Baked Taro Buns

These Taro Buns Taste as Good as They Look

These baked taro buns have a crispy dough wrapping, but a soft and creamy filling texture. With a faint milky fragrance, their cooking method is very similar to that of pineapple buns. The main distinction is in the color of the buns, with the taro giving a pinkish-purple hue. For the best flavor, be sure to select a large, heavy taro high in fiber; for the smoothest texture, add cream and milk.

Purple Chinese Baked Taro Buns at Local Cantonese Bakery

Ingredients

2 cups (250 grams) bread flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) low-gluten flour
2 tablespoons (30 grams) white butter
3 teaspoons (15 grams) ghee
2 eggs
1 cup (200 grams) taro
1/3 cup (70 mL) milk
8 teaspoons (40 grams) cream

Seasonings

1 teaspoon (3 grams) yeast
3/5 cup (120 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) salt

Please see measurements in grams to be more exact for all ingredients and seasonings.

Cooking Directions

How to make taro paste

Peel and wash the taro, then slice into small pieces and place in a pot. Bring water to boil, and pour in the taro pieces along with approximately 5 tablespoons (60 grams) of sugar, cream, and milk. Stir until a fine paste is formed. Separate the taro paste into two portions: 90% will be used to make the filling, and the remaining 10% will be spread on the outer surface of the dough.

Preparations

Crack one egg, and discard the yolk. Allow the butter and ghee to soften at room temperature. Prepare the yeast by mixing with a small amount of warm water.

How to make the dough

Mix together the bread flour and approximately 2/5 cup (50 grams) low-gluten flour, then stir in the yeast and water mixture. Crack an egg and add to the flour along with 1/8 cup (30 grams) sugar and 1 teaspoon (5 grams) salt, stirring evenly in one direction until a thick and glossy dough is formed. Add in 3 teaspoons (15 grams) ghee and continue to stir. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 30 minutes, until the dough has risen to double its original volume.

How to assemble taro buns

Separate the dough into approximately 1¾ ounces (50 gram) pieces. Flatten each piece into a dough wrapper of medium thickness.

Add some of the taro filling to each of the dough wrappers, then use the thumb and index finger to pinch the dough and enclose the filling over the top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

How to make the butter mixture

Mix together the butter with 1/8 cup (30 grams) of sugar, beating until the mixture is light and puffy. Mix together with the egg white, adding in 1/3 of the egg white at a time, and stir thoroughly. Add in 1/5 cup (20 grams) of bread flour and stir until a starchy consistency is achieved.

Put it all together

Using a ladle, spread an appropriate amount of the butter mixture from step 6 over the surface of each bun. Spread the remaining taro paste over top of the cream mixture, and allow the buns to ferment until the mixture has risen to triple its original volume.

Tip: Be sure not to spread too much of the butter mixture or taro paste onto the surface of the buns, otherwise their desired appearance will be altered.

Place tinfoil covering a baking pan, and place the buns on the tinfoil. Leave enough space between buns. Pre-heat oven to 360°F (180°C), and bake buns for 20 minutes.