Roasted Strawberry & Pistachio Cream Bun
Roasted Strawberry & Pistachio Cream Bun
Strawberries and cream is a classic summer dessert in the UK, so I thought I’d make my own dessert inspired by this.
We start with a soft white bun, using the Tangzhong method to make them extra light and fluffy. Then we fill them with a homemade strawberry coulis and roasted strawberries. Pistachio is all the rage right now, so I tried using it in a crème diplomate and it finishes off the dessert so well.
As always I recommend using pure pistachio paste as it is over 98% pistachio compared to cheaper pistachio creams, which often only have around 20% pistachio! It’s not cheap, but it will really bring out the flavour in your pistachio desserts. Once you’ve tried this recipe, use it in my pistachio cheesecake and my pistachio gelato.
Ingredients
Method
Into a small bowl add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir together to combine, then set it to one side to bloom for 10 minutes.
Add the pistachio paste into a tall measuring jug with a sieve on top, and set it to one side.
Add the milk into a medium saucepan (you can add a fresh vanilla pod too here) and place it over medium heat.
Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks and cornflour for around 30 seconds, until thick.
Once the milk is steaming, pour it slowly over the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and whisk continuously until it begins to bubble. Cook for a further minute when it reaches this point to ensure the cornflour is properly cooked out.
Remove the mixture from the heat and press it through the sieve, over the pistachio paste. Scoop in the bloomed gelatin and then use a hand blender to blend until completely smooth.
Stir through a pinch of flaky sea salt and then pour the mixture into a bowl. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
Add 20g of the bread flour and 100g of whole milk into a small saucepan and cook it over a medium heat, stirring with a whisk until it forms a thick tangzhong paste. Scoop this into a dish and cool it for 10 minutes in the fridge.
Add all the remaining dough ingredients and the cooled tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook—except for the butter, which will be added later.
Mix the dough on medium speed for 3 minutes, until it looks uniform—it will still a bit rough. Then, add the butter a few pieces at a time, allowing each addition to just about incorporate before adding more. Once all the butter is mixed in, continue kneading for about 2 more minutes, just until the dough becomes smooth and elastic
Remove the dough from the mixer and shape it into a smooth ball with your hands before lifting it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and proof for 1 hour at room temperature or until the dough has doubled in size.
Remove the proofed dough from the mixer and knock it back, removing the air. Cut the dough into 95g portions.
Cup your hand in a 'C' shape around each piece and on an unfloured work surface, rotate the dough underneath your hand to form a tight ball. Allow them to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Flip the dough ball over so the seam is facing up, and roll it into a rough oval shape with a rolling pin (ideally, don't use any flour). Then, fold the dough tightly on itself into a log shape, sealing the seam with your fingertips.
Roll it gently under your hands to neaten the shape slightly. Lift the dough onto a lined baking tray (or a perforated baguette tray if you have one) and cover it with a tea towel. Proof at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F non-fan assisted (lower the oven temp by 15C for fan assisted)
Mix together the egg wash ingredients and brush it over the proofed dough. Bake them in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until an even golden brown colour. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Lower the oven temperature to 175C/345F non-fan assisted and remove the stems from the strawberries. Slice them into quarters.
Place them onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat and toss them in the sugar.
Bake them in the oven for aorund 30-40 minutes or until they have darkened slightly and have released their juices.
Let them cool for 5 minutes, then scoop them into a dish, juice and all and allow them to coom completely.
Into a small bowl, add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir together to combine, then set it to one side to bloom for 10 minutes.
Add the pectin NH and sugar into a small bowl and stir to combine. Set this to one side.
Add the puree and strawberries into a medium saucepan and stir them with a spatula until the strawberries have broken down and the mixture is steaming.
Add in the pectin and whisk it through, continuing to cook the mixture until it reaches a boil.
Remove it from the heat and whisk through the fresh lemon juice and bloomed gelatin. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray, spreading it nice and thin, then cover the surface directly with clingfilm. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove the chilled coulis from the fridge and scoop it into a tall measuring jug. Blend it until it is smooth with a hand blender, and then transfer it into a piping bag. Leave this in the fridge until you need it.
Remove the chilled pistachio crème pâtissière from the fridge and scoop it into a large bowl, on a tared scale (set to zero) and note the weight of the amount of crème pâtissière.
Whisk the crème pâtissière for about 30 seconds - 1 minute until it is completely smooth. Set it to one side.
Add the same weight of crème pâtissière, in cream, to the bowl of a stand mixer (this will give us a 1:1 ratio of crème pâtissière:whipped cream). Whisk it on a medium speed until you have a medium stiff peak - try to avoid underwhipping it, but at the same time, don't allow it to split!
Add the cream in two parts to the crème pâtissière, whisking it through with a hand whisk, until smooth and thick (holding a medium stiff peak). Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted a large star tip nozzle.
Slice the cooled buns lengthways, and pipe a thin line of coulis along the base, before adding a few roasted strawberries.
Pipe the pistachio crème diplomate on top.
Garnish with some chopped pistachios, fresh strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar, then serve.