Christmas Candy Cane Baos
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour rising time
Cooking time: 15 + 10 minutes
Makes 12 baos
For the baos
- 260g/9.2ozs cake flour*
- 3/4 teaspoon instant dried yeast
- 25g/0.9ozs caster or superfine sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk powder (use soy milk for vegan)
- 130-140ml/4.4-4.7flozs warm water (40-46C/105-115F)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Red food colouring
For BBQ Pork Filling
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 200g/7ozs bbq pork or char siu
- 60g/2ozs onion, diced
- 60ml/2flozs chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoons cornflour/fine cornstarch mixed with 1.5 tablespoons tap water
Alternative Vegan Filling
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 60g/2ozs onion, diced
- 200g/7ozs mushrooms, (can be button, shiitake or an exotic mix), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon hoi sin sauce
- 1 tablespoon char siu sauce
Buyer's note: Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer texture.
Step 1 - First make the bao dough as it needs time to rise. Mix the cake flour, yeast, sugar, milk powder together (do not add the baking powder at this stage) until well combined. Add the warm water and mix with a spatula - you will get a very rough looking mixture. Knead with the dough hook of a mixer for 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl (I use the same mixer bowl) and cover and allow to rise for an hour. I place the mixer bowl in a bowl of hot water just to speed it up (just change the water 2-3 times once it gets cold).
Step 2 BBQ Pork Filling - While the dough is rising make the filling. Roughly chop the char siu up. Thermomix directions: place char siu in the TM bowl for 10 seconds, speed #5. In a bowl whisk the chicken stock, sugar, salt, soy sauce and sesame oil to combine. Make the cornflour with the water to make a slurry and have this ready. Place a frypan on medium heat and add the oil. Once heated, add the onion and saute, you don't want these caramelised, just soft and translucent. Add the char siu and the stock mixture and bring to a simmer. Add the cornflour slurry (just whisk it up before you use it in case it has settled). Stir the charsiu mixture in the pan and remove from heat and allow to cool.
Step 2 b Vegan Filling - Place a frypan on medium heat and add oil. Once heated, add the onion and saute, you don't want these caramelised, just soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute until cooked and softened, around 5 minutes. Add hoi sin sauce and char siu sauce and mix well with the mushrooms. Remove from heat and cool.
Step 3 - When the dough is ready knead in the baking powder well. You should have around 420g/14.8ozs of dough. Remove 50g/1.7ozs of dough for the red candy stripes and divide the rest of the dough into 12 pieces around 30g/1oz each. Roll each into a ball and the roll out with a small rolling pin making the edges thinner than the centre. Place a couple of teaspoons of the filling (I used around 23g/0.8ozs filling) and pinch the dough shut making sure there are no holes. Roll it into a ball and repeat with the remaining white dough.
Step 4 - Using latex gloves knead a few drops of the red colouring into the 50g/1.7ozs of dough so that it is well incorporated. It will become brighter red once steamed but you do want it to be strong red so you may need 1/4 teaspoon or so. Cut the red dough into two pieces and roll each out into a very thin log. Wrap around each ball of dough and then place on a sheet of parchment that will fit your steamer. Place the buns into a candy cane shape and then shape the dough with your hands so that they mesh together on the sides. Heat a steamer until 114C/237F and place in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes. Serve while warm.
This candy cane can be frozen. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight. Then steam the baos for 5-8 minutes.