Minor mysteries - belgian buns

[PickUpHopStep]

Does anyone know what the bright yellow stuff you sometimes get in the "layers" of a belgian bun is? I ate one today and wondered.

I'm confident MN will come up with a sensible answer 😊 If anyone else is pondering a minor mystery which they cba to google then do share!

I don't think that I've seen a Belgian bun with a filling as you describe but creme patisserie would be my guess.

I've had some with lemon curd inside.

It's not a filling as such, it's just kind of 'there'. Not Very descriptive I know!

A bit not browned by the oven?

Cinnamon?

Definitely lemon curd! It’s how I make them anyway...

Greggs ones have tiny little square chunks of glacè citrus peel that’s bright yellow/orange?

I know what you mean OP but I don’t know what it is. It’s just where the pastry on the non exposed edges go yellow, not a filling.

I’m thinking maybe it’s colour leaching from the dried fruit.

I well fancy a Belgian bun.

Well now I need a Belgian bun.

You get a similar yellowy paste in brioche swirls in Aldi. I have no idea what it actually is.

I know what you mean and I’m pretty sure it’s citrus-y, so lemon curd seems about right. But it’s just a very thin layer, isn’t it?

God, I love a Belgian bun. Went mad for them when I was pregnant the first time

Don’t know what a Belgian Bun is!

You get a similar yellowy paste in brioche swirls in Aldi. I have no idea what it actually is.

Now that’s definitely creme patissiere. It’s definitely more custard-y than what you get in a Belgian bun.

Lemon curd for sure or at least it is in all the recipes I use to make them.

I keep trying to attach a photo of said bun but it doesn't want to work. If it's lemon curd then my palette is obviously even less sophisticated than I thought as I didnt pick that up at all, anf this bun was about the size of my head so plenty of chance!

Ah, photo 😃

Ooh, thanks for photo! Kind of like an iced bun but with a few raisins and filling! Mmmmm.

Not creme patisserie or custard by the looks of it, perhaps some kind of syrup or as PPs say, curd?

I've has them with the fake lemon curd - totally ruins them!!

No worries loopy. I recommend you get yourself down to a decent bakery/cafe and get acquainted with a nice gooey belgian bun with a nice cuppa to go with 😋

I'd missed Eliza's comment about the colour from the dried fruit, I think that sounds likely.

Unfortunately I had scoffed most of the bun this time before it occurred to me to wonder about this so I didn't really have a large enough sample to form a conclusion. I'll have to go back and repeat the experiment...

The icing on the top of a Belgian bun is poured fondant: sugar, water, gelatin, glycerine and possibly lemon flavouring(?) I think that the sweet yellow goo inside could be the 'melted' run-off of the fondant, discoloured by other ingredients.

Should a Belgian bun have a filling ?

Anyway, from pic and description my first thought was bakers custard ... same as in a Millifeuille

Creme patissiere - a thickened custard. There's a nice easy-to-follow recipe on the BBC Good Food website but sadly, I'm too much of a technophobe to provide the link.

Since the thread is titled "minor mysteries" can anyone explain why occasionally I think I can pick up a hint of marzipan in the custard used in some cakes ? No almonds or marzipan listed anywhere in the ingredients ....

I just googled, all the recipes have lemon curd in them!