Orange Cardamom Buns with Spiced Chestnut Creme

Orange and cardamom flavored brioche buns filled with a spiced chestnut creme that are ideal for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.

Why This Works

• The orange zest adds an unexpected brightness and compliments the earthy spices and rich chestnut creme
• Chestnuts aren’t just for roasting on an open fire! And this chestnut creme will certainly become a favorite ingredient for the cold weather months. 
• It takes the classic cardamom bun and brings it in a more luxurious and indulgent direction

Ingredients

• Chestnut Creme – This may be difficult to find, unless you have a speciality grocery store that stocks French ingredients. I searched several gourmet shops before I finally settled on ordering online. You want to make sure you get the sweetened version, and not the unsweetened. I bought mine here. The bonus is, you can use the leftovers just like Nutella. The flavor is sweet, mellow, and warm. 
• Cardamom seeds – You’ll be using whole seeds and ground cardamom for this recipe. I recommend tracking down the whole seeds (They should be at any well stocked grocery store or Indian specialty shop). Crushing the seeds fresh produces a stronger, more floral cardamom flavor, which compliments the pre-ground and ensures the cardamom really comes through. If you can’t find the whole seeds, you can substitute more ground cardamom, just know that the flavor will not be a pronounced. 
• Bread Flour – Bread flour has more protein than all purpose flour and can help with gluten development. Enriched breads such as brioche can sometimes struggle to develop enough gluten due to the fat coating the gluten strands, so the extra protein ensures a stronger dough. You can certainly use all purpose flour if you don’t want to buy bread flour, but the gluten may take a little longer to develop.
• Whole Milk – I usually recommend whole milk in recipes because it adds the most richness, tenderness, and flavor, but when testing I could only find pints of 2%, so I tested with that and there was no difference. I have also replaced whole milk with full fat oat milk to good results. 
• Butter – Unsalted butter is best here to control salt content.
• Yeast – I used instant yeast (sometimes called rapid yeast) since you can add it to the recipe without blooming, but you can use regular yeast. Just add it to the warm milk, let it sit for a few minutes until frothy, then add the mixture to the dough.

Tips for Making Cardamom Buns

• Temperature is key! Yeast is a living thing, and likes warm environments, but not scalding hot. Make sure your milk is no more hot than bathwater (I put mine in the microwave for 30 seconds and it did the trick for me since my stovetop tends to overheat the milk) 
• On that note, if your kitchen is cold, it will take longer to proof. My kitchen gets drafty in fall and winter and quite warm in summer, so I adjust proof times accordingly. I also like to proof my dough in a turned off oven with the light on, but make sure to keep an eye since some ovens will get warmer than others and you don’t want your dough to overproof.  
• Shaping the buns – I like to twist the dough towards me, then create a spiral, tucking the end underneath, as this is pretty straightforward and the sticky filling doesn’t get everywhere. It’s very similar to a honey bun, if you are familiar with them. Some people prefer to make the more traditional knot pattern. There are many great Youtube tutorials on how to shape traditional cardamom buns. 

How to Make Orange Cardamom Buns with Spiced Chestnut Creme

• Make the Tangzhong – If you’ve never made tangzhong before, it’s essentially cooking milk and flour together until it becomes gelatinized. It will resemble a thick paste and will ensure your buns stay soft and fluffy for days. It sounds more intimidating than it is, and I assure you once you taste the difference, you’ll see it’s well worth the effort. 

• Mix the dough – I used a stand mixer to make my life easier, but you can absolutely make this without one. Just know that enriched dough will take longer to develop and you may be kneading for 15 minutes or more. 
• Add the butter – Working the butter in increments helps keep the gluten from breaking down (preventing a rise and making the dough dense) and ensures the fat fully absorbs into the flour (prevents greasy dough)
• First proof – Since every kitchen is different, proof times will vary. I like to go by visual cues such as doubling in size rather than approximate times.
• Make the filling – Make sure your butter is very soft, almost melted, before adding to chestnut creme and spices. This will help everything incorporate evenly and be easier to spread onto the dough. Since chestnut creme is very sweet, adding a pinch of salt helps balance the filling out. 
• Roll the dough out – You want to make sure the dough is not so thin that it will rip when adding the filling, but not so thick that you’ll lose the lovely spiral design. I aimed for roughly 1/4 an inch. 
• Spread the filling – try to get it coated to the edges and as evenly as possible 
• Shape the buns – I like a spiral pattern here, which makes a larger, more visually impressive bun, but you can get creative with your design
• Second proof – Place the shaped buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover, and proof again until buns are soft and puffy
• Bake – At 375F for about 13-15 minutes. Because of the high sugar content of the filling, if your oven runs hot, you may want to tent the buns to prevent burning, then brown the tops. I have an ancient oven that has hot spots, but somehow always takes the maximum amount of bake time. 
• Enjoy! – A sumptuous breakfast, brunch, or afternoon treat. Even better with a cup of hot coffee or your favorite tea

If you make this recipe, please feel free to leave a comment or review!