Little Miss Bento

 

So happy that my kawaii milo bread buns were a success!! They were so soft, and filled with yummy homemade milo custard filling!!

The one thing that I might do the next time is to perhaps blend the milo custard filling in a processor so that it is even more smooth. 

Milo is a chocolate malt drink popular in Singapore and in Malaysia. Since when we were children, many of us loved drinking milo, that chocolatety drink at home, in school and at coffeeshops. It was regarded as a pretty nutritiousness drink. 

There are so many ways to enjoy a milo drink – hot, cold, with condensed milk, or without. And not to forgot the famous milo dinosaur – an ice cold milo drink topped with more milo powder (which doesnt melt in the cold drink) and retains that gritty texture. It is also enjoyed together with square biscuits by some people. What is your favourite way to enjoy milo?

As a kid, I remembered how I would mix some hot water with milo powder, just enough to make it into a paste, and used it as bread spread!! LOL

Anyway, I thought – what not better but to create my own milo bread recipe?

So I hope you like this recipe for homemade milo bread buns filled with homemade milo custard cream!

As usual, my bread recipe stems from Japanese soft bread style~ enjoy!!

Inspired by my mother’s upcoming birthday, she is of Tiger Chinese zodiac so I made them into cute tiger bread buns!

Recipe for Homemade Milo Bread Buns, Cute Tiger Bread

Ingredients (Milo custard filling)
150ml milk
3 egg yolks
20g sugar
40g milo powder
30g corn flour

Ingredients (Bread dough)
250g bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp milo powder
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
150ml warm water (about 35C~40C)
10g unsalted butter

Ingredients (Chocolate custard used for drawing the tiger character)
80ml milk
1 egg yolk
10g sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder

Method (Milo custard filling) PART 1
1) In a small mixing bowl, add egg yolks, sugar, milo powder and corn flour. Mix well until it forms a paste.
2) In a small pot, heat the milk until small bubbles at the side appear, stir a couple of times. Remove from heat.
3) Add the paste from step 1 to the heated milk.
4) Place the pot over heat again and keep mixing and stiring until the paste is incorporated into the milk. Continue to cook and stir with a plastic spatula until it forms a curdish texture. remove from heat.
5) Set in a bowl to cool. Place in the fridge.
Continue to start on making the bread dough.

Method (Bread dough) PART 1
1) In a big mixing bowl, sieve and add in bread flour, sugar, milo powder, salt. Then add in instant yeast and warm water. Mix until it forms a flaky texture. Add in the soften unsalted butter and mix again.
2) Transfer all the contents on your worktop and use your hand to knead until butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth, softer and stretchy. It should take about 15mins.
3) Shape into a ball and place it back in your mixing bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let it rise at about 40C for about 45-50mins.
4) Do the dough test. The risen dough should have doubled in size.
5) Punch out the air and roll the dough again. Shape it into a ball and divide into 8 equal parts. Set on the baking tray, cover with a damp towel. Set aside for 2nd rise (about 10mins).

Method (Milo custard filling) PART 2
6) Take the milo custard filling out from the fridge. Scoop and divide into 8 parts (about 30g each), shape it into a small ball using cling wrap.
7) Place them back into the fridge again with the cling wrap.

Method (Chocolate custard cream for character’s features)
1) In a small mixing bowl, add egg yolk, sugar, corn flour, cocoa powder and mix well until it forms a paste.
2) In a small pot, heat the milk until small bubbles at the side appear, stir a couple of times. Remove from heat.
3) Add the paste from step 1 to the heated milk.
4) Place the pot over heat again and keep mixing and stiring until the paste is incorporated into the milk. Continue to cook and stir with a plastic spatula until it forms a curdish texture. remove from heat.
5) When cooled, transfer into a piping bag with small round tip.

Method (Bread dough) PART 2
6) Roll out the bread, use a scissors to cut out 2 triangulars. Shape the rest of the bread dough into a nice roundish shape, place one of serving of the milo custard filling in the centre and seal it at the back.
7) Place the 2 small triangulars on the bread buns. This is for the ears of the tiger character.
8) Cover the bread buns with a damp cloth, set the buns aside for 3rd rise (about 10mins)
9) Brush on some egg wash.
10) Pipe the features for the tiger character (the eyes, nose and strips)
11) Bake in the oven at about 170C for 15-18mins until nicely brown.