Craving for some of that pillowy soft, butter filled Mexican coffee buns? Well, we got just the recipe for you! You can now easily recreate your very own Mexican coffee buns in the comfort of your own home with the ingredients in your pantry and Thermomix®! We can guarantee that with just one whiff, even non-coffee lovers will find it irresistible.
Malaysians know of Mexican coffee buns, after all, we’re all familiar with Roti Boy, a staple bakery shop to go to whenever you’re craving these sweet butter-filled coffee buns. Even though these buns are often called Mexican coffee buns around the world, they are better known as Roti Boy amongst Malaysians ever since it was first sold in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Since then, Roti Boy has been leading their customers by the nose to their bakeries and have sold more than 400 million Roti Boy buns worldwide.
Before we jump right into the recipe, it’s important to note why these Mexican coffee buns have become a staple among Malaysians, even though the two countries (and cultures) are divided by an ocean. During our research on the history of Mexican coffee buns, we found that our favourite buttery treat had actually originated in Asia! So how did it get the name “Mexican Coffee Bun”? Well, research further shows that a colony of Chinese people had migrated to Mexico, seeking better opportunities as explorers continued mapping the world. It was by chance this Chinese community was the one who brought the delicious buttery, coffee-flavoured bun to the Americas.
It all started when a small group of Chinese community first went to Mexico to seek a better lifestyle during the 19th century, but were forcefully deported in the 1930s when a wave of anti-Chinese hysteria swept the country. Throughout the years between the 19th century and 1930s, the Chinese community have managed to settle down in Mexico fairly well and thus, created families and established small towns, scratching out a life at the outskirts of Mexico. However in the 1930s when the Chinese-Mexicans were forcefully deported, most of them found themselves settling down in Hong Kong and Macau with Macau being administered by Portuguese at the time, the culture and buildings were an attractive site to the Chinese Mexicans and this is where the Mexican coffee bun first came about.
After the Chinese Mexicans managed to plant their roots in Hong Kong and Macau, it was found that a Chinese Mexican family had opened up a coffee shop in 1946 and sold the Mexican coffee bun through the shop as a tribute to the traditional Mexican bun which had a sweet cookie crust, concha, similar to the Mexican coffee bun that we all know and love. And not long after, different renditions of the Mexican coffee bun started distributing around the world with the two most notable versions being the Japanese Melon Bun and the Hong Kong Polo Bun.
There could actually be many other renditions of recipes of the Mexican coffee buns all across Asia since the Concha was another version adapted from France but that’s a story for another time. But one thing is for sure and it’s the fact that just by having one of these delectable fluffy buns in your home, can fill the air with a comforting aroma that teases your senses and wakes you right up!
These Mexican coffee buns are usually best eaten fresh right after they’ve just come out of the oven. It tastes even better during cold rainy seasons where you get yourself cosy while savouring a buttery, coffee-scented, fluffy bun. Definitely an all-occasion treat that delights the senses.
Although some of you may find making the perfect coffee dome crust on the outer layer of the Mexican coffee bun intimidating, it’s actually quite easy to create. With just the right amount of coffee-to-butter ratio, this makes it a perfect filling breakfast or you could even have it as a little snack on the side to keep your cravings satiated while waiting for dinner.
And best of all, it goes well with coffee too! Just imagine dipping the Mexican coffee buns into hot coffee and having the bun soak all the coffee in like a sponge. And once you bite into it, the coffee and melted butter oozes out into your mouth in the most satisfying way imaginable, giving you an even more enhanced taste of coffee with just the right texture, crispy yet moist and soft.
Just thinking about it got our mouths watery so let’s get right into it.
You can find The Thermomix® Cookidoo® recipe available at the link attached here. Do note that this recipe provided is in the Chinese language.
Mexican Coffee Buns Recipe
Ingredients for the fluffy bread dough
200g full cream milk
40g caster sugar
1 ½ tsp dried yeast powder
300g bread flour, sieved
10g milk powder
¼ tsp salt
30g salted butter, soften at room temperature
40g salted butter, cold temperature
Ingredients for coffee dome crust
80g salted butter, soften at room temperature
80g brown sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp water
1 egg, room temperature
80g cake flour
Preparation
Step 1: Fluffy bread dough
To begin with, we will start off by making the bread first. Add milk, sugar, and yeast in the Thermomix® mixing bowl and mix it together for about 3 minutes at 37°C and set it to speed 2.
After that, add bread flour, milk powder and salt into the mixing bowl and set it in Knead Dough mode for 1 minute.
Then, add 30g of softened butter and continue kneading the dough on Knead Dough mode for 3 minutes.
Place the dough on a pastry mat and shape it into a ball.
Cover the dough loosely with cling film and let dough rise for 60 minutes before dividing it into 8 equal portions (approx. 70g each) and rolling them into a ball.
Cut the cold salted butter into cubes of approximately 2×2 cm.
Then, gently flatten the divided dough with a rolling pin and put a cube of butter in the center of the dough.
Wrap the dough and roll it into the shape of a ball and arrange doughs at least 5 cm apart from each other. Repeat this step until there is no more dough left. Then cover the dough loosely with cling film and let them rise for 60 minutes.
Step 2: Coffee dome crust
To make the coffee flavoured dome crust, insert a butterfly whisk at the bottom of the Thermomix® mixing bowl. Then place butter and sugar inside and mix for 2 minutes at speed 3.
Meanwhile, while waiting for the ingredients to be completely mixed, combine 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules with water in a separate bowl. You can even add the amount of instant coffee powder to your preferred taste.
Then add in the egg and the instant coffee mixture from earlier into the Thermomix® mixing bowl and mix it for 10 seconds at speed 3.
After that, add in flour and mix it for 20 seconds at speed 3.
After the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, remove the butterfly whisk to make it easier to transfer the mixture into a piping bag and refrigerate the mixture until hardened and ready to use.
Before baking the Mexican coffee buns, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line a parchment paper on a baking tray and transfer the resting doughs on a baking tray. Pipe out the coffee topping on the dough in a circular motion. The best part about making your own Mexican coffee bun is, you can pipe out as generous of an amount as you wish and have an excess of the crispy coffee bits at the bottom of the side of the buns after it’s done baking for that extra treat.
After piping on the raw coffee dome crust, bake them at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Once done, serve them warm on a plate or with a side of hot coffee.
If you wish to save it for next time, it’s best to place the Mexican coffee buns into an airtight container or re-sealable plastic and store it in the refrigerator. Once you feel like finishing the rest of the buns, you can warm it up again in the oven at 160°C for five to seven minutes until the coffee dome crust is crispy. While reheating it, be careful not to burn the coffee dome crust.
Tips:
💡: If you’re afraid of the butter melting before wrapping it up in the dough, cut the butter into cube size beforehand and freeze them in the refrigerator so that it hardens, making it easier for you to wrap the butter in the dough.
💡: Mexican coffee buns are best serve warm and eaten freshly baked. If you find that your Mexican coffee buns have cooled, heat them up in the oven for about 5 minutes at 180°C to get the warm and crispy crust texture again.
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