The world is a strange place right now. And if you’re someone reading this in the future, this recipe for Rasp Buns was publish in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic…
One thing I find fascinating is the recipes that people are choosing to bake as all this goes down. I’m sure we’ve all made a Banana Loaf (or ten…) by now but another recipe that has been popular here on Baking with Granny is our Rock Buns. It’s discovering this which prompted me to develop and share these lovely little Rasp Buns.
I remember coming across this recipe in Granny’s infamous Blue Book – alongside Rock Buns – and thinking it was right up my street.
They’re simple. Both to make and in standing. In fact, without the Rasp part, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re really quite plain and not very exciting. But with that oozing jam centre…well that’s what makes these simple little buns something special!
Similar to our Rock Buns, these are easy to whip together and make a great hands-on recipe for kids to involved with. Although when it comes to poking the holes in the middle to fill with jam, a larger adult finger is definitely preferable! We don’t want to be scrimping on the filling now. You could of course use a wooden spoon handle, if you have little helpers than insist on doing it all themselves.
Ingredients:
Self-raising Flour
As opposed to using a plain flour, self-raising flour is what gives these little buns a bit of lift. Without that they would be a little flat and sad looking!
Butter/Margarine
Either will do and it’s personal preference to which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy but whatever you choose, just be sure it’s at room temperature before baking.
Caster Sugar
The jam does bring a good bit of sweetness but sugar is still a must in any bun.
Free-range Egg
Egg works as the binder in this recipe. I don’t tend to stress to much about the size of eggs in buns, as long as they’re free-range.
Milk
In this recipe, milk is needed to add moisture to the buns and help create the dough. You may not need all the milk listed, so be sure to add it gradually.
Raspberry Jam
For that glorious jammy centre! Now of course for Rasp Buns you would use Raspberry Jam but if you don’t have any to hand or you fancy experimenting, you could use whatever jam you fancy.
Granny’s Top Tips
• Add the milk to your dough slowly. You may not need it all (or you may even need a little extra) but it’s easier to add more than it is to take some away.
• If you add a little hot water to your jam it will make it easier to work with. Oh, and unseeded jam is definitely preferable.
Ingredients
- 250 g Self-raising Flour
- 55 g Butter or Margarine
- 55 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Free-range Egg
- 2-3 tbsp Milk
- 4 tsp Raspberry Jam
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 190° (or 170°c for a fan assisted oven or Gas Mark 5) and grease a couple of baking sheets. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour. Add the butter/margarine and rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar and egg to the mixture. Add the milk a spoonful at a time, mixing together to create a thick, sticky dough – you may not need all the milk.
- Roll a small amount of dough in your hands to make a ball, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Place onto your prepared baking sheets and repeat with the rest of the dough, making 12 balls in total.
- Using a floured finger, poke a hole into the top of each bun, gently pressing right down.
- Spoon a small amount of jam into these holes – using a small teaspoon and adding a little water to your jam beforehand will make this step easier.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for around 15 minutes until they have a nice golden colour.
- Allow to cool a little on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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I made your millionaire shortbread recipe and gave it to friends, they all said it was Amazing!
I made these today and they are delicious! I added 40g of dessicated coconut to the dough and it worked very well. Definitely will make again. Simple and tasty :)
I got a A at high school baking rasp buns back in the 70
S they were so yum .
Baking these today with my granddaughters in Bahrain ……they really enjoy “ Friday Baking” , Friday is the holy day in Bahrain,no school.They will not be home for Christmas, so these contact points are excellent .
What a tasty, simple to make bun. The house smelled wonderful, so I knew they were going to be delicious–and they were! My eggs were on the small side, so I added about 3TBS milk to the dough. Also about 1/8 tsp of almond extract because I love the taste of almond with fruit. My only issue was that I was unable to pull the dough around the jam–I suspect because I made the holes too small. Something to work on next time. Thanks for a spectacular recipe!