Beehive Sweet Buns Recipe

Fluffy and melt in your mouth Sweet Buns. These buns are easy to make, light, and so scrumptious after pouring the syrup all over the buns while they are still hot. There are no eggs in this recipe, and we have added oil in the dough to keep the buns soft for a longer time. Watch the video tutorial in the recipe card!

this recipe

What are sweet buns?

The sweet buns are small buns or rolls filled with cream cheese. The sweetness is coming from the simple syrup poured over the buns while they are still hot. This type of sweet buns is popular in the Arabian Gulf countries and some Middle Eastern countries. In Arabic, they are called (Khaleiah), which means beehive. It is called so because the buns come out golden with a honeycomb pattern. These buns taste a little like Brioche.

Sweet buns ingredients

To make Khaleiah or sweet buns, you will need simple ingredients.

Milk, to make the buns soft.

Yeast, to help the buns rise. Later in this post, we will talk about different types of yeast and which are the best to use in this recipe.

All-purpose flour.

Sugar.

Salt.

The oil will keep the buns soft for a longer time.

Baking powder.

Yogurt.

Cream cheese is the filling.

To make the syrup, you will need water and sugar.

How to make sweet buns? In short…

• If you are using active dry yeast or cake yeast (explained below), you will have to proof the yeast by adding the yeast to the warm milk with a little sugar. Leave it aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the rest of the ingredients to yeast mixture and knead until you get a smooth dough.
• When the dough doubles in size, form 22 equal size balls and fill them with cream cheese.
• Let the balls proof for 20 to 30 minutes and then bake them
• Meanwhile, make the syrup by boiling water and sugar for three minutes.
• Pour the syrup over the sweet buns immediately after the buns are out of the oven.

What type of yeast to use in making sweet buns?

You can use any baking yeast, but the best is Instant active yeast, it saves time (no need to proof it), and it doesn’t have a strong taste or smell.

Active dry yeast and cake yeast are two alternatives to instant dry active yeast, but you will taste and smell the yeast in the sweet buns. If you don’t mind the flavor, then go ahead and use any of those baking yeasts.

Make sure that the yeast didn’t expire.

Other fillings for the sweet buns

You can be creative with the filling, although I like the combination of sweet and salty, you can fill these sweet buns with custard, jam, chocolate, dry fruits, or caramelized fruits. Use less syrup if the filling is sweet!

Can I use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose?

Whole wheat is healthier, I get that, but it will make the buns dense in texture, and it won’t taste as good. If you must use whole wheat then substitute half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat, the baking time might be a little longer so keep checking the buns.

Can you freeze sweet buns?

You can freeze the buns, but before filling them with cream cheese, freezing cream cheese will change its texture, it will no longer be creamy but crumbly, and the taste will be a little off.

To freeze the buns, knead the dough and let it proof one time until it doubles in size. Then form small equal balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and allow it to freeze until hard. Place the frozen balls in a freezer bag. Write the date on the bag and freeze for up to two months.

To thaw the balls, place them while in the freezer bag in the fridge overnight or until thawed completely. Fill the balls with cream cheese, cover and let the balls proof for 20 to 30 minutes, and then bake as per the recipe below.

How to make the syrup for the sweet buns?

In this recipe, I didn’t add any flavor to the syrup, but again you can add your touch and add flavors like lemon, vanilla, cinnamon, or few drops of rose water.

The syrup shouldn’t be very thick, after mixing the ingredients we should let the syrup boil on medium heat for three to four minutes. The syrup will get thicker when it cools completely.

How to store the buns?

When the buns come to room temperature, place in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to three days. To warm the sweet buns, microwave it for 20 seconds.

Don't forget to check out my Light Cinnamon Rolls recipe, it has no eggs and amazingly yummy!

📖 Recipe

Beehive Sweet Buns

Melt in your mouth sweet buns, these buns are filled with cream cheese, and then syrup is poured
over it to create an irresistible delight.

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Arabian

Keyword: sweet buns

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 101kcal

Author: Muna Kenny

Ingredients

FOR THE SYRUP

• ▢ 2 cups of sugar
• ▢ 1 ½ cup water

FOR THE DOUGH

• ▢ ¾ cup warm milk
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoon oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
• ▢ 1 ¼ tablespoon sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon instant dry active yeast or active yeast Read note #1
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oil to spread over the dough after kneading it

TO FILL THE SWEET BUNS

• ▢ 108 gm cream cheese or around 22 teaspoons

TO BRUSH THE BUNS

• ▢ 1 medium egg beaten Read note #3 if you don’t want to use the egg

Instructions

MAKING THE DOUGH

• In a mixing bowl, add the warm milk, yogurt, yeast, sugar, and mix well.
• Add the flour, baking powder, oil, and salt to the wet mixture. Knead for 5 to 7 minutes.
• You don’t have to add more flour to the dough, it should be soft and not sticky, but that depends on the brand of the flour you are using. If the dough feels dry, then add one tablespoon of warm milk and knead for a minute.
• When done kneading, evenly spread one teaspoon of oil over the dough and cover to proof for one and a half to two hours.

MAKING THE SYRUP

• In a saucepan, add the sugar and water.
• Let the mixture boil for three to four minutes.
• The syrup will get thicker as it cools. (Read note 4)

MAKING THE SWEET BUNS

• Flatten the dough and form 22 equal size balls.
• Flatten each ball and fill it with one teaspoon of cream cheese.
• Pull up the sides of the flatten ball and close to seal it and form a ball.
• If you are not using a non-stick pan, then line a 9” baking pan with parchment paper, or you can grease the pan with oil or butter.
• Arrange the filled balls in the baking pan to form a honeycomb pattern.
• Cover the balls and let it proof again for 20 to 30 minutes depending on how warm or cool your kitchen is.
• Brush the balls with the beaten egg, if you can’t use egg, please read Note #3 below.
• Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Place the baking pan in the middle shelf.
• Bake the sweet buns for 17 to 20 minutes.
• Immediately and after taking the buns out of the oven, pour the syrup all over it. Make sure that the syrup is at room temperature if both the syrup and the buns where hot the buns will turn soggy.
• You don’t have to pour all the syrup over the buns. Pour about half the syrup and leave the remaining syrup to pour over the buns when serving your guests, or your family.

Video

Notes

1- If you are using active dry yeast and not instant, then proof the yeast by mixing it with the warm milk and sugar and then cover this mixture for 10 to 15 minutes. You should see thick foam which indicates that the yeast has proofed.

2- If the dough is dry, add one tablespoon of warm milk at a time and knead the dough until smooth.

3- If allergic to eggs, then mix 3 tablespoons of cream or milk with sugar and brush the buns instead of the egg wash. The buns while baking will turn light brown but not as dark as the images in this post.

4- You can add any flavor you like to the syrup, like vanilla, cinnamon, or even a few drops of rose water.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal

Did You Make This Recipe?Please let me know how you liked it! Tage me @MunatyCooking

This recipe was originally published in 2013. The text is updated to add more information, but the images and the recipe have not changed.

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