By Jen Inglis
The Cinnamon Bun has been one of our favourite recipe shares to date here at Steampunk. So we are very excited to share this brand new recipe with you for a Christmas inspired bun.
I think we’ve all quietly agreed that Christmassy (or winter celebration of your choice) stuff is allowed to start a bit earlier. It has been a long and extremely tough year and we need to have an excuse to start feeling a bit more joy. These wintery buns are my contribution. The darker evenings, hazy streetlights and the haar creeping through the North Berwick streets lately feels very Dickensian, and so I had to develop these little treats that could have fallen straight out of A Christmas Carol. Nutmeg, mixed spice, cinnamon and orange, I guarantee that their scent drifting from the oven will get even the most extreme Scrooges smiling.
So forget POTUSes of Christmas Past, and as the clanking chains of full lockdown hopefully stay in the feverdream of 2020, crack out your lockdown-sourdough perfected kneading skills because a warm fresh bun from the oven is a socially distanced winter solstice hug from us at Steampunk!
Winter Buns
Dough
450g Strong White Flour
14g Instant Yeast
1/2 tsp salt
50g Caster Sugar
¼ tsp Nutmeg
2 1/2 tbsp Applesauce (You can buy in jars but its really easy to make your own. Just peel and core 2 large cooking apples. Cut into chunks and then heat in a pan with a lid along with 1tbsp water. They’ll soften really quickly and once soft you can either use a hand blender for a really smooth puree or if just using for this recipe you can quickly mix with a fork or wooden spoon till no large chunks. Make sure to cool before using.
100ml Soya milk
75g Dairy free Spread (I used flora original)
Filling
125g Sultanas,
50g Dried Chopped Apricots
25g Mixed Peel
Zest and Juice of 1 Orange,
50ml Boiling Water
¼ tsp Nutmeg
½ tsp Mixed Spice
½ tsp Cinnamon
25g Caster Sugar
30g Dairy free Spread
2 tbsp Apricot Jam to glaze
Equipment
Bowl for mixing
Bowl to soak filling
Kettle
Jug
Mixer with Dough Hook if you are lucky enough to have one (saves kneading although its scientifically proven that buns you’ve kneaded by hand taste better. Don’t @ me)
Microplane grater (if you have it, standard grater is fine)
Measuring Spoons
Clean Tea towel
Rolling Pin
Sieve
Greased Oven Tin
Pastry Brush
Method
Heat DF spread for dough along with soya milk until melted and milk is warm. Place dry ingredients for dough in mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add applesauce and milk mixture to well mix till all combined. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 mins or until your dough is no longer sticky but soft and pliable and will stretch if you pull at it. Add a tbsp of water if it’s too dry or (more likely) add flour if dough is too sticky. Cover bowl with clean tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove and double in size.
Meanwhile place dried fruit, orange, spices and boiling water in a bowl and mix. Leave to absorb.
Once dough has risen, knead for another 2/3 mins then allow to rest for a few minutes while you drain any excess liquid from your filling, Stir the 25g of caster sugar through the dried fruit.
Heat oven to 180 C. Use a rolling pin to roll out your dough on lightly floured surface. Roll an even rectangle approx. 30cm by 20cm with the dough about a centimetre thick. The dough will stretch but be prepared for it to want to resist and spring back. Spread the Dairy Free spread over most of the dough keeping a 3 cm wide section free along the length of the long edge closest to you.
Spoon the filling evenly over the spread and then starting at the long edge furthest from you carefully roll the dough up in a spiral towards so you end up with a long sausage and(hopefully) all the filling inside. With a serrated knife carefully cut even slices from the dough and place in baking tin. You should get 8-10. Brush with soya milk to glaze and then cover with your clean tea towel and allow to prove for 30 mins.
Bake for 25-30 mins till golden then brush with apricot jam while still warm to make them beautiful and shiny. Best eaten while still warm and must be eaten the day they are baked!
Just add coffee!