passionfruit custard scrolls

passionfruit custard scrolls

• 11 Feb 2024

Some recipes take longer than others to perfect. I first made a batch of passionfruit custard scrolls around 3 years ago and they were a disaster. I used custard as the filling, which then leaked all over the kitchen bench as I tried to roll up the dough. What was I thinking? I knew I needed to rethink my technique and decided to make a regular scroll and to fill the scroll with custard just before baking. 

When I searched online I found that custard filled scrolls made this way are popular in Norway, so I knew it was doable. The recipe I've come up with is a bit of a patchwork quilt of a recipe. I used my favourite cinnamon bun dough from Sarah Kieffer filled with lemon flavoured butter and sugar; the custard filling comes from sugar salt magic and the passionfruit icing from Stephanie Alexander.

Here's the recipe for you which makes 8 scrolls. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Passionfruit custard scrolls - makes 8
Dough 
1 tsp yeast
125 mls milk, lukewarm
30g honey
1 room temperature egg

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (300g) plain flour 
½ tsp salt
75g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Custard 

¾ cup full cream milk 
1½ tbs caster sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 slightly heaped tbs cornflour 
1 egg yolk

Filling
100g caster sugar
4 tsp grated lemon rind
Pinch salt
80g room temperature butter
1 tbs almond meal

To finish
2 tbs melted butter or cream

Passionfruit Icing
1 cup icing sugar, sifted

pinch salt

50g unsalted butter

2 passionfruit

Dough
Grease a large bowl and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and honey in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the egg and the vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been added (about 8 minutes) increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, 1 minute. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. The dough will be very sticky and you will need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours.

Custard
Pour ½ cup of milk into a heavy based saucepan. Add the sugar then heat on low-medium heat until steaming, stirring regularly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat. (I did this step in the microwave.)

In a bowl whisk together the remaining ¼ cup milk, egg yolk and cornflour until smooth and fully combined. While whisking, very slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture in a slow but steady stream. Once everything is combined, return the mix to the saucepan. 

Heat over medium heat, stirring with a whisk constantly, until it gets very thick and no longer settles into itself when you move it around. This will happen quite quickly after about 5 minutes so it’s important to keep gently whisking increasing intensity as it gets very thick. At this stage add the vanilla. Swap to a silicone spatula and pass the custard through a strainer into a clean bowl, then press plastic wrap to the surface and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the fridge until needed. (I made the custard in a plastic measuring jug in the microwave and it only took 2 minutes on medium high, stirring every 30 seconds. The custard came out lovely and smooth so I didn't need to sieve the mixture.)

Filling
Combine the sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a small bowl then using your fingers rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon until you have a smooth paste.

To assemble
Flour a work surface and knead the dough 10 to 12 times to activate the gluten. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the top lightly with flour, and cover with a tea towel and let come to room temperature. Line a tray with baking paper and set to one side. 

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to form an 8 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread the filling evenly out onto the dough then roll up firmly from the long edge. Using a very sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough to form 8 rolls. Set the rolls on baking trays covered with baking paper, about 5 cm apart.  Cover with a cloth and leave the rolls to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. When the buns have risen, make a deep indentation in the centre of the buns with your fingers. Loosen the custard by stirring vigorously with a spoon to remove any lumps that might have formed. Fill the buns with a tablespoon of the custard filling then brush each roll with some melted butter or cream. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes on the centre rack or until the rolls are golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before making the passionfruit icing. 

Icing
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, adding a pinch of salt. Melt the butter, then add it to the icing sugar followed by the passionfruit pulp. If the icing is looking a little too thick you can thin it out with some lemon juice or boiling water. Place the bowl over hot water, then beat the icing for 1-2 minutes until shiny. Generously drizzle the icing over each bun.

These are best served on the day they're made but can be frozen and defrosted.

I don't do Valentine's Day but food has always been my love language and these passionfruit custard scrolls are a perfect way to show your love.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kicthen.

Bye for now,

Jillian