I made these over the weekend & they were lovely served hot out of the oven with butter .... aaahhh !Ahhhh … Chelsea Buns. Originating in England in the 17th century and still enjoyed today hot out of the oven with a nice cuppa tea. Nothing beats baking your own, and I really mean that. There’s just something about creating a Chelsea Bun from scratch that is so …. so satisfying …… so, ‘soulful’ if I could use that word to describe a ‘mere’ bun !
I believe that the secret to a good Chelsea Bun is in the dough. None of these quick rise ‘passing-themselves-off-as-the-real-thing’ baking powder doughs will do for the Queen of all buns. Oh no. These buns require a proper dough made with yeast and lovingly kneaded, rolled and coaxed into the perfect curled round. Another secret ingredient is the use of real butter. Not margarine. It really does make a difference to the taste.
We used to bake these buns fresh daily in the safari camps we ran here in Tanzania. Guests used to come into the “Mess Tent” for breakfast after an early morning safari or bush walk, to be welcomed by the delicious, cinnamony scent of freshly baked Chelsea buns wafting through the air. At that time, as far as we knew, we were the only camp in Tanzania making these buns, and they were a real treat for our guests. To this day, I’m not quite sure why I love them so much … because of their delicious taste, or because of the memories they evoke in me every time I bake and eat one ?
Try this recipe and I promise, you’ll never buy another one again …..
Chelsea Buns
Dough:
2 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp Salt
3 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Instant Yeast
½ cup Milk, warmed
3 tbsp Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
Filling:
2 heaped tbsp brown Sugar
3 heaped tbsp seedless Raisins, chopped
1 tsp Cinnamon powder
1 tbsp Butter, melted
Topping:
Glace Icing or Apricot Glaze or Sugar/Honey Glaze (see below)
Mix the flour & salt together. Rub in the butter. Sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk, & stir in the sugar. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes before adding to the flour mixture, along with the eggs. Blend well and then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a bowl (covered with a damp cloth) in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, roll out into a rectangular shape and spread the filling over it. Roll up as you would a swiss roll, and once you have a “sausage” shape in front of you, slice it into rounds. (You should get about 14 – 16 rounds out of it.)
Lay the rounds on a greased baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth & leave to rise until doubled in size again. (When they rise they may overlap/touch each other, but this is fine.) Then bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes until done.
Once out of the oven, allow to cool slightly and then you can either ice them with plain white Glace icing or brush them with some melted apricot jam to form a glaze or you could brush them with a mixture of 2 tbsp each of sugar, butter, honey & milk which has been boiled together to make a syrup.
Note : These Chelsea Buns are best eaten the day they are baked
I believe that the secret to a good Chelsea Bun is in the dough. None of these quick rise ‘passing-themselves-off-as-the-real-thing’ baking powder doughs will do for the Queen of all buns. Oh no. These buns require a proper dough made with yeast and lovingly kneaded, rolled and coaxed into the perfect curled round. Another secret ingredient is the use of real butter. Not margarine. It really does make a difference to the taste.
We used to bake these buns fresh daily in the safari camps we ran here in Tanzania. Guests used to come into the “Mess Tent” for breakfast after an early morning safari or bush walk, to be welcomed by the delicious, cinnamony scent of freshly baked Chelsea buns wafting through the air. At that time, as far as we knew, we were the only camp in Tanzania making these buns, and they were a real treat for our guests. To this day, I’m not quite sure why I love them so much … because of their delicious taste, or because of the memories they evoke in me every time I bake and eat one ?
Try this recipe and I promise, you’ll never buy another one again …..
Chelsea Buns
Dough:
2 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp Salt
3 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Instant Yeast
½ cup Milk, warmed
3 tbsp Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
Filling:
2 heaped tbsp brown Sugar
3 heaped tbsp seedless Raisins, chopped
1 tsp Cinnamon powder
1 tbsp Butter, melted
Topping:
Glace Icing or Apricot Glaze or Sugar/Honey Glaze (see below)
Mix the flour & salt together. Rub in the butter. Sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk, & stir in the sugar. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes before adding to the flour mixture, along with the eggs. Blend well and then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a bowl (covered with a damp cloth) in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, roll out into a rectangular shape and spread the filling over it. Roll up as you would a swiss roll, and once you have a “sausage” shape in front of you, slice it into rounds. (You should get about 14 – 16 rounds out of it.)
Lay the rounds on a greased baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth & leave to rise until doubled in size again. (When they rise they may overlap/touch each other, but this is fine.) Then bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes until done.
Once out of the oven, allow to cool slightly and then you can either ice them with plain white Glace icing or brush them with some melted apricot jam to form a glaze or you could brush them with a mixture of 2 tbsp each of sugar, butter, honey & milk which has been boiled together to make a syrup.
Note : These Chelsea Buns are best eaten the day they are baked
