Maritozzi: the delicious dessert recipe for making Italian cream buns

Maritozzi (singular maritozzo) are Italian sweet cream buns from Rome (Lazio region) which people usually enjoy at breakfast. This recipe is so named because this sweet bread was given as an engagement ring to the bride-to-be by her fiancé who was actually called maritozzo which in English is a diminutive for "husband".

Also known as maritozzi con la panna, these soft, fluffy, football-shaped brioche-style buns are made with a leavened dough made from flour, eggs, milk, sugar, oil, honey and citrus peel. Once baked and well puffed, these Italian cream buns are brushed with a sugar syrup to make the surface shiny and retain the powdered sugar. Cut maritozzi lengthwise, fill them with whipped cream (panna in Italian) and serve these buns cold.

Pillowy soft and spongy, they are a specialty that is impossible to resist. According to the most ancient tradition, maritozzi can also be enriched with raisins and pine nuts, for an even more delicious result.

Tips for making Italian Cream Buns

It is important to use Manitoba flour to make the dough elastic and easily workable.

Fill maritozzi with ice cream during summer.

If you don't want to make the syrup, you can sprinkle maritozzi with powdered sugar.

You can also combine maritozzi with dried fruit creams, chocolate and fresh fruit.

For a savory variation, stuff your maritozzi with cured meats and cheeses and serve them as a tasty appetizer.

To obtain very fragrant Italian cream buns, we made an aromatic mix with honey and citrus peel 2 hours before.

How to store Maritozzi

Once baked, the Italian cream buns can be stored in a plastic food bag for two days. If stuffed, put them in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, and consume them maximum the next day.

How to make Maritozzi

Collect the honey in a small bowl to prepare the aromatic mix.

Add the grated lemon and orange peel, taking care to remove the white and bitter part.

Mix thoroughly, then cover the aromatic mix with a sheet of cling film and let it rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in the milk at room temperature, stirring with a teaspoon.

Break the eggs and add them to liquid, then stir to make the mixture uniform.

Collect the Manitoba flour together with the sugar in a bowl.

Pour the mixture into the powders, incorporating everything with a fork.

Finally, add the aromatic mix with a spatula, then continue with the oil and salt.

Mix in the bowl with your fingertips by repeatedly pinching the dough outwards and folding it towards the center.

As soon as you notice an elastic and uniform dough, turn it upside down on a floured work surface, spread it out and fold it on itself.

Then overturn the dough obtained and rotate it on the surface forming a ball. Place it in the bowl and put it to rise in a sheltered place.

After about an hour and a half, two hours, the dough will have to be doubled in volume.

Transfer the mixture onto the lightly floured work surface and cut 7 equal portions, about 100 grams each one or a little more.

Form the buns; wrap each portion of dough on itself, as if to form a roll.

Then rotate it in your hands, sealing the oval and gradually place the bun on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the surface of each bun with a drop of milk, cover with cling film and let it rise for about an hour.

Meanwhile, make the syrup; collect the water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil until completely dissolved, then turn off and let it cool.

Gently remove the cling film and cook the Italian cream buns on medium level of the static oven at 180°C/350°F for about 25 minutes.

Brush the piping hot buns with syrup, then bake them again for another 5 minutes.

Once baked and browned, remove the Italian cream buns from the oven, transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Collect the very cold cream in the jug of a stand mixer, add the granulated sugar and whisk until it appears swollen and firm.

Cut each bun in the center, following the longest side and without reaching the base with the blade.

Using a pastry bag, stuff the buns with plenty of whipped cream.

Keep the maritozzi in a cool place, until ready to serve.