Golden with toasted hues of brown, Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns are iconic breads that can be found in Singapore local bakeries. Having grown up eating these buns as part of my childhood, I am really glad to be sharing my own version of these Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns which are fluffy, lightly savoury and most importantly, soft!

As these Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns are one of my favourite breads I look forward to having, I develop particular expectations for them which I reflect in my recipe.

Firstly, neither the bun nor the cream cheese filling should be too sweet. Then, the bun must also have the right amount of feeling as having too much of a good thing (the filling) or one can feel cloyed. Finally and equally important, the buns must be soft!

Having the finish in mind, I crafted my recipe for these Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns which I am so absolutely happy with.

Interestingly and for avid bakers, you would have noticed similarities between this recipe and my Hokkaido Milk Buns recipe. This is because both uses a water roux method and has similar proportions of ingredients. However, I made sure to create a separate page for this Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns recipe as it uses a different method to create the distinct disc shapes.

In addition, I have included the recipe for the cream cheese filling which is less sweet and still creamy!

Without further ado, the recipe.

Fluffy Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns Recipe
by Javier Tan June-20-2021

These iconic Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns are soft and fluffy with a lightly sweet and fragrant Cream Cheese Filling to match!

Ingredients
For Water Roux / Tangzhong:

  • 3 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon or 50ml Water
  • 3 Tablespoons or 45ml Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons or 18g Bread Flour, Sifted

For Bread:

  • 2 and 1/2 Cups or 300g Bread Flour
  • 1/4 Cup or 50g Granulated White Sugar
  • 1 Large Egg, Room Temperature, 55g each
  • 3/4 Teaspoon or 4g Table Salt
  • 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons or 7g Instant Dry Yeast
  • 3 Tablespoons or 45g Unsalted Butter, Melted
  • 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoon or 150g Liquid Milk
  • All that was made Water Roux / Tangzhong
  • 30g / Handful of Cranberries

For Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 1 Cup or 240g of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/4 Cup or 30g of Powdered Sugar, Sifted
  • 2 Teaspoons or 10ml of Milk (optional, if not coming together)

Instructions

First Proofing: 

  1. Prepare the Water Roux / Tangzhong. Mix all 3 ingredients and heat using a saucepan at medium low heat until the flour has all dissolved and you form a sticky, slightly thickened gel.
  2. Cover the water roux and leave to cool. Meanwhile, mix Bread Flour, Sugar, Salt, and Yeast together in a large bowl. Make sure to put the salt and yeast at separate places before mixing.
  3. To another small saucepan, melt the softened butter at low heat.
  4. Once fully melted, turn off the heat and add in egg and milk and mix well until it forms a single wet mixture.
  5. Add in half of the wet mixture (water roux + butter, egg, milk mixture) into the large bowl containing the dry ingredients and knead using a dough hook attachment at high speed for 1 min 30 seconds or until clumps can be observed.
  6. Mix in the remaining half and knead well for another 6-7 minutes at medium high speed. Once done, the dough will no longer stick to the bowl and it will pass the windowpane test.
  7. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and sprinkle some water on top of the dough. Cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and proof for an hour.

Cream Cheese Filling: 

  1. While waiting, assemble the cream cheese filling by mixing the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together with a hand mixer. If it doesn’t come together, add the milk and whisk again.

Second Proofing and Baking: 

  1. Once an hour is up, poke a hole at the center of the dough to release the excess air.
  2. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes on a surface with bread flour and allocate approx. 50 – 70g for one bun. I stuffed each ball of dough with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling for each at the center before rolling to form a ball. At this stage, I roll it in a coat of dried cranberries.
  3. Flatten by rolling out to form disc shape and then transfer to your baking tray ( I am using a 13 inch ), then cover and proof for another 25-30 minutes.
  4. Start preheating the oven at 180 degrees C when the proofing is about to be completed.
  5. Bake for about 19-23 minutes until lightly golden brown with another metal tray pressing on top of the buns to keep the disc shape. I bake 4 – 5 at one go as they do spread out a little.
  6. Serve and enjoy!
Details
  • Prep time:
  • Cook time:
  • Total time:
  • Yield: 9 – 12 Delicious Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns!

Notes:

  1. If you would like to be updated for more recipes which I strive to create to perfection for sharing and for free, do check out my InstagramFacebook Page, or YouTube 🙂 Thank you so much for all of your support! Feel free to tag me or link back here!
  2. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. Optimally, eat it within 4 days!
  3. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. Will try to help soonest!

Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan