These Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns are possibly the cutest cream buns you’ll ever come across! Light and fluffy buns are filled with apricot jam and dairy-free whipped cream. Topped with vegan marshmallows and black fondant. They’re decorated into adorable polar bears for Christmas, I can almost guarantee that you’ll get addicted to these festive treats.
This incredible recipe has been made in collaboration with Panasonic. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information along with affiliated links, check out my disclosure policy.)
Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns
If you’re familiar with bakeries, than you’ve probably come across a cream bun before. They’re essentially a lightly sweetened breaded dough, which are split open and piped with some fruity jam (most often strawberry or raspberry) and freshly whipped cream. They’re incredibly easy to make from scratch.
You can’t tell me these are not the cutest cream buns you’ve EVER seen! I mean.. just look at them! They have a cute nose, adorable squishy ears and they’re the sweetest treat for celebrating the festive season. There are so many different variations of cream buns, but trust me when I say, these are truly the best! The bun is perfect and the fillings are a classic flavour combination which is sure to make you go back for seconds!
Looking for more of the BEST Vegan Christmas recipes, click here!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Vegan friendly.
- Super fun to make and decorate.
- Fun for kids to decorate.
- Fluffy in texture.
- Deliciously creamy.
- Perfectly fruity.
- Cute and festive.
- Great as gifts.
- Lovely for christmas parties / gatherings.
Ingredients you’ll need:
You’ll be very pleased to hear, this recipe contains minimal ingredients, some of which you probably already have in your kitchen cupboards! Jot these ingredients down for your next shopping trip!
- Dairy-free milk : Soya milk works best, but you can use any dairy-free milk for this recipe including oat, almond or cashew.
- Active dry yeast : One packet is usually 7-8g of yeast which is perfect. The active yeast is what will make these buns super light, fluffy and springy!
- All-purpose / plain flour : Plain flour works perfectly for this recipe. You can use self raising, but the buns might prove / rise too large.
- Sugar : Caster sugar or a very fine white sugar is perfect for this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend granulated sugar as it can make the buns gritty in texture.
- Oil : Use a neutral flavoured oil. Sunflower works best!
- Vanilla : You can use extract or the seeds from a vanilla pod.
- Dairy-free cream : You want to use a good quality cream which is thick and holds it’s shape. The BEST dairy-free / vegan cream is ‘The Coconut Collaborative Double Cream’.
- Apricot jam : Alternatively you could use an orange marmalade or berry jam such as strawberry or raspberry if preferred.
- Large marshmallows : Make sure they are vegan friendly. I use the brand ‘Dandies’.
- Black fondant : Used for the polar bear eyes and nose. Make sure its soft and at room temperature. Alternatively you could use melted dairy-free dark chocolate or chocolate buttons.
- Icing sugar : Dust the tops of the buns with some icing sugar before serving. Adds extra sweetness and makes them look snowy!
How to make Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns?
You will be very surprised with how easy these polar bear cream buns are to make. You only need a handful of ingredients, some simple tools and a little bit of time and you’ll be making the most bakery worthy, and eye-catching treat in no time! The full method, recipe and ingredients list is written in the recipe card at the bottom of this page. Happy ‘Festive’ Baking!
- Dough
Heat the milk and sprinkle over the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar. Whisk to combine. Pour the activated yeast mixture and oil into the flour and sugar. Knead until a sticky dough forms.
- Prove
Place the dough ball into a lightly greased bowl, place in a warm area for at least an hour. The dough will double in size. Once it’s grown, turn out on a lightly floured surface. Roll 100g of the dough into balls and place on a lined baking tray. Allow the prove for a second time.
- Bake
Once the balls of dough have finished proving, brush them with milk and bake until golden. Allow to cool fully before filling.
- Filling
Cut the buns in half, not all the way. Spread in some apricot jam, followed by a marshmallow and pipe in the whipped up cream. Use a knife to spread the cream flush to the bun.
- Decoration
Cut a large marshmallow in half and stick to the top of the bun for the ears and another marshmallow in the middle of the cream for the nose. Press in some black fondant for the eyes and nose.
Serve and enjoy!
How to make fluffy steamed buns?
These buns are light, fluffy and moist. They are absolutely delicious! The trick to this is steaming them. Steaming incorporates moisture into the buns making them super light and airy. I love steaming in my Panasonic 4-1 Combi Oven. The confined space of the oven allows the buns to bake evenly with a gorgeous golden colour. The steam setting encapsulates each bun in a bubble of moisture making them light as a cloud. It’s a powerful machine with a ton of fun and exciting features which makes cooking and baking a breeze! The oven is also portable so can be moved to any area you wish to bake from. It’s a great addition to any kitchen.
It would make as a fantastic Christmas gift, check them out here!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook! Pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns are the perfect treat for Christmas. Fluffy buns filled with jam, cream and marshmallows.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the buns
- 250ml of dairy-free milk
- 7g of active dry yeast
- 500g of all purpose / plain flour
- 100g of caster sugar
- 70g of sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean pod)
- 3 tablespoons of dairy-free milk (for brushing on the buns)
Ingredients for the cream filling and decoration
- 250ml of dairy-free double / whipping cream
- 20g of apricot jam / or your favourite flavour jam
- Large vegan marshmallows
- Black fondant
- Icing sugar(for dusting)
Instructions
Method (buns)
- Pour the warm dairy-free milk into a bowl and sprinkle over the yeast and a tablespoon of the sugar, stir. Cover with a tea towel then put into a warm place for around 8-10 minutes until frothy. TIP: To heat the milk, add it into a small saucepan and simmer until it’s warm. If the milk is too hot it can kill the yeast, so make sure it’s just warm.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour and sugar. Mix to combine.
- Once the yeast mixture is frothy, pour into the dry ingredients along with the oil and vanilla.
- Mix with a hand whisk or attach a dough hook to your stand mixer and begin to knead on medium until nice and smooth. The dough should be soft, smooth and slightly sticky.
- Once kneaded, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and place into a warm area and allow to prove for around 2-3 hours or until double in size.
- Line the Panasonic tray with grease-proof paper.
- Once doubled, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, form into a large dough ball and divide the dough into equal balls. Weigh the balls out to 100g each. Take each ball of dough and roll it with your hands to form a smooth, round shape (watch my video tutorial here). Place the dough balls on a lined baking tray lined with grease-paper and let proof a second time in a warm place for 1 hour. The buns will puff up on their second prove and will also rise in the oven, so make sure to space them out on the tray / trays.
- Once ready to make, preheat the oven to the combi setting (with steam) to 180°C fan. Brush the top and sides of each bun with some dairy-free milk, place into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tops of the buns are golden in colour, and soft to touch.
- Allow the buns to cool fully before cutting open and filling with cream.
Method (cream filling and decoration)
- Whisk the dairy-free cream using an electric hand whisk or in a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment until it has thickened and soft peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle (you can even use a star tip nozzle for a different effect).
Method (assemble the buns)
- Use a sharp serrated knife to cut open the buns open on a diagonal, but do not cut all the way through!
- Spread some apricot jam (or your favourite flavour jam) on one half of the bun, then place in a large marshmallow then pipe in some of the cream, continue piping in the cream until the bun is filled, then use a clean knife to scrape the cream flush to the bun.
- Cut a large marshmallow in half then place into the middle of the cream to replicate the polar bear nose. Cut another marshmallow in half and stick to the top of the bun for the ears (see photos for reference). The stickiness of the marshmallow will stick automatically.
- Roll 3 balls of black fondant and place two balls into the cream for the eyes and stick the remaining ball onto the marshmallow to finish the nose.
- Lightly dust the tops of the buns with icing sugar, then serve.
Notes
To store: Keep the buns fresh by storing in an airtight / sealed container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Best eaten fresh, within 1-2 days of making.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Tried and tested and so cute. The whole family loved them.
Author
Hello, Aw thank you so much Ashley! SO happy you all enjoyed xx Merry Christmas