Chinese Coconut Buns | Morsels of Life

Chinese Coconut Buns

A sweet coconut filling almost melts into the soft and tender dough of these Chinese Coconut Buns.

Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns - A sweet coconut filling almost melts into the soft and tender dough of these Chinese Coconut Buns.

Each month, as part of the Secret Recipe Club, I get to choose a recipe from another blogger to make. This month, I got Betcha Can't Eat Just One. Katie's got all sorts of sweet treats, from Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies to Macaroons. While those recipes will make my "to make" list, as soon as I saw these Chinese Coconut Buns, I knew exactly what I needed to make first. We used to get these (and many other) baked goods in the bakery of Grand Asia. After moving here, we haven't found a bakery selling these delectable delights. So now you understand why I just had to choose these Chinese Coconut Buns. Unless you've never experienced them for yourself. In which case, try making them! They take a bit more time than most of my recipes, but not much more than most yeast breads. I followed Katie's recipe for the most part since I definitely didn't want to risk these coconut buns not working out. The biggest change I made was replacing the water with milk. I also slightly decreased the amount of butter and sugar.

What's a delectable delight you used to buy but no longer can?


by
A sweet coconut filling almost melts into the soft and tender dough of these Chinese Coconut Buns.

Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Yield: 12 buns

Materials:

Mass Weight Volume Number Material Notes
2 teaspoons yeast
3/4 cup milk
8 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
360 grams 3 cups flour
120 grams 1 cup coconut, shredded
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Methods:

  1. Gather all materials.
  2. Melt 6 tablespoons butter and mix in yeast, milk, sugar, and 2 eggs.
  3. Gradually add flour until a soft but not sticky dough forms.
  4. Place dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a moist towel. Allow dough to rise for about 1 hour.
  5. Meanwhile, pulse the shredded coconut together with 2 tablespoons melted butter, honey, and 1 egg yolk. Save the egg white for Step 9.
  6. Divide dough into 12 portions. Take one portion and flatten it into a rectangle.
  7. Place ~1 tablespoon of filling down center of dough.
  8. Fold two sides over filling, and form dough as desired. I played around with a few different options and found either the log or spiral easiest. Then I figured out how to make the infinity - make a ring after folding the two sides over, and then twist, placing the seam on the bottom. For the open infinity shown below, do the same thing, but don't fold the sides over the filling first.
  9. Place dough on a baking sheet, brush beaten egg white on dough, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Allow dough to rise ~20 minutes. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Methods with Images:

Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 1 - Gather all materials. 1. Gather all materials.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 2 - Melt 6 tablespoons butter and mix in yeast, milk, sugar, and 2 eggs. 2. Melt 6 tablespoons butter and mix in yeast, milk, sugar, and 2 eggs.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 3 - Gradually add flour until a soft but not sticky dough forms. 3. Gradually add flour until a soft but not sticky dough forms.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 4 - Place dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a moist towel. Allow dough to rise for about 1 hour. 4. Place dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a moist towel. Allow dough to rise for about 1 hour.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 5 - Meanwhile, pulse the shredded coconut together with 2 tablespoons melted butter, honey, and 1 egg yolk. Save the egg white for Step 9. 5. Meanwhile, pulse the shredded coconut together with 2 tablespoons melted butter, honey, and 1 egg yolk. Save the egg white for Step 9.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 6 - Divide dough into 12 portions. Take one portion and flatten it into a rectangle. 6. Divide dough into 12 portions. Take one portion and flatten it into a rectangle.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 7 - Place ~1 tablespoon of filling down center of dough. 7. Place ~1 tablespoon of filling down center of dough.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 8 - Fold two sides over filling, and form dough as desired. I played around with a few different options and found either the log or spiral easiest. Then I figured out how to make the infinity - make a ring after folding the two sides over, and then twist, placing the seam on the bottom. For the open infinity shown below, do the same thing, but don't fold the sides over the filling first. 8. Fold two sides over filling, and form dough as desired. I played around with a few different options and found either the log or spiral easiest. Then I figured out how to make the infinity - make a ring after folding the two sides over, and then twist, placing the seam on the bottom. For the open infinity shown below, do the same thing, but don't fold the sides over the filling first.
Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns Step 9 - Place dough on a baking sheet, brush beaten egg white on dough, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Allow dough to rise ~20 minutes. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 9. Place dough on a baking sheet, brush beaten egg white on dough, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Allow dough to rise ~20 minutes. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Morsels of Life - Chinese Coconut Buns - A sweet coconut filling almost melts into the soft and tender dough of these Chinese Coconut Buns.



26 comments:

  1. These must have been so good to eat. Great job making them.

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  2. I'm always impressed when someone chooses a yeast dough recipe. They came out great!

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  3. I've never heard of these rolls but they sound delicious! Great SRC choice!

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  4. I've never heard of these and they sound WONderful. Great SRC Choice.

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  5. Oh my gosh, I am so pinning this recipe. The sound awesome! I love coconut, I love breads, I love Chinese buns... how much more perfect does it get? Excellent choice.

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  6. I am SO happy to see someone else try this recipe :) I loved these buns and have made them a good number of times since I posted. They look like they turned out fantastic :)

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  7. They certainly did! I'm getting all sorts of requests to make more! Thanks for a terrific recipe. :)

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  8. You're missing out! You should definitely give these a try. They're worth it. :)

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  9. Thanks! We had to stop ourselves from eating an entire double batch in one sitting!

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  10. I'm trying some yeast dough recipes lately, and I seem to get better results. The only issue is the amount of time they require. Now if only there were some way to combine the speed of a quick bread and the texture of a yeast bread! :)

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  11. You should definitely give these a try and see what you're missing! They're worth the effort. :)

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  12. Don't just pin this recipe! Go, right now, and get all the materials and make some! They're pretty much perfection in bread form. :)

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  13. These are just beautiful and delicious looking buns. This is a great recipe choice for the SRC.
    Have a fun week!
    Miz Helen

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  14. Add me to the group who has never heard of such a bread - so glad you introduced us to it! I LOVE making yeast breads, and this one is definitely on the to-do list. Great job!

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  15. Thanks! We really liked them, and now I'm hoping for cooler weather so I can turn the oven on. :)

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  16. You won't regret it! This is one yeast bread worth the time and effort. :)

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  17. I've never had these before but they look so delicious. I can understand why you wanted to make them.

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  18. They were quite delicious! You've gotta give them a try. :)

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  19. Wow, these look really tasty and unique. Great choice for SRC

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  20. They were tasty indeed! Thanks for stopping by. :)

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  21. These buns look fabulous! I think I've also had something like this with raisins in it before.

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  22. oooo - raisins sound like a tasty variation! :)

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  23. I've never had these before! They look really good! Thanks for sharing :)

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  24. what? I live in Hong Kong and these are my favorite!!! going to have to try this! Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays and for the link back :o) Can't wait to see what you bring next week.

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  25. Thanks for stopping by! If you're in Hong Kong, then you definitely know these buns are worth making. :) Hope you enjoy!

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  26. Oh man - you're missing out! You definitely need to give these coconut buns a try. :)

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