Name: Coconut Buns (Chinese Cocktail Buns)
Prep time: 180 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 195 min
Ingredients: 2/3 cup heavy cream ((160 ml, at room temperature)); 1 cup milk ((plus 1 tablespoon, total 250 ml, at room temperature)); 1 large egg ((at room temperature)); 1/3 cup sugar ((75g)); 1/2 cup cake flour ((70 g)); 3 1/2 cups bread flour ((500g)); 1 tablespoon active dry yeast ((11g)); 1 1/2 teaspoons salt ((7g)); 6 tablespoons butter ((85g, softened)); 3 tablespoons caster sugar ((38g, or superfine sugar)); 3 tablespoons cake flour ((19g)); ¼ cup dry milk powder ((30g)); ½ cup desiccated coconut ((40g)); 1/3 cup cake flour ((38g)); 3 tablespoons butter ((43g, softened)); 4 ½ teaspoons caster sugar ((20g, or superfine sugar)); egg wash ((1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)); 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds ((9g)); 1 tablespoon sugar ((12g, dissolved in 1 tablespoon/15 ml hot water))

Coconut Buns (Cocktail Buns), by thewoksoflife.com

The Chinese bakery rampage continues, as we tackle traditional cocktail buns (also called or chicken tail buns, or gai mei bao) on the blog today. At every single large family gathering on my dad’s Cantonese side, someone would inevitably bring a Chinese bakery box full of pineapple buns, roast pork buns, hot dog buns, or plain buttery milk bread. Kids and parents alike would never fail to peek into the box and sneak a bite before dinner. Our love for these treats know no bounds, as evidenced by how many recipes we’ve sought to recreate in a whirlwind of flour, cream, and much swearing.

While we’ve made Inside-out coconut buns, before on this site, that coconut bun recipe was a bit nontraditional. After much trial and error, we now come to you with a much more traditional cocktail buns––reminiscent of Chinese bakeries past––using our trusty milk bread recipe as a base.

My thing about coconut cocktail buns is that they usually have this big spoonful of filling kind of globbed together in the middle of the bun. As a kid, I’d scrape a little of the filling out of the center and spread it on the rest of the bread as I ate it, trying to get a little bit of filling and bread into each bite.

Now that I’m old enough to operate a mixer, I have a better way. We spread the filling onto the cocktail buns and roll them into a cigar shape, so that all of the filling is evenly distributed. So I’ve basically been planning this recipe since I was five.

Enjoy this one guys!

Chinese Coconut Buns (Cocktail Buns): Recipe Instructions

Start by making the bread dough, and be sure your ingredients are at room temperature. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order).

DON’T HAVE BREAD FLOUR OR CAKE FLOUR?

Feel free to substitute all-purpose flour for both! We have since extensively re-tested this recipe, and have not found that using 100% all-purpose flour in this recipe makes a meaningful difference to the result.

Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer at its lowest setting.

Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. (Note: if you’re in a humid climate, and the dough is too sticky, add more flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough comes together). After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to about 1.5X its original size.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling by thoroughly combining all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and knead slowly for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Flatten each piece of dough with your hands into a rough oval shape, about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide.

Spread about a tablespoon of filling onto the middle of the dough, and roll it into a cigar, tucking the ends under the bun to completely seal the filling in. We like this method because it evenly distributes the filling throughout the bun.

Transfer the buns to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. For the topping, mix together 1/3 cup cake flour, 3 tablespoons softened butter, and 4 ½ teaspoons caster sugar, and transfer to a piping bag or small zip top bag with a small corner cut off. Set aside.