Black Sesame Custard & Purple Rice Rolls — Three Days in a Row and Nobody's Tired
By Vivian
Why You'll Love It
These black sesame custard purple rice rolls are honestly the best thing I've made in a while. My kid said they're better than store-bought bread — rich and milky, generously filled, fluffy and soft with that chewy purple rice inside. The whole family loves them.
The wrapper is pillowy soft, the custard is fragrant and creamy, and the purple rice is wonderfully chewy. One bite gives you both textures at once, fluffy and sticky-chewy. It's ridiculously good.
Best part: it's nowhere near as hard as it looks — you'll get it right the first time. Make a batch on the weekend for breakfast or a snack, then cool, seal and freeze. No thawing needed: just steam for 8–10 minutes and they taste freshly made.
Ingredients
| Purple Rice Filling | |
|---|---|
| ¾ cup (150 g) purple rice, 2½ tbsp (30 g) glutinous rice | 2 tsp (10 g) butter, 3 tbsp (20 g) whole milk powder |
| Custard Filling | |
|---|---|
| 4 egg yolks, ⅔ cup (150 ml) milk | ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch, ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour |
| 3 tbsp (20 g) whole milk powder, 2½ tbsp (30 g) sugar | 2 tbsp (30 ml) corn oil |
| Dough | |
|---|---|
| 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp (3 g) instant yeast | 1 tbsp (10 g) black sesame powder, ⅔ cup (160 ml) water |
Ingredient Notes
- Pick purple rice with whole, glossy dark grains and soak it overnight so it cooks up tender. The 2½ tbsp (30 g) of glutinous rice is what makes it sticky enough.
- The purple rice filling has to be cooked fairly dry — too wet and it leaks out when you roll.
- Use whole milk powder for the best flavor, and unsalted butter so nothing turns salty.
- Use fresh room-temperature yolks and strain the custard for a smoother texture. Half cornstarch, half flour gives it more body.
- All-purpose or bread flour both work. Use freshly ground black sesame powder if you can — old powder goes bitter as the oil turns.
- Check the yeast's expiry date and keep the dough water under 104°F (40°C) — any hotter kills the yeast and the dough won't rise.
Instructions
-
1
Soak the purple rice and glutinous rice the night before. Drain, add to a rice cooker with enough water, and cook on the regular setting. While it's hot, stir in the butter and milk powder until combined, then let it cool.
-
2
Add everything for the custard to a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
-
3
Strain it into a nonstick pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.
-
4
Keep it on medium-low and keep stirring — scrape the spatula along the bottom or it will scorch.
-
5
Once it comes together into a mass that no longer sticks to the pan or the spatula, turn off the heat. Scoop it out and let it cool.
-
6
Mix the flour, yeast and black sesame powder, add the water, and knead into a smooth dough. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
-
7
Roll the rested dough out into a rectangle.
-
8
Spread an even layer of custard over it.
-
9
Add a layer of purple rice filling, leaving a border uncovered.
Don't pile it too thick or it'll squeeze out when you roll. The custard is soft, so smooth it with the back of a spoon first.
-
10
Roll it up tightly from one side and pinch the seam closed. Cut into even pieces.
-
11
Place the rolls in the steamer, cover, and let them rise until 1½ times bigger.
-
12
Start with cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, then drop to medium and steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait 3 minutes before lifting the lid.
-
13
And they're out! Rich and milky, with a fluffy wrapper, fragrant custard and chewy purple rice. The two fillings melt together — sweet but never cloying. Even my picky eater asks for seconds.
Recipe Notes
Black Sesame Custard & Purple Rice Rolls
Pillowy steamed dough wrapped around fragrant milk custard and chewy purple rice — one trip to the steamer and they're done.
Time Needed
Not counting the overnight soak for the rice.
Prep Ahead
- Soak the purple rice and glutinous rice in cold water the night before, then drain before cooking — under-soaked rice stays hard in the middle.
- 【Yield】2½ cups (300 g) flour makes about 10–12 rolls; the rice filling uses ¾ cup (150 g) purple rice plus 2½ tbsp (30 g) glutinous rice. The custard can be made a day ahead and chilled — bring it back to room temperature before filling.
- 【Key ratios】Dough: flour to water ≈ 300:160. Yeast 1 tsp (3 g), about 1% of the flour weight. The custard's 2½ tbsp (30 g) sugar is on the light side — go up to 3 tbsp (40 g) if you like it sweeter.
- 【Heat】Cook the custard over medium-low the whole time, scraping the bottom constantly, until it masses up and stops sticking. Steam from cold water: high heat to a boil, then medium for 15 minutes, rest 3 minutes before opening so they don't deflate.
- 【Rising】Cover and rest the dough 10 minutes after kneading. After rolling and cutting, let them rise again to 1½ times before steaming.
- 【Storage & reheating】Cool completely, seal and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Re-steam straight from frozen for 8–10 minutes — they'll taste close to fresh.
- 【Common problems】Wet filling leaks when rolling: dry out the rice and cook the custard to a firm mass. Tough wrappers usually mean too little water, or lifting the lid too soon — always give it the full 3 minutes.
Nutrition (per 100 g, estimated)
| Calories | about 305 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | about 7.5 g |
| Fat | about 10.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | about 45 g |
| of which sugars | about 8 g |
| Fiber | about 1.6 g |
| Sodium | about 65 mg |
Estimated from the ingredient amounts, not lab tested. One roll is about 1.8 oz (50 g) and roughly 150 kcal.