Belgian Buns 

hhCooking-Monster
Chelsea Buns if they were good...
Prep Time 0 hours 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Resting Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 3 hours 10 minutes
Course Tea Time - anytime!
Cuisine Belgian (duh)
Servings 12  
     

Equipment

  • Determination 
  •  A Belgian to insult your efforts (optional)

Ingredients
  

For the bun 

  •  450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
  •  7g fast action yeast
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 165ml warm milk
  • 1 large egg, beaten plus 1 for egg wash
  •  50g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the tray

For the filling 

For the icing 

  • 250g icing sugar
  • 12 glacé cherries ( I use citrus zes x)   

Instructions
 

Le Buns 

  • Mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp sea salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix well a soft dough forms. If it feels dry, add a bit of warm water, if it feels too sticky and wet, add 1 tbsp flour.
  • Dust a work surface with flour and tip the mixture onto it. Knead the dough until it feels smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and put in a large, lightly floured bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size. Or, leave to prove in the fridge overnight, removing 45 mins before continuing.
  • Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Lightly dust a work surface and roll out the dough to 30 x 45cm. Evenly spread the lemon curd over the dough and sprinkle with the sultanas. Roll the dough up lengthways from the shortest side, like a Swiss roll, to form a log. Cut into 12 equal sized buns with a sharp knife, egg-washing the loose end of the pastry and pressing it down, so it doesn’t unravel. Arrange, spread apart, on the prepared baking tray, cover, and leave to prove for 45 mins until doubled in size.
  • Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the buns with a little egg wash. Bake for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cook for a further 10 mins. Leave to cool.
  • Meanwhile, sieve the icing sugar and mix with 3 tbsp water until a thick, white icing forms. Spread the icing on top of the buns with the back of a spoon, then put a cherry in the middle of each one.
NOTES Used apricot jam instead of lemon curd as i am not a massive lemon fan but they still turned out great.