the viral ube pan de sal with a melty cheesecake center recipe by Kat Lieu (2024)

scroll down for the recipe

reflection

dear friend,

my neighbor Kelley told me about Valerio’s Hawaii (Home of the Famous “Toto's Special Ube Cheese Pandesal” and my mouth watered. She told me the top was crispy and sweet, like cookie crumbs, the outside was crispy, and the inside was soft with melty white cheese which I assumed was cream cheese. Overall, the ube pan de sal was sweet.

So, of course, I couldn’t sleep after hearing Kelley’s descriptions and knew I had to make ube pan de sal at home. After all, I had all the ingredients ready in my pantry.

Pan de sal is known as “salt bread” of a Filipino dinner roll, and it’s not supposed to be tall and fluffy like milk bread rolls. The outside should be a bit crispy, thanks to a generous rolling in bread crumbs. Like any good dinner roll, the inside should still be soft, a ready and willing vessel for butter and a melty cheesecake filling like here.

All things happen for a reason, and all things are connected. As a Tasting Table columnist, I recently wrote about bánh mì, another baked goodie with origins deeply rooted in colonization and racism (French colonization of Vietnam versus Spanish colonization of the Phillippines). To make bánh mì crispy, you need to steam the bread in the oven and spray it at least three times with water the baking process.

So that’s one thing I did when I baked my ube pan de sal: sprayed the bread and placed a water bowl in the lower rack in the oven. This way, I steam the pan de sal while it’s baking. The inside remains airy, soft, and tender, without tangzhong or yudane in the dough, and the outside is crispy and crackles.

I made 12 buns and they went down quick. Even my Filipino husband, who often tells me my Filipino dishes need some work, thought this was legitly the best pandesal he’s ever eaten… (He was born and raised in Bacolod, FYI.) WOOOT!

See my video for reference:

Order a copy of my cookbook today or leave a review, please!

Cookbook 2, MODERN ASIAN KITCHEN, is coming 2024; stay tuned for more info! (You can already find it online for preordering but I’m not officially announcing it until late September!)

Kat’s summer playlist for cooking and baking:

See Also

Pandesal Recipe - Soft and Buttery - Foxy Folksy

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/kl-cookbook-2-playlist-3/pl.u-Gegf89l9P6

RECIPE

Ingredients

For the Pan de Sal:

• 300 g all-purpose flour

• 60 g bread flour

• 85 g granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon miso (or 1/2 teaspoon salt)

• 3/4 to 1 cup milk or water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

• 1 tablespoon ube extract

• 1 tablespoon purple sweet potato powder (optional)

• 1/3 cup bread crumbs (not Panko), for coating

For the Melty Cheesecake Filling:

• 8 ounces (1 bar) Philly cream cheese, softened

• 4-5 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (adjust to taste)

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon ube extract (optional)

• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (additional for sprinkling, if desired)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, granulated sugar, egg, softened butter, miso (or salt), milk (or water), instant yeast, ube extract, and purple sweet potato powder (if using). Mix on medium speed until a smooth dough forms. The dough should be sticky. If it appears too wet, add a bit more flour.

2. Place the dough in a warm area or use the oven’s proof mode to let it rest for 30-60 minutes. The dough should rise to about 1.5 times its original size. Note that this dough may not rise as much as other types of bread.

3. While the dough is resting, prepare the cheesecake filling by mixing all the ingredients together. Divide the filling into 12 even portions and place each in a muffin pan cup. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

4. Deflate the dough gently and divide it into 12 even portions. Take one portion and flatten it into a disc. Place a frozen cheesecake filling portion in the center, then wrap the dough around the filling and seal the seams. Lightly wet the top of each bun and dip it into the bread crumbs to coat.

5. Arrange the coated buns on a parchment-lined baking tray, leaving about an inch of space between each. Let them proof for another 30-60 minutes, or until roughly doubled in size.

6. Preheat your oven to 340-350°F. Place a pan filled with an inch of water on the lower rack. Bake the buns in the center rack of the oven. Optionally, mist the buns with water every 5-6 minutes to ensure a crispy texture. Bake until the sides and tops are golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

7. Remove the buns from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best enjoyed warm.

   Here are Kelley’s feedback! I hope you make this recipe, Fam, and let me know what you think.