Maritozzi Italian Cream Buns

In the heart of Rome, you’ll find the most enchanting, soft and delectable Maritozzi…Italian Cream Buns. But you needn’t travel to Rome to enjoy the essence of Italy’s famous Maritozzi.  Today, I’ll show you how to make these beauties in your kitchen.

What are Maritozzi

MARITOZZO (singular form) is a beloved sweet bun with an incredibly soft and fluffy texture and is abundantly filled with luscious whipped cream. As a finishing touch, all that’s needed is a generous dusting of powdered sugar…but top them with amarena cherries, and you’ll have the most sublime dessert.

Now, let’s dive into the fascinating history and the making of this iconic Italian sweet bun.

The Tradition of Roman Maritozzi

Roman maritozzi dates back to ancient Rome and were made with simple ingredients such as flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, milk, honey, zest and oil or butter. Sometimes, pine nuts and raisins would be added to enrich the yeasted dough.

They were often prepared as a gift to future brides, hence the name Maritozzo, a nod to marito, meaning husband. 

These cream-filled sweet buns were usually given on the first Friday of March, and it was not unusual to place a ring or other small trinket on the inside of the bun.

You’ll see maritozzi with or without raisins and pine nuts nowadays. I chose to omit it in mine and instead enriched the dough with the heady aroma of a vanilla bean.

I find that you can never be too extravagant with the fresh whipped cream filling and added sweetness of Amarena cherries.

Let’s get baking!

How to Make Maritozzi, Italian Sweet Buns

We start by making the brioche-like dough using Manitoba flour…which is a soft wheat flour with a high gluten level. Scroll down at the end of this post to see more on Manitoba flour and its substitutions.

I love using my stand mixer for this recipe, as it does all the work. However, you can use a large bowl and your hands if you don’t have a stand mixer. You’ll find it a little messier but still doable.

• 1- Place the flour, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• 2- Whisk together and then form a well in the centre.

• 3- Add warm milk and egg yolk in the centre of the well and knead with the hook attachment until the liquid has been absorbed.
• 4- Add in the orange zest, the beans of one vanilla pod, and the honey.

• 5- With the hook attachment, knead until the zest, honey, and vanilla have been evenly distributed.
• 6- Knead in the butter a little at a time and end with the salt. Once all the butter has been incorporated, knead for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. You will end up with a very stretchy, soft dough, barely clinging to the side of the bowl. (As seen in photo #6)

• 7- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Turn the dough to grease all over and cover with cling wrap.
• 8- Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free space until it triples in volume. (About two hours)

Shaping the Maritozzi Buns

• 9- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions of approximately 48 grams each…give or take. One at a time, fold the dough over, then turn it clockwise and fold again while repeating this six times. Gently bring together the bottom of the dough to seal.
• 10- Cup the dough ball between your thumb and index finger and make circular motions with the dough ball until you have a perfectly round-shaped dough ball. Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

• 11- Spray two sheets of cling wrap with baking spray and cover the dough balls with the cling wrap. (sprayed side down). Set aside to rise in a draft-free area for one hour.
• 12- Brush with egg wash.

• 13- Bake the sweet buns in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for 20 minutes. Allow the buns to cool completely before filling them with whipped cream. Otherwise, you’ll have one soggy mess.
• 14- With a serrated knife, slice the sweet buns from the top down, but not all the way through. Gently open like a book, pipe a layer of whipped cream, place an amarena cherry in the centre and top with more whipped cream—level off any excess with an offset spatula. Dust the tops with powdered sugar.

To add an elegant touch, enhance these beauties by piping a dollop of whipped cream atop the filled buns and garnishing with an amarena cherry. Visually, it adds a little sophistication to the Italian cream buns with a delightful, sweeter bite.

Happy baking!

How to Store Maritozzi Buns

The buns are at their freshest the day they’re baked.

If you’re planning on making them ahead of time, bake and freeze the sweet buns without the filling. Just be sure they have cooled off completely before freezing them. 

Wrap them in cling wrap and aluminum foil. Then, transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze them for up to three months.

When ready to serve, defrost the buns at room temperature and fill with the whipped cream. Dust the tops with powdered sugar and with amarena cherries if using.