Rotiboy / PappaRoti Copycat Coffee Buns

I tried making Rotiboy. I’m in really big trouble.

I’ve been thinking about making this fluffy, addictive bun for years now. The closure of the iconic Rotiboy KLCC branch in 2024 sparked some nostalgia in me, and nudged me to finally get the project going.

Jump to Recipe

There were plenty of videos online, but I was intrigued by the method shared by Buttermilk Pantry on YouTube so I tried that one. Interestingly, the directions call for us to wrap a chunk of butter in a smaller piece of dough, before wrapping it with a bigger piece of dough to make a roll. The idea was to prevent the butter from leaking out during baking. My first attempt making this, I didn’t do this step well enough and a few of them still leaked. The rolls still turned out really delicious, but it lacked the desired cavity in the middle full of melty salted butter goodness like the ones from Rotiboy. This minor setback simply meant I needed to get better at it with more practice. More Rotiboy? The horror!

The first recipe I followed made only 6 Rotiboy, which is simply not enough. So in subsequent attempts, I looked at other sources for inspiration. My final recipe was based on the version by The Meatmen Channel, which makes a more respectable 8 Rotiboy.

Making the coffee topping was interesting for me, as I’m more of a bread person and very rarely work with cake or cookie batter. The piping bags here at home were a bit too large given the amount of frosting for this recipe, so I just repurposed a small Ziploc bag. This recipe should make exactly the right amount of frosting for eight Rotiboy.

These buns are insanely good fresh out of the oven. The crunchy topping contrasts so well with the soft, fluffy bread, and you get a wonderful mix of sweet and salty flavors. You will find it very hard to stop at just one. You have been warned.

Step by Step

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add all the ingredients except for the butter.

Transfer the bowl to your mixer, and start mixing at Speed 1 until the ingredients come together, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter, and continue mixing until incorporated.

Increase to Speed 2 and knead, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 18 minutes. Shape the dough into a tight ball and transfer to a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl and let rest in a warm place, until dough is doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While the dough is resting, divide the salted butter into 8 pieces, and shape into tiny balls.

Once the dough has doubled, transfer to a lightly dusted or oiled surface. Separate about ⅓ of the dough.

Divide the separated dough into 8 equal-sized pieces.

One at a time, wrap the salted butter with the dough, and pinch to seal.

Divide the remaining two-thirds of the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces.

Roll the divided dough pieces into a tight ball.

One at a time, flatten a piece of dough, and place the wrapped butter balls in the center, seam-side down.

Pinch to thoroughly seal.

Arrange the bread rolls in a tray, making sure to leave sufficient space in between to allow for rising. Cover and let rest, until doubled and fluffy, 35 to 40 minutes.

While the bread is resting, make the coffee topping. In a small bowl, add the instant coffee powder and hot water, and mix until completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the butter and sugar. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Add the egg and the coffee mixture, and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Fold in the flour, and mix until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or small ziplock bag. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (fan 160 degrees C).

When the rolls are done rising, pipe the coffee topping in a spiral motion, starting from the center of each roll and working your way to the edge.

Bake in the oven for 18 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.