Leia Buns, Danish Style #FoodNFlix #StarWarsFood

August - also now called 'Star Wars Food Month' in my house - is rolling right along. Remember: Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month of Star Wars recipes for Food'N'Flix. You can read her invitation here.

My family and I talked about what food could represent Princess Leia; the resounding answer: Leia buns!! They were picturing more cinnamon buns. But I really wanted to remake these amazing Danish rolls - fastelavnsboller - that are pillowy soft and filled with custard. I opted to cover these in chocolate since Leia is a brunette.

You can't really see the Leia buns on this cake, but it was the groom's cake a our friends' wedding. What fun, right?!?

But I've loved Princess Leia since I first saw Star Wars in 1977. I was four years old when the movie came out. I remember dressing up as Leia for Halloween in first grade when The Empire Strikes Back* was released. My hair was super long and my mom braided my hair and wound them around my head just like pastry.

This is my version of Leia buns. Danish style. You know I'm getting serious about baking when my kitchen scale comes out.

. 

Ingredients

Dough

• 13 g dried/active dry yeast 
• 250 ml whole milk, warmed to steaming but not boiling
• 100 g butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 40 g organic granulated sugar
• 450 g flour + more for kneading
• 1 t baking powder
• 2 t ground cardamom (this results in a strong flavor, reduce if you prefer)
• 1 t salt (I used a Danish flake salt, but use whatever you have)
• 1 egg, beaten

Vanilla Cream

• 500 ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthwise with seeds scraped
• 3 eggs
• 100 g organic granulated sugar
• 30 g corn starch
• 25 g butter

Baking and Finishing

• 1 egg, beaten
• 50 g dark chocolate
• sprinkles or chopped nuts

Procedure

Vanilla Cream

Place the milk and the vanilla bean and scraped seeds in a medium sauce pan and let stand for 20 minutes. Then scald the milk and let the vanilla steep in the milk for 10 minutes. In the meantime, in mixing bowl, blend the sugar and eggs until the mixture becomes fluffy and pale. Add the corn starch and whisk to combine.

Slowly pour the warmed milk into the egg mixture, whisking as you pour.  Place the saucepan back on the stove and bring to a boil. Whisking vigorously the whole time.  Once the mixture has thickened and just started to boil, remove from the heat. Keep whisking to keep it smooth. Spread the pastry cream into a dish and cover with plastic wrap, touching the top to keep the cream from developing a film.  Refrigerate until cool.

Dough
Pour warm milk into a large mixing bowl, stir in sugar, and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let bloom for 10 to 15 minutes. It should be foamy and frothy. Add in the butter and egg. Whisk to combine.

Add in the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Knead until a scraggy dough forms. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. It should be doubled in size.

Baking

Dust a workspace with flour and turn out the dough. Knead the dough, dusting to prevent sticking if needed. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to a rectangle, approximately 12" x 16". Cut the dough into 8 rectangles..

On each rectangle, add a generous dollop of pastry cream. Gather the corners together on top to form a sort of purse shape. Press the seams together to ensure the vanilla cream stays inside the bun and won’t leak out during baking.

When bun is completely closed, invert it, and place it on parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Brush the buns with beaten egg and let them rest and rise for 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 395 degrees F. Place the buns in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the sheet while you prepare the toppings

Finishing
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Set aside.

Once the buns are cool, top them with the chocolate and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.