Soft Caramel Apple Cheesecake Sourdough Brioche Buns

Around here, September means all things Apple and these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Sourdough Brioche Buns have to be on your baking list! The most soft and buttery brioche buns, filled with sweet cream cheese, apple pie filling and drizzled with caramel.

As soon as I feel a chill in the air, I am ready for all of the baking! Anything with apples, pumpkin, and warm spices is a must for September. If you want to try something different this year from the typically cinnamon buns, or focaccia bread, this recipe is it.

These Caramel Apple Cheesecake Sourdough Brioche Buns start by making a lightly sweetened buttery brioche dough. You let that rise then shape it into buns and allow them to get nice and puffy. Once puffed up, you mix together a simple sweet cream cheese filling and layer that in the buns along with a spiced apple pie filling. Bake the buns until golden and beautiful, then finish them with a drizzle of caramel sauce. It can’t get any more perfect!

I love these brioche buns because they are a fun change from a cinnamon buns but still give you a lovely sweet bun treat. You can make these buns smaller if you like for kids or keep them big and beautiful. They freeze really well, and are the perfect morning treat, afternoon snack or dessert.

Tips For Making Perfect Caramel Apple Cheesecake Sourdough Brioche Buns

1. The dough will be quite sticky once it is originally mixed. Just be sure to knead it well to build structure, and it will become less sticky as it rises.
2. For the bulk fermentation, this dough won’t get super puffy like your typical sourdough bread. You want it to get lighter, and it will rise to a little under double its size. Usually about 6-8 hours but can take longer if it is cool in your house.
3. When adding the cream cheese filling, I recommend using a piping bag of a ziplock bag with the corner cut. This will make it easiest to be able to pipe a nice thick layer of that cream cheese filling evenly.

Caramel Apple Cheese Sourdough Brioche Bun Ingredients

Sourdough Starter– You want a nice strong start that has been fed a 1:4:4 ratio and has reached its peak.

Flour– Unbleached all purpose or bread flour.

Milk- Whole milk or 2% is best.

Eggs- You need a couple for the dough and one for an egg wash.

Butter– I like salted but unsalted works too.

Sugar- A touch of both granulated sugar and brown sugar are needed.

Vanilla– This adds a bit of extra flavor to the dough but is not essential.

Cream Cheese– Use brick style cream cheese.

Apples- Use any firm apple you like. Honey crisp, ambrosia, Granny Smith etc.

Cinnamon– An essential spice in any apple recipe.

Nutmeg– Just a touch gives that classic apple pie flavor.

Cornstarch– Used as a thickener for the apple pie filling.

Caramel Sauce– You can use store bought or homemade. If you don’t have any you can use just an icing sugar and milk glaze.

The Steps

Make the Brioche Dough

1. Start by mixing together the sourdough starter, 2 eggs, warm milk, sugar, and vanilla extract and flour in a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
2. Once the dough is mixed together, add the softened butter in little pieces, and mix until the butter starts to incorporate.
3. Then, continue to let the dough knead for about 8 minutes. It will seem sticky, but it will get less sticky as it rises.
4. Lightly wet your hands, then roughly shape the dough into a ball, and place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel.
5. Let the dough rest in a warm spot for about 7-9 hours or until it has almost double in size. This dough does not get super puffy.

Shape & Rise

1. Once the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and cut into 9 roughly equal pieces. They should somewhere around 125g each or so.
2. Take one piece of dough at a time and shape it into a tight ball. I do this by pulling the edges underneath, then rolling it slightly on the counter to get the ton nice and smooth.
3. Repeat this will all the pieces of dough, then place them on a baking sheet with parchment that has been lightly floured.
4. At this point you can cover the tray of buns with plastic wrap and refrigerate to bake the next day OR go straight into the second rise.
5. If you refrigerate the buns, they will need about 4 hours to rise again after being in the fridge, or they will take about 2 hours if you skip the cold proof.

Fill & Bake

1. While the buns rise, add all of the apple pie filling ingredients to a pot and cook over medium low heat until the apples are tender and the mixture is thick and saucy. Set aside.
2. Then, simply beat together the sweet cream cheese ingredients until nice and smooth.
3. Preheat your oven to 350F, then using a measuring cup or your hands, press an indent into the center of each risen bun to created a space for the filling.
4. Take the egg mixed with milk, and brush that egg wash all over the buns, leaving the center of the buns dry.
5. Spoon the cream cheese filling into a piping bag or ziplock bag bag and pipe into the center of each bun.

1. Follow that with a couple spoonfuls of apple pie filling on top of each bun, then bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Remove from the oven, then allow to cool slightly before drizzling with caramel and enjoying!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or a recipe review below!

Looking for more recipes to bake this Fall?

https://cmbarndominium.com/cream-cheese-stuffed-banana-carrot-muffins-gf-or-regular/

https://cmbarndominium.com/salted-caramel-apple-sourdough-hand-pies/

https://cmbarndominium.com/the-best-pumpkin-spice-cookies-with-coffee-cream-cheese-filling/