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–+ servings
Two finished Scottish Cream Buns on a china plate in front of a china cup and saucer and a plate of unfilled cream buns.

Cream Buns from Scotland

By Tammy Spencer
Scottish Cream Buns are a simple, yet delicious treat. These lightly sweetened and glazed brioche-style rolls are filled with clouds of whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar. Perfect for afternoon tea or dessert!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Rising Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 18 buns
Calories: 163kcal

Special Equipment

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 4 cups (480 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup (66 ⅔ grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) instant yeast, or Active Dry yeast, see Recipe Notes
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
  • 1 (1) large egg, slightly beaten
  • ⅓ cup (75 ⅔ grams) unsalted butter, melted, see Recipe Notes
  • ½ cup (120 grams) milk, warm (100 to 110°F)
  • ½ cup (118 2/7 milliliters) water, warm (100 to 110°F)

For the glaze

  • ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (56 grams) water

For the filling and topping

  • whipped cream, homemade or store bought, see Recipe Notes
  • powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 4 cups all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons instant yeast, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 large egg (beaten), ⅓ cup unsalted butter (melted), ½ cup milk, and ½ cup water. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and slightly sticky, about 5 minutes.
    Note: If you're using Active Dry yeast, see the Recipe Notes on how to prove the yeast and mix the dough.
  • Alternatively, you can make the dough using a bread machine set to the “dough” cycle, or just combine the dough ingredients in a large bowl, then knead by hand on a lightly floured surface.
  • Roll the dough into a ball, then place in a bowl sprayed with canola oil spray. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (the oven with just the light turned on works well), about 90 minutes.
  • Shape the dough: After the dough has risen, knead it gently into a ball to release any gas. Let the dough rest on a lightly floured surface, seam side up, for 5 minutes.
  • Divide the dough into 18 pieces, about 50-grams each, covered with a kitchen towel (see Recipe Notes). Shape each piece into a tight round ball (keeping the remaining dough covered), and place them seam side down on a half sheet baking pan lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper.
  • Cover the buns with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
  • Bake the buns: Bake the buns for 20 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
  • Make the glaze: While the buns are baking, prepare the simple syrup glaze by combining ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup water and cook just until it starts to boil and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
  • Remove the buns from the oven and use a pastry brush to glaze them with the warm simple syrup while they are still hot. Place the glazed buns on a rack to cool completely.
  • Fill the buns: When the buns are completely cool, cut them almost all the way through at a downward sloping angle. Fill them with whipped cream and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
  • Storage instructions: Unfilled cream buns can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for several days.
  • Make ahead instructions: Unfilled cream buns freeze well in an airtight plastic bag. Defrost them on the counter for an hour (or in the microwave on 50% powder for about a minute), then split, fill, and serve.

Recipe Notes

If you're using Active Dry yeast (or you're not sure if your yeast has passed its prime), you can prove the yeast is active and make the dough by following these steps:
  1. To prove the yeast: Combine lukewarm water, yeast and ½ teaspoon of sugar. Allow the yeast to rest for a few minutes, until it begins to foam. The foaming is what tells you your yeast is good to use.
  2. To make the dough: In a small bowl, whisk the milk, melted butter, and the beaten egg together. Stir the milk mixture into the yeast mixture.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, remaining sugar, and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture, then knead the dough until smooth.
For best results, measure out the butter (especially by weight) before melting it.
If you're making homemade whipped cream, you can use a pie filling thickener (like Instant ClearJel) to stabilize the whipped cream so it will hold it's structure longer. I find a 3 : 1 ratio of powdered sugar to thickener works well. For this recipe, I whisk 2 teaspoons of Instant ClearJel with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar before adding it to 1 cup (240 grams) of whipped heavy cream.
You can portion the dough by either eyeballing them into 18 equally-sized pieces or by portioning the dough into 50-gram balls using a kitchen scale (my preferred method, but I’m a sucker for precision). To make larger cream buns, divide the dough into 12 pieces, about 75-grams each.
You'll be making more simple syrup than you need. It can be refrigerated and used to sweeten tea, cocktails, or to glaze more Cream Buns!

Nutrition

Serving: 1unfilled bun | Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 0.004mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg