Red Currant Brioche Buns

Lemon Brioche
0 In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the sugar and the zest of a lemon. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until combined and fragrant.
2 Add in the flour and yeast, and whisk to combine.
35 Then add in the egg, warm milk, butter, salt and vanilla.
3 Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 30 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
4 If baking same day, keep the dough in the bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap and place somewhere warm to rise.
5 If prepping the dough the night before, line a quarter sized baking sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a rough rectangle that is about an inch thick. Top the dough with another sheet of plastic wrap.
6 Place the dough on the sheet pan into the fridge overnight.
Red Currants
8 Rinse and remove the stems from the red currants. Add the berries into a bowl along with the sugar and toss to coat.
9 Set aside at room temperature to allow the juices to release and the sugar to start to dissolve.
Cream Cheese Filling
11 Into a medium mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
12 Beat on low speed until smooth and combined. You don't want to whip too much air into it.
Streusel
14 *If making* In a medium mixing bowl use a fork to mix together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
15 Then add in the flour and use a fork or your fingers to rub the flour into the butter sugar mixture. Set aside until ready to assemble.
Assemble Part 1
17 Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
18 Divide the proofed dough into 8 equal portions. Shape them into a smooth ball by first flattening out into a disk. Then bring the edges of the disk into the center in a clockwise direction. Flip the ball over so that the seam side is down.
19 With your hand in a claw shape, twist each ball on the counter clockwise to create a smooth taught surface.
20 Once all 8 have been turned into beautiful little dough balls place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drape a piece of plastic over the top and set aside to allow them to proof and double in size.
21 Preheat the oven to 375 F and place a rack in the center of the oven and one two levels down.
22 Pour the melted butter into one shallow bowl and the sugar into another.
Assemble Part 2
24 Once the dough balls are puffy, work one at a time. Use your finger tips to press down the center, you want to make little pizzas where most of it is flat but with a 1/2" border that stays puffy. The easiest way to do this is to lift them up and squish the dough in the center of each circle between your fingers to flatten and stretch it a bit.
25 Make sure to leave a bit of a border but remember it'll puff when you bake them so it's ok to keep the border small.
26 Starting back with the first one you shaped, coat both sides in the melted butter and allow the excess to drip off before transferring it to the bowl with the sugar.
27 Coat both sides then lay it back on the baking sheet - repress the center dimple down before moving onto the next.
28 Evenly divide the cream cheese between the pastries and use the back of a spoon to gently spread the filling into a flat layer in the well of each pastry.
29 Boil a tea kettle full of water, pour it into a metal cake pan. I use an 8" one but it doesn't really matter what size you use. Place the pan onto the lower baking rack and close the oven door.
30 Top the cream cheese with two spoonfuls of the macerated red currants, press them into the cream cheese as needed with the back of the spoon.
31 Last but not least, if you want to add it, crumble the streusel over the currants.
Bake
33 Bake for 15 minutes in the hot oven. Then rotate 180 degrees and bake for another 5-10 minutes until just golden brown.
34 Remove the pan from the oven and set on a rack to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.