Maritozzi, Italian Cream Buns

Maritozzi are delightful Italian cream buns known for their perfect balance of soft, sweet, and generously filled with luscious whipped cream. When crowned with amarena cherries, they transform into a sublime Italian dessert, making them an ideal treat for any occasion.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Maritozzi Italian Cream Buns

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 3

Servings

Calories 297kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Baking Sheet
Piping Bag with Star Tip

Ingredients

For he Sweet Buns

2 cups Manitoba flour 280 grams, spooned and levelled (see notes below on Manitoba flour)
1/4 cup granulated sugar 55 grams
1 teaspoon quick rise instant yeast 4 grams
2/3 cups warm milk 150 ml
1 large egg yolk
orange zest from one medium orange
1 tablespoon honey 20 grams
seeds from one vanilla bean
1/4 cup butter 57 grams
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 gram

Egg Wash

1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

For the Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream (35%) 473 ml
4 tablspoons powdered sugar (icing sugar) plus more for dusting
Amarena cherries Optional

Instructions

For the Sweet Buns

Place the flour, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Whisk together and then form a well in the centre.
Add the warm milk and egg yolk in the centre of the well and knead with the hook attachment until the liquid has been absorbed.
Add in the orange zest, the beans of one vanilla pod, and the honey.
With the hook attachment, knead until the zest, honey, and vanilla have been evenly distributed.
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.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Turn the dough to grease all over and cover with cling wrap.
Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free space until it triples in volume for about two hours.
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.
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.
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.
Make the egg wash by beating together 1 whole egg with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.
When the dough balls have risen brush them with the egg wash mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the sweet buns for 20 minutes. Allow the buns to cool completely before filling them with whipped cream. Otherwise, you'll have one soggy mess.

Whipped Cream Filling

Beat together the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
Fill a piping bag with the sweetened whipped cream.
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, top with more whipped cream and level any excess with an offset spatula.
Dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Pipe a rosette on top of the filled centres and crown with a cherry if using.

Notes

Manitoba flour is a soft wheat flour and is a perfect choice for baking because of its high gluten levels, aiding in the rising of the dough.
Especially for recipes that require a long leavening time, such as Italian panettone, French croissant or brioche.

Manitoba flour adds strength and structure to baked goods. However, you can easily substitute it with bread flour which also has a higher gluten content than other flours. Or Italian OO flour.

Although all-purpose flour is another fairly good substitution, it produces buns with a denser and less fluffy texture.

Nutrition