simmer & boyle: coconut custard scrolls

Coconut custard scrolls, made from a soft pillowy dough, swirled with sweet coconut custard, then shaped like bunnies for a fun Easter treat! The dough is super soft thanks to the tangzhong method, and can be tricky to handle, so while you could skip the chilling stage, I don't recommend it!

coconut custard

320 ml milk

30g desiccated coconut

3 egg yolks

75g caster sugar

25g cornflour

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

25g butter

• tip the milk and coconut into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and leave to steep for an hour. Strain into a measuring jug, you'll need 270ml of milk, discard any excess, if your coconut was super thirsty you may need to top up with a little extra milk. Give the pan a quick clean, then bring the 270ml milk to a simmer

• meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla; set the bowl on a damp cloth to stop it dancing around, gradually add the hot milk, whisking enthusiastically

• tip the custard mixture back into the pan, and with the heat on low, whisk continuously. The custard will thicken quickly, once it starts to bubble, whisk for another minute then take off the heat. Add the butter, whisking until smooth

• push the custard through a sieve into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface of the custard, then place in the fridge to cool.

dough

for the tangzhong:

30g bread flour

130 ml milk

240ml milk

25g sugar

6g yeast

360g bread flour

5g salt

60g butter, at room temperature

coconut custard icing, recipe below

icing sugar, for decoration

20g shredded coconut

• thangzhong: combine the flour and water in a small saucepan, over medium heat, whisk until the mixture forms a thick paste

• transfer the flour paste to the bowl of a stand mixture, leave to cool for 10 minutes. Add the milk, sugar, yeast, flour and salt, using the dough hook, mix on the lowest setting for a couple of minutes. Increase the speed slightly and continue mixing for an additional 10 minutes. Add the butter and mix for a further 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic

• transfer the dough to a greased container, cover and place in the fridge to proof overnight, it should double in size

• line two baking trays with baking paper

• take the coconut custard of the fridge, give it a quick whisk to smooth it out, put 100g of custard in a medium sized bowl, cover and return to the fridge

• tip the chilled dough onto a floured bench, divide in half, return one half to the fridge

• roll the half portion of dough into a rectangle approximately 24cmx40cm

• spread half of the remaining custard over the dough rectangle, leaving a 1cm gap at the top edge, roll the dough away from you to form a 24cm log, keep the roll as tight as possible. Carefully lift the log onto a baking tray or chopping board, lightly cover and pop in the fridge for 20 minutes or so

• meanwhile, take the remaining portion of dough, roll on a lightly floured sheet of baking paper into a 32cmx24cm rectangle, spread the other half of the custard over the bottom half of the rectangle, fold the top over the custardy half, giving you a 32cmx12cm custard/dough sandwich. Use the baking paper to lift the dough onto a board or tray and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes

• remove the log from the fridge, and divide into 8 equal pieces, use a sharp serrated knife or dental floss for the neatest cuts. Place 4 scrolls on each lined baking tray, give them lots of space

• remove the dough rectangle from the fridge, use a pizza wheel to cut into 16 2cmx12cm strips, these are the bunny ears. Give each scroll 2 ears, dabbing the scroll with a little water to stick the ears in place. Cover each tray with plastic wrap and leave to proof in a warm spot for 30-40 minutes

• heat your oven to 180ºC fan and bake the scrolls for 25 minutes.

• remove the scrolls from the oven, cool on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

• dust your bunny scrolls with icing sugar, then pipe a blob of icing in the centre of each scroll, top with shredded coconut to form the fluffy bunny tails

• scrolls are best eaten as soon as possible, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before eating