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You will love these soft sweet brioche-style bread buns filled with loads of perfectly whipped cream! Maritozzi Italian cream buns are one of the most delicious sweet treats from Italy. Unlike Sicilian cannoli or sfogiatelle from Naples, which are perhaps better known, maritozzi buns originated in Rome. If you’ve never tried them, you’re really missing out! The traditional Italian sweet buns are flavored with vanilla and orange and filled with a sweet vanilla whipped cream filling. You’re going to fall in love with them—they are perfect for breakfast, bunch, or dessert.
Italian maritozzi cream buns are delicious Italian pastries that melt in the mouth. They’re flavored with orange and vanilla for an exquisite taste in every bite.
You might also like to try Italian almond cake, these pistachio cookies and bombolini (Italian donuts).
Why You’ll Love It
An authentic recipe from Rome: This Italian cream buns recipe is just like the maritozzi buns you can buy from the bakery in Rome.
An impressive treat: If you’re expecting company, bake a batch of these. They’re sure to impress!
You can customize them: Choose from a variety of flavors, perhaps chocolate, fruit, nuts, or jam.
Italian Cream Buns Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Bread flour: For the dough starter.
Milk: It needs to be between 80 and 100°F.
Sugar: To sweeten the buns.
Vanilla extract: Use 100% pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Orange zest: For a lovely citrusy sweet flavor.
Milk: For the milk wash. You can use regular or non-dairy.
Whipped cream: To make the whipped cream filling.
How to Make Italian Brioche Rolls with Cream
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the starter (tangzhong): Whisk the flour with the water in a small pan over a low to medium heat until you achieve a roux (thick paste). Take it off the heat and let it cool.
Make the dough: Mix the yeast, milk and some sugar in a large or medium bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, the flour, oil, vanilla, orange zest, salt, and the cooled starter mixture. Beat until combined and then knead with a dough hook. Scrape the dough into a greased bowl, turning to coat in oil, cover with plastic wrap and leave it somewhere warm for an hour so it can rise.
Let the dough rise again: Punch the dough ball down, shape it into 12 evenly-sized balls and arrange on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover and leave somewhere warm for another hour to rise some more.
Bake the buns: Brush milk over the buns and bake in a preheated oven until they’re deep golden brown. Let them cool completely.
Prepare the filling: Beat the heavy whipping cream and vanilla in a chilled bowl until you achieve medium peaks. Add powdered sugar to taste.
Assemble the maritozzi: Slit each bun down the middle without cutting all the way through. Scoop the whipped cream mixture into the slit and smooth using a pastry spatula or bench scraper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Substitutions and Variations
Different toppings: Press crushed pistachios, sliced strawberries, candied fruits, or chocolate shavings into the cream filling. Sometimes I swap the orange zest in the dough for lemon zest.
Chocolate buns: If you want to make chocolate buns, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry mix.
Chocolate whipped cream: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with the powdered sugar when you’re making the whipped heavy cream. You’ll need to increase the powdered sugar by at least another tablespoon to balance out the flavor.
Raspberry-flavored whipped cream: If you can get a hold of dehydrated raspberries, make them into a fine powder and add 3 tablespoons into your whipped cream when adding the powdered sugar.
Long buns: You can make buns that are more of a hot dog shape if you prefer! Adjust your baking time and check on them after 10 minutes.
Jam-filled: It’s traditional to also add some jam into the inside of the buns. Use whatever jam you prefer for extra sweetness.
Fruit: This type of bun is incredibly popular in Japan. They add mandarin orange segments, kiwi, banana, and mango as their toppings.
Nuts: Crushed almonds, pistachios, peanuts, cashews, or macadamias also work well for these buns.
Plant-based milks: Use a plant based milk with a high fat content. If you’re OK with a slight coconut flavor, coconut milk is a great alternative as well as hemp milk. Soy milk is moderate in fat and doesn’t impart much of a flavor, making it another good choice.
Serving Suggestions
With brunch: Serve maritozzi buns alongside your bacon and eggs or hash brown breakfast casserole for a sweet brunch component.
As a sweet treat: Enjoy these buns with an iced gingerbread latte or a Dalgona coffee.
For dessert: These buns are a treat after any kind of dinner, perhaps slow cooker chicken gyros or Tuscan-style surf and turf.
How to Store Maritozzi Buns
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days.
Freeze: These don’t freeze well.
Top Tips
Active dry yeast: Make sure you’re using active dry yeast (not instant yeast). It gives the buns more flavor due to the time it takes to develop the glutens.
Add the salt last: I recommend adding the salt last into the dough because it has the potential to inhibit the growth of yeast. As long as it doesn’t get added directly into the blooming of the yeast, it should be fine.
Let them cool: If the buns aren’t completely cooled before putting in the whipped cream, the heat will melt the whipped cream, leaving you with a sticky mess.
Use an electric mixer: Because this is a very sticky dough, kneading it by hand isn’t recommended.
Serve at room temperature: These are supposed to be served at room temperature so you can sit them on the counter for an hour before serving if they’ve been refrigerated.
Maritozzi Recipe FAQs
Maritozzi use an enriched brioche-style dough that isn’t too sweet. Brioche buns use butter while maritozzi uses olive oil instead, for softness and flavor. So, they’re similar but not identical.
This is the name given to a liquid and flour paste, or roux, that is cooked in a pan and then left to cool completely before being added to bread dough. It’s usually made using a 1:4 or 1:5 flour to liquid ratio. And, if you’re curious about the word, tangzhong is a Chinese roux.
Best Italian Maritozzi Recipe
Maritozzo Italian Cream Buns
Equipment
- Saucepan Small
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook Attachment
- Pastry Scraper or Bench Scraper
Ingredients
For the Starter/Tangzhong:
- ½ Cup water
- ¼ Cup bread flour
For the Dough:
- 1 Cup milk, warm (between 80 and 100°F)
- 2 ½ Teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ Cup sugar
- 4 Cups bread flour
- ⅓ Cup oil, neutral-flavored eg: canola, vegetable, or sunflower
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange
- ½ Teaspoon salt
For the Milk Wash:
- 2 Tablespoons milk
For the Whipped Cream Filling:
- 2 Cups whipping cream
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more to taste
Optional Toppings:
- strawberries, cut in half
- pistachios, crushed or finely chopped
- chocolate, shaved
Instructions
Make the Starter/Tangzhong:
- Over a medium-low heat, whisk together the flour and water into a small saucepan.
- Keep whisking until a thick light-colored paste forms (roux). Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Make the Dough:
- In a stand mixer bowl, gently mix together the warm milk, active dry yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let it bloom for 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining sugar, bread flour, oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, salt, and cooled starter/tangzhong. Beat on low with a dough hook until the mixture combines.
- Turn up the speed slightly (number 2 on a KitchenAid stand mixer) and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky.
- In a large bowl, spray or rub with a little oil. Scrape the dough into the bowl, turning the dough to lightly coat it in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in a warm place for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 even portions. Shape and roll the dough portions into balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet with the smooth, round side facing up. You can pinch the dough towards the bottom to help make a smooth top. If the dough is sticking to your hands, rub them with a little oil.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place them in a warm spot for another 1 hour, doubling in size.
- While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 350°F and put a clean large mixing bowl into your freezer (this will be for the whipped cream).
- Once the buns have finished proofing, brush the milk over each bun evenly and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool completely before filling with the whipped cream.
Make the Whipped Cream Filling:
- While the buns are cooling, pour the whipping cream and vanilla extract into the cold mixing bowl from the fridge.
- With a hand mixer, beat on low speed to start, then change to medium speed as the whipped cream comes together and medium peaks form.
- Sprinkle the powdered sugar into the whipped cream while whisking until stiff peaks form. Taste and adjust with the powdered sugar.
Assemble the Cream Buns:
- Make a slit down the center of each bun, making sure to not cut all the way through (like a hot dog bun).
- Using a spoon, scoop the whipped cream into the bun and smooth out with a bench scraper or pastry spatula.
- Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve.
Topping Option 1: Strawberries
- Scoop the whipped cream into each bun, filling halfway. Place some chunks of strawberries into the cream. Fill the bun with whipped cream to cover the strawberries and smooth out with a bench scraper or pastry spatula.
- With the cut-sides facing out, place the strawberries into the whipped cream in a uniformed way.
Topping Option 2: Pistachios
- Fill the buns with the whipped cream and smooth out per instructions above. Place the crushed pistachios on a plate and roll the bun with the cream side down into the nuts.
Topping Option 3: Chocolate Shavings
- Using a peeler, shave chocolate onto a plate. Fill the buns with whipped cream and smooth as per instructions above. Roll the bun with the cream side down into the shavings.
Notes
Add the salt last: I recommend adding the salt last into the dough because it has the potential to inhibit the growth of yeast. As long as it doesn’t get added directly into the blooming of the yeast, it should be fine.
Let them cool: If the buns aren’t completely cooled before putting in the whipped cream, the heat will melt the whipped cream, leaving you with a sticky mess.
Use an electric mixer: Because this is a very sticky dough, kneading it by hand isn’t recommended.
Serve at room temperature: These are supposed to be served at room temperature so you can sit them on the counter for an hour before serving if they’ve been refrigerated.
Nutrition
If you go weak at the knees for Italian cream buns, you have to try making your own maritozzi con la panna. These sweet buns have a soft, moist vanilla and orange zest flavored dough which is filled with a sweetened whipped cream filling. You can then add candied orange peel, berries, chopped pecans or pine nuts, chocolate, or any other flavors you like.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
These buns are heavenly. I can’t wait to make them again soon!