Coffee Buns
Traditional Coffee Buns- soft, biscuit-like Scottish buns studded with sultanas and sweetened with a little treacle. Quick to mix and bake, perfect when served with a cup of coffee (because they’re not acutally coffee-flavoured!).
PRINT RECIPE
Servings: 12 buns
INGREDIENTS
- 85 g Caster Sugar
- 115 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 1-2 tbsp Treacle
- 1 Free-range Egg (at room temperature; see Egg Size not below)
- 225 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
- 60 g Sultanas
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 5 or 375°F) and grease a couple of
baking tray with a little extra butter/margarine. - In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy in both colour and texture.
- Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the
treacle and mix through. - Sift in the flour and add the
sultanas . Mix until you have a soft, sticky dough. - Lightly dampen your hands with a little water. Take 1-2 tbsp of the dough and roll it in your hands into a ball before placing it onto your pre-greased baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough, leaving space between each bun.
- Gently flatten each bun a little before baking in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until they are golden and look dry on top.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheets a little before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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.
Self-raising Flour: Don't have self-raising flour? For this recipe, simply whisk together 225g (1⅔ cups) plain flour and 3 teaspoons baking powder instead. If you bake regularly, you can also make a larger batch to keep in your baking cupboard. For full instructions, cup conversions and answers to common questions, see my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide.
Substitutions:
- Sugar: You could swap out the caster sugar like-for-like for golden caster sugar, if you prefer a more caramel flavour.
- Treacle: Traditionally, Coffee Buns are made with treacle, but this isn't always easy to obtain outside the UK. Molasses makes a decent substitute.
- Sultanas: Again, sultanas are what are traditionally found in Coffee Buns, but you could easily swap these for another dried fruit of your choice, such as raisins or currants.
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