Steamed Carrot Buns with Ginger Custard 人参蒸しパン生姜カスタードクリーム

When I was making our weekly grocery list, my wife asked me to include carrot juice. Apparently, she found a recipe for steamed carrot buns on the King Arthur web site. I told her we have a 5lb bag of carrots in the fridge and they were getting old. I volunteered to make fresh carrot juice using our often forgotten juicer. The carrots were growing whisker-like roots and the sprouting carrot tops were trying grow leaves but otherwise they looked ok to me so I made some juice. But when we took a taste we found it had a slightly moldy after taste. So instead of carrot juice, I added a bag of fresh carrots to the grocery list. When the carrots arrived I made the carrot juice and this time, it tasted really great. So, my wife went ahead and made these buns with ginger custard cream.

The buns have nice texture and pretty color (pictures #1 and #2) but we did not taste much of carrot. She sliced the buns and layered on the custard (picture #2). The ginger custard has a nice ginger flavor and complimented the buns.

The original recipe is from King Arthur Flour website.

Ingredients (made 12)
Custard
1 cup (227g) milk
1/2 cup (113g) heavy cream
one 1" piece (12g) fresh ginger, scrubbed and coarsely grated
6 tablespoons (74g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch
pinch of table salt
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Plus or King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract

Dough
1 cup carrot juice. (The original recipe called for 1/2 cup (113g) milk, and 1/2 cup (113g) carrot juice, warm)
1 heaping teaspoon instant yeast
3 cups (360g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
6 tablespoons (74g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for coating the bowl
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
1.To make the custard: In a medium saucepan over medium- low heat, bring the milk, cream, and ginger to a bare simmer — you should see the liquid steaming with some tiny bubbles forming around the edges.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt until well-combined and lump-free. Add the egg yolks and whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth, airy, and pale, about 1 minute.
3. When the milk mixture is hot, slowly dribble it into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. This process of slowly adding hot liquid to the eggs yolks is called tempering and ensures that the eggs don’t scramble from sudden heat. After slowly adding about 1/3 cup of the hot milk, add the rest of the hot milk faster. Once it is all incorporated, transfer the liquid back into the pot, set over medium-low heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to simmer and thicken to a pudding-like consistency, about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing it through with a spatula or spoon, and into a container. Stir in the vanilla. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. While the custard chills, make the dough.

5. To make the dough: In a medium bowl, combine all the dough ingredients and knead — by hand or with a mixer — to make a soft, elastic dough, about 8 to 10 minutes in a stand mixer. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
6. To shape the buns: Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 10 equal pieces (around 68g per piece).
7. Shape each piece into a smooth, tight ball. Place the shaped buns in a layer of a steaming basket lined with parchment paper leaving plenty of room in between for the buns to expand. (I was able to fit 4 buns per steamer layer.). Transfer any buns that don’t fit onto a plate or baking sheet. Cover all of the buns and let them rise for 30 to 40 minutes, until puffy and slightly larger.
8. To steam the buns: Bring a shallow pot or frying pan of water to a boil. Place the steamer basket over the top and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the steamer basket from the water and let the buns rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. Finish steaming any remaining dough balls.
9. To fill the buns: Once the buns are cool, cut them through the center. Then use a small spoon or a pastry bag to fill the bun with about 2 to 3 tablespoons (30g to 40g) of chilled custard. Serve right away.
10. Storage instructions: These buns are best served immediately. If you’d like to fill only a few buns at a time, save the steamed, uncut buns and the extra custard in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat the buns, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave in 15-second increments. Let cool slightly, then split open and fill with the chilled custard.

These are a very elegant bun to eat for breakfast. The steamed bun had a nice soft texture and although it was slightly sweet we did not detect a distinctive carrot flavor. But they made a great ginger custard delivery system. The custard was very sweet vanilla with an essence of ginger flavor. You can’t go wrong with this combo.