These soft and fluffy sweet buns are a real treat, especially if you love raspberries and cottage cheese. They’re great as a dessert, for breakfast or even as a snack. Just warm them up a little before serving and enjoy!

This summer I’ve been obsessed with sweet buns for some reason and I’m definitely not the only one. I keep seeing other food bloggers making more and more of them this year. I already made two: Blackberry-Custard Sweet Buns and Chocolate-Cherry Sweet Buns. They were both amazing, but a bit dense. So for this recipe, I switched things up a bit.

I used melted butter instead of softened butter and it made a huge difference. The dough turned out way softer. But that’s not the only reason why. It also has a little more milk and an extra egg yolk. These small changes made the dough softer, more elastic and gave the buns a light and airy texture after baking.

These sweet buns are our new favorite treat. My significant other is completely obsessed with them. I even made a wild blueberry version and that one was amazing too. Of course, I’ll share that recipe as well (even though it’s basically the same, just with a different fruit on top).

So yeah, these are definitely delicious. And since fall is coming soon, I’m already thinking about making some cozy, fall inspired sweet buns, maybe something with pumpkin and cinnamon? We’ll see. But until then, enjoy these Danish inspired sweet buns!

How to store?

Once the buns have completely cooled, place them in an airtight container to keep them fresh. Store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Before serving, warm them up slightly in the microwave or oven. They’ll become soft and fluffy again, almost like freshly baked!

How to knead dough

1. Kneading by hand: Kneading by hand takes a bit of time, but it’s not impossible of course. Start by adding all your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together, then add the wet ingredients. Use a dough whisk, a wooden spoon or spatula to gently mix until everything comes together into a rough, shaggy dough. It won’t look smooth yet and that’s completely fine. Once the flour is mostly incorporated, transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Now it’s time to knead. Push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold it back over itself. Turn it slightly and repeat: push, fold, turn. At first, the dough will feel sticky and messy, but keep going. After about 8–10 minutes, it will become soft, smooth and elastic. Try not to add too much extra flour, as it can make the buns dense. You’ll know it’s ready when it stretches easily without tearing and gently springs back when you poke it.

2. Kneading with a stand mixer: Using a stand mixer makes kneading easier and faster. Start mixing on low speed so the ingredients come together without flour flying everywhere. Once it forms a rough dough, increase the speed slightly and let the mixer knead for about 8 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a smooth, elastic ball. It’s ready when it’s smooth, slightly tacky but not too sticky and stretches easily without tearing.

Notes, tips and tricks

Store in an airtight container - Keep these sweet buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They stay fresh soft this way.
Warm them up before serving - These buns are best when slightly warm. Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds or in a low oven for a few minutes. They’ll get soft again and taste even better than cold.
Do not overbake - Overbaking can dry out the dough and make the buns tough instead of soft and pillowy. Keep an eye on them :)
Don’t skip the second proofing - This extra rise is what makes the dough light and fluffy. If you skip it, the buns can turn out dense and heavy instead of soft and airy.

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Blackberry-Custard Buns

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Ingredients you will need for this recipe

For the dough

Bread flour: If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour.
Granulated sugar: Sugar adds sweetness and it also feeds the yeast, which helps the dough rise better.
Salt: Salt balances the sweetness,
Instant dry yeast: This is what makes the dough rise and become airy. I love using instant yeast because you can mix it straight into the flour without proofing. If you only have active dry yeast, you can use it but you’ll need to dissolve it in warm milk first and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Butter: Butter adds richness, flavor and makes the dough super soft.
Milk: Milk makes the dough soft and fluffy.
Egg + egg yolk: The egg gives structure and richness. The extra yolk makes it even softer and more elastic.
Vanilla bean paste: I like vanilla bean paste, but you can also just use regular vanilla extract if that’s what you have.

For the filling

Cottage cheese: The star of the dessert!
Sugar: Sweetens the filling just enough to balance the tangy cheese. White sugar works best here.
Vanilla extract and lemon zest: Adds a little extra flavor to the filling so it’s not plain.

For the streusel

Butter: Butter makes the streusel crumbly and crisp after baking. It’s best to use cold butter cut into small pieces.
All purpose flour: Flour gives structure to the streusel and helps it hold the crumbly texture.
Sugar: Sweetens the streusel.

Extras

Frozen raspberries
Egg wash (egg + milk): Brushing the buns with egg wash makes them golden and shiny when baked.

Step by step instructions with photos

1. First, we are going to prepare the dough.

2. By hand: in a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Then add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, melted butter and milk. Using a dough whisk or a wooden spoon, mix into a shaggy dough. Then place onto a flat surface and start kneading it until it’s smooth and elastic. (Around 12 minutes)

3. Using a stand mixer: in a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Then add the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Knead on low for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it’s too dry, add a bit more milk!

4. Once the dough is ready, place it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise for 2 hours.

5. While the dough is proofing, you can prepare the Streusel in advance.

6. So for the streusel, whisk together the flour and sugar.

7. Next, add the cold cubed up butter, and work it into the flour mixture until crumbly. Once ready, place it in the fridge.

8. At this point you can also prepare the filling by mixing together the sugar, cottage cheese, vanilla and lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to use.

9. Once the 2 hours are up, punch down the dough and place it on a flat surface.

10. Divide into 8 equal pieces (around 120g each) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

11. Cover and let them rise for another 30 minutes.

12. Once the 30 minutes are up, preheat your oven to 170•C (fan).

13. Using a small bowl or a mug, press each bun down, making a well in the middle. You can also stretch it like you would do to a pizza dough (If that makes sense?!)

14. Brush with an egg wash and add a generous amount of cottage cheese filling on each bun.

15. Lastly, top them with frozen raspberries and streusel.

16. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

17. Enjoy warm!

Yield: 8

Author: Angie