I’m not usually one to name my creations, but these buns seemed beyond a single descriptor and so an abstract name seemed called for. They’re a sweet roll, filled with minatamis na bao (coconut jam), caramelized white chocolate, salted cashews, and pili nut brittle. To finish, they’re drizzled with a coconut milk and cream cheese glaze. Magandang araw indeed.

For the caramelized white chocolate ganache:

Ingredients

• 7oz white chocolate

• 5 oz heavy cream

• Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place the white chocolate in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or cake pan. Bake the chocolate for 8 minutes, then stir the chocolate to make sure it’s evenly toasted. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, about 10-12 minutes total. Remove from the oven and stir to prevent burning, then let cool slightly.

2. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until barely simmering. Turn off the heat, then stir in the caramelized white chocolate and mix until smooth. Stir in salt until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

For the sweet rolls:

Ingredients

• 500g all-purpose flour

• 100g granulated sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• 15 g instant yeast

• 60g unsalted butter

• 250 mL coconut milk

• 1 egg, room temperature (plus 1 more for egg wash)

• ½ cup caramelized white chocolate ganache

• ½ cup coconut jam

• ½ cup chopped salted cashews 

• ½ cup chopped pili nut brittle

Directions

1. Combine the coconut milk and butter in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat, stirring, until milk is lukewarm (around 105°F). Turn off the heat, stirring to melt the butter. Wisk in the egg. (Check the temperature again to ensure the mixture is between 100-105°F.)

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fix the mixer with the dough hook attachment. With the motor on low, stream in the milk mixture against the side of the bowl, until all the milk is added. Continue mixing on low until a shaggy dough forms. Bring speed up to medium and knead the dough for about 15 minutes (may take longer depending on your flour). Dough will be ready once it is elastic and no longer sticks to the side of the bowl, and a golfball sized piece can be stretched to pass the windowpane test.

3. When the dough is ready, scrape it out of the bowl in one piece onto an oiled bowl large enough to hold double the dough’s current volume. Rotate the dough within the second bowl to ensure all of the dough is coated in oil. Cover and let proof in a warm area for 1.5-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size. 

4. Whisk together the coconut jam and the caramelized white chocolate ganache. Set aside.

5. When the dough is doubled in size, knock the air out of the dough using the back of your hand or your fist. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. (If the dough is properly oiled, it should not stick, and you should not need extra flour to dust the surface.) Roughly shape the dough into a square. Fold the square in half, then half again (the opposite way). You should have a smaller square - the original square folded into quarters. Roll out the dough again into a larger square, then repeat the process.

6. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 10x14”, about ¼” thick. Spread the coconut jam mixture all over the rectangle, leaving about 1.5” of space from each border. Evenly sprinkle the cashews and pili nut brittle over the caramel. 

7. With the longest side closer to you, roll the dough from the bottom up. Try to ensure there is a tight swirl. You should have a long tube.

8. Carefully roll the tube, seam side down, onto parchment paper and onto a baking sheet. Roll the tube to completely cover it with the parchment paper, then freeze the dough for 45 minutes. This will make cutting the rolls less messy.

9. Line an 8” cake pan or skillet with parchment. Grease a 12-cavity cupcake tin with baking spray. 

10. Retrieve the tube from the freezer and unwrap it. Cut off 1.5” from both ends of the tube. Starting from one side, slice the dough into about ¾” slices (I used the first digit on my index finger to measure each width).  Place the first 8 slices in the cake pan (7 in a ring around the edge and 1 in the middle) ensuring they are all equidistant from each other. Place the remaining slices in the cupcake tin, unraveling a small portion of the end of each roll to tuck underneath the center, so as to prevent the filling from leaking. Space them out as evenly as possible with empty cavities in between. Cover and let sit in a warm area for 40 minutes to an hour, until proofed once more. 

11. Preheat oven to 350°F. Check to see if the rolls are done proving around the 40 minute mark - they will be visibly puffed. The ones in the cake pan will now be touching each other and the ones in the cupcake tin will have puffed to fill each cavity. Furthermore, when poked the dough should spring back slightly (but not completely). 

12. Place each pan on its own baking sheet, to ease rotation and insulate the bottoms from burning. Combine the extra egg with a few tablespoons of water to make an egg wash, then brush each bun with the egg wash. 

13. Bake the buns in the cupcake tin for about 20 minutes (begin checking at 15), rotating in between to ensure even baking. Bake the cake pan for about 35 minutes (begin checking at 25), again rotating to ensure even baking. 

14. When the buns are evenly golden brown, remove the buns in the cupcake tin from the oven and cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to loosen each bun from its cavity, then carefully pick up and remove each bun to cool directly on the wire rack.

15. For the cake pan, simply remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving warm in the pan.

For the cream cheese glaze:

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• 2 oz coconut milk

Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag or spoon over each bun.