Dec 12

Dec 12 Lemon Belgian Buns

Belgian buns often come with a lemon curd filling, but these ramp up the lemony flavour by adding lemon zest to the dough. You can use store bought lemon curd, or make your own - it is very easy to make!

Method

Put your milk into a saucepan and warm over a low heat. You don’t want to overheat this, just get it to a stage where it feels warm when you dip your finger in.
Mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar, and salt and lemon zest in a large bowl, create a well in the centre and add in your milk and 1 egg, then mix until it forms a sticky dough. You can use a mixer with a dough hook, or just your hands.
Once the dough has formed break your butter up into small pieces and knead them into the dough a piece at at a time. Using a mixer and dough hook will make this a breeze, but it can be done by tipping the dough out onto a non-floured work surface and kneading it in manually. Just get ready to put some elbow grease in!
Once all the butter is incorporated, continue to knead by hand or with the machine on low for another 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. You may be thinking “what on earth is this!?” But don’t worry. Keep kneading and it will all come together nicely. Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl covered with cling film.
As this is an enriched dough it will really benefit from a long prove overnight in the fridge to develop all the flavours and gluten. It will also make it much easier to roll out. Alternatively you can put it in a warm place for an hour or so until it has doubled in size.
Once your dough has finished proving, lightly dust a work surface with some flour and roll out until the dough is roughly 30cm by 45cm big. Spread the lemon curd all over the rolled out dough, and evenly sprinkle with your sultanas.
Starting with the short end, roll the dough up like a Swiss roll and then cut into 12 equal sized pieces. You can use a little cold water to seal the end of each bun.
Place the buns on a baking tray that has been lined with baking parchment, cover with cling film, and set aside for around an hour until they have doubled in size.
Pre-head the oven to 180ºC. Beat your second egg and lightly brush the top of each bun with an egg wash, Place, uncovered, into your oven for 10 minutes. After this time is up reduce the oven temperature to 160ºC and bake for a further 10 minutes. They should be golden brown and super soft. Once baked set onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, sift the icing sugar, and then mix with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (you can use your zested lemon) until it is thick and white. Spread all over the top of your cooled buns, and top with a glacé cherry.