GREAT PUMPKIN RECIPE--PUMPKIN BAO

When my husband and I were in Shanghai, China,my pallet fell in love with what I called a "pumpkin roll," because I had no idea what its real Chinese name was. I loved it so much that even now, a couple of years later, I searched the internet for a recipe that looked like it so I could take it to a New Year's Eve party. Lo and behold, I found it! I also discovered that it is actually considered a dessert. I hadn't known that at the time, because in China, desserts are really different from the super sweet dishes I'm familiar with. It's real name is "Pumpkin Bao."  I didn't have all of the ingredients for the real recipe, so I substituted with similar, common ingredients. Below is the copied/adjusted recipe I actually used. Also, to save time, I dumped all the "Bao" ingredients into my bread maker and set it on the dough setting. My Pumpkin Bao's turned out REALLY good. Everyone at the party raved over them. One even tried to barter with me for more. 

Pumpkin Bao

Ingredients

Filling
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk
8 ounces canned organic pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk

Bao
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
Powdered sugar

Instructions

Filling
In a bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Stir in the egg and, when combined, mix in the whole milk.

Whisk the pumpkin purée in a small bowl until smooth. Add a third of the butter mixture to the pumpkin, then whisk the pumpkin into the butter mixture along with the milk. Pour the mixture into a double boiler and cook until the custard thickens, stirring constantly after the first 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Bao
Add the flour, yeast, milk, and sugar to the bowl of a food mixer and beat until combined. Add the butter and mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Add a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Cover the bowl with a cloth and allow the dough to proof for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. On a floured surface, roll the dough into 1-inch-diameter logs and cut into pieces to form 1 1/2-inch-diameter balls. Flatten each ball of dough with a rolling pin, place about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture in the middle, and wrap the dough around the pumpkin, pinching the dough together to cover the pumpkin. Set on a sheet pan seam side down, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Let the pumpkin balls proof again for 20–30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush egg over the buns. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, turning the trays after 5 minutes, until the dough is firm and golden. Sprinkle the top of each ball with powdered sugar and serve warm.