Theme: Tea Kadai Menu Dish: Coconut Buns (Pani Popo) Today’s dish has been on my to-make list for a long time and when I saw Coconut cream buns on Valli’s ‘Tea Kadai menu’ theme for BM# 30, I knew it was time to make these buns. I’m not sure how the actual coconut cream buns that are sold at the the stall look like, but I went ahead and made these super soft and fluffy buns with a sweet coconut glaze. We loved them a LOT.
I bookmarked this recipe for coconut buns aka Pani Popo from King Arthur’s site over 2 years ago. Pani popo are Samoan coconut buns where soft, tender buns are bathed and baked in sweet coconut syrup. The thought of gooey sweet creamy coconut was so enticing and delicious, but it took me all this time to finally make them.
The buns did not disappoint. They were as tasty and indulgent as I had imagined. The best part is scooping up warm coconut sauce with the warm, flaky bun and eating it right out of the baking pan, yummmm!! Original recipe used eggs, but I used egg replacer and the buns came out perfect. You can’t even tell these are eggless, they were just as soft and fluffy as the ones with eggs. To make this, first we have to make buns using a sweet yeast dough and then bake them with the sweet coconut sauce. I think the next time I make them I’m going to add some wholewheat flour to amp up the fiber and make them a little guilt free.
