test if they are done proofing with a finger poke test. Lightly press the surface of the bun with your fingertip. If it springs back slowly, leaving a slight dent it is perfect and ready to bake. A dough that bounces back immediately needs more rising. If it doesn’t spring back at all it is overproofed.
HOW TO STORE
Store the raspberry cream cheese buns in the fridge covered tightly with cling film or in an airtight container for 2-3 days. To reheat them, warm in the microwave for 15–20 seconds.
Other Bread Recipes To Try
Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns
Equipment
Ingredients
BUNS
TANGZHONG
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- 150 g whole milk
DOUGH
- 90 g whole milk
- 90 g water
- 6 g instant yeast or 25 g fresh yeast
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 510 g all-purpose flour
- 1 eggs preferably 60 g egg with shell
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100 g butter room temperature
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 400 g cream cheese
- 5 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
RASPBERRY TOPPING
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 280 g raspberry jam
- 250 g fresh raspberries
Instructions
TANGZHONG
- Start by making the tangzhong. Add the milk and flour to a small saucepan. Stir it together with a whisk until the flour has mixed together with milk. Then place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Keep constantly stirring until it becomes a thick paste, similarly to smooth mashed potatoes. Take it off the heat and add it to a flat surfaced bowl so it can cool down faster. Place it in the fridge to cool down so it becomes room temperature. It’ll take about 20-30 minutes.30 g all-purpose flour, 150 g whole milk
DOUGH
- Heat up the milk and water until it’s lukewarm (37ºC). Crumble the fresh yeast into your mixing bowl and pour in the heated milk and water. With a spatula stir it together until the yeast has melted. (If you are use instant yeast, mix the yeast instead together with the flour before pouring over the milk and water mixture)90 g whole milk, 90 g water, 6 g instant yeast
- Add the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, tangzhong, egg and using the dough hook, mix the dough on low speed for 4 minutes.50 g granulated sugar, 510 g all-purpose flour, 1 eggs
- Continue on medium speed and add salt and the butter in two parts. Add the second part of the butter, once the first part has mixed into the dough. Once the second part has incorporated, keep mixing the dough for 6-7 minutes. It should end up looking smooth and glossy.1 teaspoon salt, 100 g butter
- Add the dough to a clean bowl, with a bit of vegetable oil, and cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel. Place it in a warm room temperature area in your house. Let it rise for 1 hour. See FAQ above for overnight rising.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- Mix together all of the ingredients until one paste and set it aside.400 g cream cheese, 5 tablespoon powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
ASSEMBLING
- After the first rise, it should be doubled in size. Tip the dough out and divide the dough into 12. Roll the dough into balls and place them on two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Gently press the buns down to get more of a donut shape. Let them rise for a second time on the kitchen counter for 45 minutes under some cling film and a tea towel.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 190ºC/ 375ºF conventional oven.
- After the second rise, use a ⅓ cup measurement or a cup that is around 5 cm in diameter. Press down the middle so it leaves an indent. Then use your fingers to gently press down the sides a bit. Whisk an egg together and brush the sides of the buns with the egg wash.1 egg
- Add the cream cheese to a piping bag, or add it with a spoon, and pip the cream cheese in the middle.
- Add the clean and dry raspberries to a bowl, and mix them together with 2 tablespoon of raspberry jam.280 g raspberry jam, 250 g fresh raspberries
- With the back of a spoon, make an indent in the cream cheese filling. Add the remaining raspberry jam into the indent and top the buns with raspberries. Gently press down the raspberries so they don’t fall off.
- Bake them for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. After they have baked, place them on a cooling rack to let them cool down a bit. Dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy them lukewarm or cooled down completely.
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