A Special Ensaymada Recipe (Filipino Sweet Buns) You’ll Love

This special ensaymada recipe (also known as Filipino sweet buns) is a sweet and cheesy bread usually paired with coffee.

It can be bought from any bakery and is usually enjoyed as a mid-afternoon snack. However, due to its accessibility, ensaymada can actually be eaten at any time of the day.

It can be served on big occasions as a take-home food, in meetings as a snack, or even as children’s “baon” for school.

With its filling nature and cheesy texture, this flexible food is a usual fare for Filipino taste buds. The bread is either topped with sugar or cheese and has different varieties, depending on the bakery.

Apparently, this bread (which has proved to be a well-loved Filipino food) is actually an assimilated form of the original “ensaimada” from Spain with other varieties across South and Latin American countries.

However, with ensaimada being a hit with native Filipinos, this bread morphed into something that’s truly Filipino.

This ensaymada recipe includes flour, cheese, butter, honey, salt, water, white sugar, and cheddar cheese in its list of ingredients.

With these ingredients, I assure you that ensaymadas are going to become your favorite!

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Ensaymada Recipe (Filipino Sweet Buns)

This special ensaymada recipe (also known as Filipino sweet buns) is a sweet and cheesy bread usually paired with coffee. It can be bought from any bakery and is usually enjoyed as a mid-afternoon snack. Course SnackCuisine FilipinoKeyword Buns, Ensaymada Prep Time 45 minutesCook Time 25 minutesTotal Time 1 hour 10 minutes Servings 12 pcs Calories 365kcal Author Joost Nusselder Cost $2

Ingredients

• 2 tsp instant yeast
• ⅔ cup water (lukewarm)
• 3½ cups all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted (divided, 1/4 cup mixed in the dough and 1/4 cup for brushing)

topping:

• ½ cup creamed unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup sugar
• *Optional – shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

• In a small bowl or directly in the measuring cup, dissolve instant yeast in a ⅓ cup of lukewarm water. Set aside.
• While waiting for the yeast to blossom, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Next, add dissolved the yeast mixture, eggs, evaporated milk, ¼ cup of melted butter, and the remaining ⅓ cup of water. Using a dough hook or a( spatula if mixing by hand), mix on low speed for about 2 minutes, then at medium speed for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until a soft sticky dough has formed. Remember, the dough should be soft and sticky; don't over-knead this dough. Transfer dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or prepare ensaymada molds.
• Next, divide the dough into 8 to 12 pieces. To achieve uniform sizes, you could use a scale, dividing each piece equally at 60 grams each. OR without a scale, an ice cream scooper will do the job too. Dust the ice cream scooper with flour, scoop out the dough, and release straight onto the lined baking pan or molds. This part doesn't have to be pretty; just scoop and release. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
• Now it's time to shape the ensaymadas. In a small bowl, melt ¼ cup of butter and set aside. On a floured surface or mat, roll out or use the palms of your hands to flatten each piece of dough into a rectangle. Dust your hands with flour to help prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers. Brush a little melted butter over the top of the dough. Roll the dough into a long log, pinching the ends together for a seal. Then turn the dough seam side down or seam side facing inwards, in the direction where you’ll start twirling. Gently start rolling or twirling the dough inwards into a swirl or a roll. Place it back onto the lined pan. Loosely cover buns with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until it doubles in size (about 1½ hour).
• Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake rolls for 15 to 17 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow rolls to cool for 30 minutes to an hour before topping with creamed butter and sugar.
• Now time to top, brush, or spread the creamed butter over the top of the buns, using a butter knife. Then, sprinkle sugar over the butter or dip the buttered top straight into a bowl of sugar, shake off the excess, and it’s ready to eat!! Best served at room temperature with a hot cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Notes

**If you aren’t able to find creamed butter in the stores, no problem, let’s cream the butter ourselves. Put ½ cup (1 stick) of softened butter in a small mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat or whip butter for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter is creamed or has a whipped like the texture and lightened in color.

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcal

Nestle evaporated milk is great for this recipe.

Ensaymada recipe preparation and tips (Method 2)

This ensaymada recipe involves a tedious process since you have to prepare the dough and be ready to have complete ingredients.

• Combine yeast and milk first into a bowl and wait for it to activate. You can always acquire yeast from your neighborhood bakery (if they also sell) or from the supermarket.
• Reserve the yeast while preparing the other ingredients such as the dough.
• For the dough, mix flour, sugar, salt, beaten eggs, and melted butter. Make sure that you’re able to mix everything well before pouring in the activated yeast. Mix it again and make sure that it’s doughy enough before kneading it.
• Since you already have the yeast mixture and you’ve already kneaded it, put the dough back into the bowl and let it rise. While waiting, you can ready the rolling pin and the flat surface where you’re going to flatten the dough.
• Bring out the dough and punch it to release the air, slice the dough into however many pieces you want, then start rolling it. After, dab it with some melted butter in the middle and coil it as if it were a snail shell. Place it on a tray and let it rise again for 4 hours. Once the 4 hours are done, preheat your oven and bake the dough.
• Finally, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle it with sugar or garnish it with grated cheese.

Aside from this recipe, you can also try my Homemade beef empanada recipe and original pandesal recipe.

Note: In this article, I posted 2 methods on preparing this ensaymada recipe. You can choose between the 2.