British Cream Buns Recipes

Steps:

• NOTE: 2 tsp of dry active yeast can be substituted for the compressed yeast. sift dry yeast with flour and sugar, rub in butter, add combined lukewarm milk and water, then proceed as for recipe).
• cream yeast with 1 tsp of the sugar, add lukewarm milk, let stand 10 to 15 minutes until frothy.
• sift flour and remainging sugar into bowl, rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• make well in centre of dry ingredients, add yeast mixture and lukewarm water, mix to a soft dough.
• turn out on to floured surface.
• knead 5 minutes.
• put dough into lightly oiled bowl.
• cover, stand in warm place 1 hour or until dough has doubled in bulk.
• punch dough down in bowl.
• turn out on to floured surface: knead 5 minutes. divide into twelve even portions.
• knead each portion of dough into a round.
• put rounds on well greased oven tray, allowing room for spreading.
• set in warm place 10 minutes or until half doubled in size.
• brush with combined beaten egg yolk and extra water.
• bake in hot oven 10 minutes,reduce heat to moderate, bake further 15 minutes or until golden brown.
• put buns on wire rack.
• when cold, slit open, fill with raspberry jam and mock cream, dust each bun with a litle sifted icing sugar.
• Mock Cream:.
• combine water and sugar.sift over heat to dissolve sugar.bring to boil, remove from heat.
• when completely cold, beat butter and vanilla until white and fluffy, gradually pour in cold syrup, beating constantly.

Steps:

• Mix butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl using a spatula. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper or inside a zip-top bag. Press or roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Trim off the edges slightly to get a rectangular shape, if desired. Freeze crust until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Combine water, butter, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add flour; stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together into a smooth dough and pulls away cleanly from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and spread out with a whisk to speed up cooling. Cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk eggs, one at a time, into the pastry, mixing well after each addition. Finish mixing with a spatula. Scoop pastry into a pastry bag and pipe into 6 to 8 buns on the baking sheet. Smooth out tops with a wet finger.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut crust into circles about the diameter of the buns. Lightly push crusts onto the buns, just enough to secure them.
• Place buns in the preheated oven. Immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake until browned and fully puffed, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer buns onto a cooling rack and place rack back on the baking sheet. Place in the turned-off oven, leave door partially open, and let cool completely, at least 20 minutes.
• Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Spread a few teaspoons of melted chocolate onto the bottom of each bun. Gently press each chocolate base back on the baking sheet to spread it evenly. Let chocolate harden, about 1 hour.

Steps:

• Heat the milk until steaming. Add the butter and swirl until melted. Leave to cool slightly. Tip the flour and yeast into a bowl or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, then add the caster sugar and ½ tsp salt.
• When the milk mix has cooled slightly (it should feel just warm when you stick a finger in) pour into the flour mix. If using a stand mixer, mix for 5-8 mins on a medium speed until springy. Or, knead in the bowl for about 10 mins - when the dough is pulled apart, it should be able to stretch without ripping.
• Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1½ hrs or until doubled in size. Or, transfer to the fridge to slowly rise for up to 24 hrs (this will improve the texture and flavour).
• If the dough is chilled, remove from the fridge 1 hr before shaping. Divide into 10 equal portions (weigh them out if you want to be accurate). To make round buns, roll and shape each piece into a smooth ball, or to make finger buns, roll and shape each piece into a finger shape. Arrange on a lined baking tray, leaving space between each. Cover loosely and leave to rise for 30 mins-1 hr more until doubled.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Brush the buns with milk and bake for 25-30 mins until golden. Put on a wire rack and leave to cool.
• Mix the icing sugar with 2-3 tbsp water - it should be thick. Divide between bowls, depending on how many food colourings you're using (we used three). Dye each with a different colouring, adding a splash more water if needed.
• Whisk the cream and 1 tbsp icing sugar until just holding its shape. Don't overwhip, as it will thicken as you pipe (see tip, below). Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle and fill with a third of the cream.
• Split the round buns in half as you would a burger bun, or the finger buns down the middle lengthways. Spoon roughly 60g lemon curd or jam over the bottom half of each bun (or down the middle), alternating the flavours, then pipe over a swirl of cream. Continue until all the buns are filled, refilling the piping bag with cream as needed. Spoon some icing over each bun, matching the colours to the jam (we used yellow for the curd, pink for the raspberry jam and purple for the blackcurrant). Decorate with the glacé cherries, sprinkles and crystallised petals, if you like, then leave to set for about 20 mins before serving. Best eaten the day they're made, but will keep in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Steps:

• Sift the dry yeast with the flour and sugar.
• Rub the butter into the dry mixture until you a fine crumb type mixture.
• Add the warm water and warm milk and salt combined together, into the dry mixture.
• Combine until a soft dough.
• Place onto a lightly floured board and knead 8 minutes.
• Of course all the above can be done in your electric mixer with a dough hook as you would any bread dough.
• Put dough into light oiled bowl, cover and let stand in a draft free warm area for 2 hours or until doubled.
• Punch dough down.
• Place again onto a board and knead by hand 4 minutes.
• Divide into 12 portions for the buns.
• Knead each portion into a nice round bun, and place onto a greased cookie sheet.
• Leaving enough room for rising in between.
• Set aside covered in a warm place until about 1/2 doubled in size or about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Brush with beaten yolk and water combined into a wash.
• Bake in a hot oven 450 degrees oven for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees for the last 15 minutes.
• Total baking time 25 minutes.
• OR until Golden brown-- Place on a wire rack to cool.
• When cold slit each bun and place in mock cream and a dab of lemon curd lengthwise in and along the slit.
• Dust all over with powdered icing sugar-- These are not sweet buns-- for added sweetness can place a jam of choice into the cut, with the cream.
• Mock Cream.
• Make a sugar syrup with the water and sugar in a saucepot.
• Just dissolve and bring to a boil and boil three minutes.
• Remove from heat and cool completely.
• When syrup is cold, beat the butter with the vanilla for a long time until it is white in colour and fluffy.
• Gradually while mixer is still beating pour in the cold syrup, beat constantly.
• Fill buns with the mock cream, or use ontop of tarts of choice.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a cupcake tin with 10 cases. To make the sponge, tip the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk into a large mixing bowl and beat with either a hand whisk or electric mixer until smooth, pale and combined. Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 15 mins until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream by beating together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in the extra milk if the icing feels too stiff.
• Once the cakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice off the tops, then cut the tops in half. Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cakes, then gently push two semi-circular halves into the buttercream on each cake, doing this at an angle to look like butterfly wings. You can serve the cupcakes at this stage, or decorate them with a little blob of jam in the centre and a scattering of sprinkles, if you like.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the shortening, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups flour; beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Stir batter vigorously for 25 strokes (dough will be slightly sticky). Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups. Tap pans to settle the batter. Cover and let rise until batter reaches tops of cups, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°., Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter.