Belgian Buns
Sweet, delicious yeast buns, filled with sultanas and lemon curd, topped with icing and a glace cherry.
PRINT RECIPE
Servings: 6 buns
INGREDIENTS
- 120 ml Milk
- 275 g Plain Flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 7 g Easy Bake Instant Yeast (usually 1 sachet)
- 40 g Caster Sugar
- 60 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature; plus extra for greasing)
- 1 Free-range Egg (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 3 tbsp Lemon Curd
- 150 g Sultanas
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 3 tbsp Warm Water
- 6 Glacé Cherries
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small pan warm the milk until it's lukewarm. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the yeast. Make a well in the middle and add the butter, sugar, milk and egg. Mix to combine.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface, and using well-floured hands, knead the dough for around 10 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and transfer it into a lightly greased bowl, and cover loosely with some oiled
cling film or a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a draught-free place until it has doubled in size (around 1 to 2 hours). - Generously grease a
baking tray with some extra butter/margarine. Set aside. - After your dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back. Using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle about 25 ×35cm (10×14 inches). Make sure your dough is evenly thick throughout to ensure you have nice, neat buns.
- Spread the lemon curd from edge to edge of the dough and sprinkle the sultanas evenly over.
- Roll the dough tightly to create a long sausage shape. Cut the sausage into 6 buns - I tend to cut it in half, then into thirds to ensure even buns. Arrange the rolls in your pre-greased
baking tray and cover them loosely with a piece of lightly greasedcling film . - Leave to rise in a draught-free place for 1-2 hours until they look light and puffy.
- After your buns have gone through their second rise, remove the
cling film and place thebaking tray in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F) and bake for around 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack when cool enough to touch and leave to cool completely.
For the Icing
- In a medium bowl, mix the
icing sugar with warm water, adding a tablespoon of water at a time. When it has a "gloopy" consistency, dip the top of each bun into the icing to get an even topping, spreading off the excess with a clean finger. - Finish with a glacé cherry on top of each bun.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Egg Size: When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally, egg size doesn't make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you're unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That's what this recipe has been tested with.
Storage: Belgian Buns are best enjoyed on the day they are baked, but will keep for a couple of days when stored in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze Belgian Buns. For the best results, follow steps 1-10 and allow the buns to cool completely before freezing and finish with icing after defrosting. Frozen Belgian Buns will keep fine in your freezer for 2-3 months. Defrost at room temperature and ice them as normal.
Substitutions:
- Sultanas: If you're not a fan of sultanas, you can leave these out or replace them with another dried fruit of your choice, like raisins or dried cranberries.
- Lemon Icing: If you'd prefer a zestier icing, you can use lemon juice instead of water when making the icing.
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