Maritozzi
Maritozzi is a sweet Italian bun that is buttery, soft, and filled with sweetened whipped cream! Perfect for a weekend brunch or a dessert! It is oh so delicious! A unique treat that you will not be able to resist.
Have you ever tried Maritozzi? Chances are good that you haven’t. It is a sweet bun you typically find in Italy; it’s filled with sweetened whipped cream and is nothing short but amazing!!
As a flight attendant, I used to travel all over the world, and I made it a habit to always stop at local bakeries to try their specialties. I tried many different Italian desserts, and Maritozzi was definitely one of my favorites. I bought one of these sweet buns every time I flew to Italy!
It’s been a few years since I flew the friendly skies and I, sadly, kind of forgot about Maritozzi until I watched the movie Love & Gelato on Netflix. If you have seen the movie, you know what I am talking about, and you must like chick flicks as much as I do 😉
For all the readers who have not seen the movie, the main character, an American girl, gets introduced to Maritozzi by her Italian friend, and she instantly falls in love with this sweet treat!
When she took that first bite, I knew exactly how she felt, and I knew I had to make some Maritozzi at home. So, I have been baking a lot and trying to make them as close to the ones I love so much from Italy. And I’m happy to tell you that this recipe is the one!
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The dough
This is a wet dough!! An annoying wet dough, one that sticks nicely to your hands, especially in the beginning (You won’t have that problem if you are using a stand mixer). BUT it has to be that way; if you add too much flour to the dough because you think it is too sticky, your buns will end up dense and dry.
So, work with it as best possible and add small amounts of flour at the time if needed. After kneading for a while, it gets better, and it doesn’t stick as much.
After creating a smooth dough, place it in a big bowl and cover it with a bowl cover or a wet kitchen towel. Let it rest for two hours or until it doubles in size.
Shaping the Maritozzi
Take a risen dough, and with a knife or a dough scraper, cut pieces off the dough that are 80g each (3oz). Use a kitchen scale for consistent results. This recipe makes about 15 buns. Roll each dough piece into a ball, then add some pressure to form the ball into an elongated bun.
Place the buns on a baking sheet, each about 2 inches apart. Crack an egg into a small bowl and whisk it well to make the egg wash. Use a food brush and carefully brush each bun with egg wash.
Let the buns rest for 30 minutes. Then brush them with egg wash again, and place them in the preheated oven at 380°F or 190°C. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Cool completely before filling them with whipped cream!
E Guete, (Bon appétit)!! Don’t forget to share some pictures with me and tell me how you liked this Maritozzi recipe. It would make my day if you tag @mirjamskitchenyodel on Instagram, share on Facebook or pin on Pinterest.
Other sweet treats you might like:
Filled Sweet Bread – Gefüllter Hefezopf
Maritozzi
Ingredients
Sweet bun dough:
- 600 g All-purpose flour
- 120 g Granulated sugar
- 10 g Salt
- 7 g Instant dry yeast
- 120 ml Milk
- 100 ml Water
- 90 g Butter soft or melted
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Lemon the zest only!
Filling:
- 300 ml Heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp Powdered sugar
Other:
- 1 Egg for egg wash
- 1 tbsp Powdered sugar for dusting the finished buns
Instructions
Sweet dough:
- Take a big mixing bowl and add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix until well combined. If you have a stand mixer, you can add these ingredients directly into the mixing bowl.
- Add all the wet ingredients: milk, water, eggs, butter, honey, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Use a wooden spoon and mix it all together until a dough forms. Then, dust some flour on your work surface and take the wet dough out of your mixing bowl and onto the work surface. Knead until you have a smooth stretchy dough. The dough might be pretty sticky in the beginning, and that's ok! So, work with it as best possible and just add small amounts of flour at the time if needed. After kneading for a while, it gets better, and it doesn't stick as much. But, if you add too much flour, your buns will be dense and dry after baking.If you use a stand mixer, mix it on low for the first minute, then turn up the speed and knead it into a smooth dough for about 10-15minutes.
- After creating a smooth dough, place it in a big bowl and cover it with a bowl cover or a wet kitchen towel. Let it rest for two hours or until it doubles in size.
Form and bake:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and onto a flour-dusted work surface. To achieve uniform buns, I recommend using a kitchen scale. Weigh out the buns; each dough piece should be 80grams (approximately 3oz).
- Form each dough piece into a ball and then add some pressure so that the dough piece gets an elongated shape.
- Place the dough buns onto the lined baking sheet, each about 2 inches apart, so they don't bake together in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 380F or 190°C.
- Crack an egg into a small bowl and mix it well to use for an egg wash. Take a food brush and carefully brush each bun with egg wash. Let them rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, brush them with egg wash again.
- Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Take them out of the oven and onto a cooling rack. Let the buns cool completely before filling.
Filling:
- In a medium size mixing bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream and the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Then use a pastry piping bag with a big round tip and fill the whipped sweet cream into it. If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a small zip lock or plastic bag and cut off the tip.
- Take the cooled buns and cut them lengthwise straight down, but only about ¾ of the way down. Make sure you don't cut them all the way through, or you won't be able to fill them.
- Open the buns up slightly and fill them with heavy whipping cream. You can be creative here. Swirl the whipping cream into the bun, make dots as I did in the pictures, or simply fill them in a straight line.
- Then dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy!
