My Reduced Fat Version of Magnolia Bakery’s Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns

Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns are the most popular breakfast item sold in the famous New York Magnolia Bakery. For this reason, these buns are instinctively in my must-bake list.

I'm curious too thinking..."Can these yummy buns be still yummy being fat-reduced? For this bake and my curiosity, I have replaced the cream cheese with extra light ones, the butter with Alfa one rice bran spread (with less saturated fat) and the normal raspberry jam with the low sugar weight-watchers one.

Surprise! Surprise! These reduced fat buns are still very tasty. They are moist and creamy with a good balance of nice cheesy taste. If I'm not the baker, I wouldn't know that these buns have been fat-reduced...

 

Here's the recipe from the complete Magnolia Bakery cookbook (with my modification in blue)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda (I replace this with baking powder)
1/4 tsp salt
8 ounce cream cheese, softened (I replace this with 160g extra light cream cheese)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (I replace this with 125g Alfa one rice bran spread)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (plus a tiny drip of vanilla paste - I could resist adding this)
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I replace this with the weight watchers one)
Confectioners’ sugar (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and lightly flour 9 bun pans or large muffin cups. (I use cupcake liners to line 12 standard muffin cups)

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth in a large bowl, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and beat well. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Drop 3 small dollops (about a teaspoonful each) of raspberry preserves onto the top of each bun and, using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl the preserves into the batter, forming a decorative pattern. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the bun comes out clean. (I bake mine at 170°C fan forced for 15 min)

Allow the buns to cool for about 30 minutes before dusting with confectioners’ sugar and serving.

Happy Baking
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