Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Dole Whip and Pineapple Bun Sundae Homemade State Fair Food
When my Amazon Echo Show gave me a video of something called a pineapple bun, I was intrigued. This bun, also called bo lo bao, has zero pineapple in it. The pattern that appears on the top while baking looks like a pineapple, thus why it is called a “pineapple bun”. The bun is a bit sweet and very versatile. I decided to pair it with some homemade Dole Whip and it was delicious. Here’s how to put together a Dole Whip and pineapple bun sundae.
Pineapple buns are lightly sweet
First of all, I got the recipes for this project from doing a simple Google search. You do not have to use the recipes I indicate below. If you cannot make them as I did, you can purchase pineapple buns from your local Chinese bakeries and online.
We made the sundae fancy with sprinkles
I recommend you try one at some point in your life because they are delicious. They freeze well, can be used as a gourmet sandwich bread, and make a great anytime snack.
My husband and I eating the pineapple bun sundae
I like my Unicorn Pudding recipe and it’s another one that would be a fun state fair food for kids. Grab the recipe here on my website and watch it come together in my 1-minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
I made this recipe creation while stuck inside during Tropical Storm/Hurricane Debby. It was yucky outside, so I decided to create something beautiful inside. After our traumatic experience with Hurricane Ian in 2022, I always need distractions during bad storms now. Creating is how I calm my mind. We are selling our house and moving to a new state (Sanibel Island Florida was fun, but the storms are NOT!), so hopefully Ian will be our last bad experience with a hurricane.
The Dole Whip recipe is straight from Disney. When they had to close their parks during Covid, they released a simple at-home recipe that is extremely easy and delicious. Even if you don’t make the pineapple buns to go with the Dole Whip, it’ll still taste delicious.
My completed pineapple bun creation
Dole Whip is served at many state fairs (my mom gets it every time she goes) and many other locations. I was surprised to learn it was made with dairy free ice cream. It’s very refreshing and delicious.
Here’s how to put together a Dole Whip Pineapple Bun Sundae.
Making the Pineapple Buns
The pineapple bun recipe I made is here at thewoksoflife.com. The recipe will take you a couple of hours to make (the buns have to rise two times). The recipe is actually quite simple and The Woks of Life have photos of every step. I had to bake mine for longer than the recipe stated as we live in a humid environment. That can make a difference in baking.
The pineapple buns before the egg yolk
As I made the bo lo bao, I followed the steps one at a time. When they were done, we tasted a fresh from the oven bun, and it was good but, like the recipe author stated, they were EVEN BETTER the next day! The recipe made 12 buns.
The buns with the egg yolk topping before baking
They do have a lot of ingredients, but making them was something I wanted to try and because they are so tasty, I’ll definitely make them again. We had them for snacks for the rest of the week.
The pineapple buns after baking
When the pineapple buns were done baking and cooling, I made my Dole Whip. Get the three-ingredient recipe (you only need pineapple juice, frozen pineapple chunks, and dairy free vanilla ice cream) for Dole whip here at the disneyparksblog.com website.
I used my Vitamix blender, which is a high-powered mixer that I LOVE, but you could use a regular blender. A regular blender may take a bit more scraping/blending and a bit more pineapple juice, but it’s definitely doable.
Making the Dole Whip
Grab the 1-minute video tutorial for this below or via my YouTube channel @carolynbraden.
I placed all three ingredients in my Vitamix and blended until it was smooth. Again, Dole Whip is delicious on it’s own, so you don’t have to make the buns to eat this deliciously summery treat. If you do make the buns, allow them to cool a bit and start putting together the sundae.
The Dole Whip will be creamy and light
Putting Together the Dole Whip and Pineapple Bun Sundae
I ordered a gorgeous seashell dish from Temu to place this sundae in. I was watching an episode of The Bear (I highly recommend it if you like to cook or just like really good acting!) and they featured an actual sweet shop in Chicago called Margie’s Candies. They serve Terrapin Sundaes (It’s a giant turtle sundae) in a shell bowl, and I wanted to do the same at home. Here’s a similar shell bowl on Amazon.
If you order from Temu, search “shell bowl” using my link or use my discount code afe55197 you can get 30% off (new app users).
Starting the pineapple bun sundae
While the pineapple buns are slightly warm (if making this the next day, you can warm the buns in the microwave for about 30 seconds and they will be soft and delicious), place them in a bowl. I stored my extra pineapple buns in the refrigerator, but again, they can be frozen and reheated as needed.
My old school ice cream scoop
I spooned some Dole Whip into an ice cream sandwich cylindrical scoop I got on Temu (find a similar one on Amazon here) and used the handle to plop two scoops onto the pineapple buns. I topped them with some Sprinkle Pop sprinkles and an edible wafer paper butterfly.
Two scoops of Dole Whip on pineapple buns
We used gold spoons to eat the sundae (because I had them and I like fancy utensils!) with and it was refreshing, lightly sweet and yummy! My husband loves fruit inspired desserts, so he loved it. You can even scoop the Dole Whip in between the pineapple buns and make an ice cream sandwich. It’ll be messy, but delicious.
Dole Whip and pineapple bun sundae
I call this creation gourmet state fair food. It would be so cooling on a hot summer day. It’s time consuming, so if you want to get creative, test this out on a weekend day and make it your own. The Bear inspired me to explore more ideas in the gourmet food realm, and I like it. If I had a cute little sweet shop like Margie’s in Chicago, I’d serve this for sure!
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Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.