Classic Hong Kong Style Cocktail Buns

First make the filling. Put 140g unsalted butter, 70g sugar, and 1/6 tsp salt into a bowl, beat with an electric mixer. If it still feels grainy, continue beating for about 4 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Add 50g milk powder and mix well. Sift in 10g custard powder and 10g soft flour to avoid lumps. Place the filling on cling film, roll into a baton, and chill in the fridge.

Make Utane. Add 120ml water to a saucepan, take 1 1/4 tbsp flour from 450g strong flour and mix in. Ensure no lumps before turning on the heat. Cook over medium-low heat while stirring until it thickens into a paste with visible lines, then turn off the heat. Must cool down completely before use, otherwise the heat will kill the yeast.

Put 12g yeast into a large bowl, add a little water and mix. Take 1 tsp of sugar from the dough ingredients and add it to the yeast water (sugar feeds the yeast to help it expand). Stir well and let it rest for 5-10 minutes until frothy.

Put remaining 438.75g strong flour into a large bowl, mix with chopsticks, then add remaining 31.5g sugar, 10g custard powder, 1/6 tsp salt. Pour in activated yeast, cooled Utane, and gradually add remaining 120ml water (don't add all at once). Mix into a dough, start kneading by hand, then add 20ml oil (oil softens and adds shine). Knead for 10 minutes into a soft, smooth dough.

Cover the dough with a lid, rest for 10 minutes then knead for another 2-3 minutes. Cover again and rest for 90 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Make the cocktail bun decoration paste. Beat 45g softened unsalted butter and 10g sugar in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Sift in 25g soft flour in parts and mix into a paste. No need to refrigerate, keep at room temperature.

Take out the chilled filling, cut into 10 pieces, about 34g each. Place on cling film, shape into small batons, and chill in the fridge.

Take out the proofed dough, sprinkle a little flour. Gently pat to remove large bubbles, roll into a baton. Use a scale to divide into 10 dough balls, about 78-80g each. Flatten and roll up (trap as much air as possible for better expansion), then roll into balls.

Sprinkle a little flour, flatten a dough ball, and use a rolling pin to roll it out. Place the filling on top, roll it up, pinch the seam tightly to seal, and roll both ends. Place seam-side down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving space between them.

Cover the buns with a clean damp cloth to prevent drying out. Usually I put them inside an unheated oven to proof for about 15-20 minutes until expanded.

Make a piping bag: take 1-foot wide parchment paper, fold into a triangle, with the opening facing outward roll into a cone shape. Put the decoration paste inside. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C for 8-10 minutes.

Beat 1 egg. Use a brush to evenly apply egg wash on the surface of the proofed cocktail buns. Scatter toasted sesame seeds on top. Use scissors to cut a small hole in the piping bag, and pipe a line of decoration paste across each bun.

Place the baking tray with cocktail buns in the middle of the preheated oven, bake at 190°C for about 14 minutes until golden brown with a rich buttery and coconut aroma.