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.
