Iced Finger Buns

 

Whilst people have been posting some great recipes on the blogs I follow, things have been alittle quiet around here at With Milk & Flour.

The list of new recipes I want to try has been growing, but due to trips away and feeling unwell, admittedly the motivation has been somewhat lacking.
  

In the end it was greed that drove me back into the kitchen, delving into unchartered baking waters. Despite my fear of baking bread, when I watched last weeks episode of The Great British Bake Off, I knew I needed to make these Iced Finger Buns.  

 

The recipe is one by Paul Hollywood, judge on the GBBO and baker extraordinaire for celebrities. I can see why they used this recipe in the technical challenge round. These iced buns tested an array of baking skills.

How the bakers managed to hold the bun open with one hand whilst piping cream into the middle with the other, all whilst keeping everything looking neat and pretty is beyond me. 

The test of manual dexterity and mass of washing up involved was well worth it. These buns were such a delicious treat.

The smell of these buns coming out of the oven was lovely. Being new to baking bread, I get so much gratification from the heady scent it infuses into the kitchen.   

Literally as soon as the jam had been piped onto the last bun, we all dived in. The first bite was just heavenly. The buns had a slightly crisp texture to its outer shell, a nice contrast to the soft bread and creamy, jammy middle.

Sweet soft bread, icing, cream and jam, how can you resist such a combination?

                           Iced Finger Buns by Paul Hollywood

Makes 12

For the dough

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 2 x 7g packets fastaction dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 10g sea salt flakes, crushed
• 140ml lukewarm water

For the icing and filling

• 300g icing sugar
• 42ml cold water (I needed alittle more for a runnier consistency of icing sugar)
• 200ml whipping cream
• 1 x 400g jar strawberry jam, warmed and sieved, then cooled

You will also need:

2 baking sheets, lined with baking paper; a piping bag; a small plastic bag 

Method

1. Put all the ingredients for the dough into a large mixing bowl with 100ml water. Mix together with your hands until a dough is formed. Slowly work in 40ml water and massage the dough in the bowl for about 4 minutes.
2. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead well for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
3. Tip the dough out onto the very lightly floured worktop again and divide into 12 pieces. Roll into balls and then into ‘fingers’ about 12.5cm long.
4. Divide the fingers between the baking sheets, leaving plenty of space around and between them to allow for spreading. Leave to rise, uncovered, for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7. Bake the fingers for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
5. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Gradually stir in 42ml cold water to make a thick paste. When the fingers have completely cooled, split them open lengthways, not cutting all the way through. Dip one side of each finger into the icing and smooth it with your finger. Leave to set on a wire rack.
6. Lightly whip the cream until thick and place in the piping bag. Pipe a generous line of whipped cream into each finger. Spoon the cooled sieved strawberry jam into a small plastic bag and snip off one corner. Pipe a delicate line of jam onto the cream in each finger

Notes

-Icing sugar slightly too thick, needed alittle more water for a more spreadable consistency

-Very difficult to hold bun open and pipe cream into it at the same time. Will slice the buns in two the next time.

-Buns were quite brown, will either turn down the temperature of the oven next time or cook in 2 batches.

-Whipped cream needed to be firmer, needed further whipping to obtain a stiffer consistency

 Enjoy!

Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze

Since my disappointing attempt at the Orangette Cinnamon Buns last week, I have been doing abit of research on the various methods of making Cinnamon Buns.  

I tend to learn better via visual demonstration and found the numerous videos on this subject really useful. I especially liked this video which I found on YouTube.

How sweet is this lady? She is so calm and laidback, I could happily watch her baking all day. I like to think she was using a family recipe that has been passed down from generations of women before her. 

Having gathered some tips from afew demonstrations, I was feeling more confident and optimistic about my second attempt.  It was like a light bulb had gone off in my head when I got the dough to the right consistency and was able to roll it out. I'll admit, I even punched the air in a celebratory fashion.

Whilst the buns didnt turn out looking perfect, they were alittle on the flat and irregular shaped side, they tasted really good. The buns were really just a vehicle for the delicious frosting, which was a nice balance of sweet and savoury to go with the cinnamon and brown sugar mix. 
 

Once where yeast and dough seemed scary and impossible, persevering with these buns has now opened up a whole range of recipes for me to explore.

Recipe - Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze by Orangette

Ingredients - Dough

1 Cup Whole Milk

3 Tablespoons/43g Unsalted Butter

3 1/2 Cups/385g Plain (ap) Flour (i needed about 3 tbsp more)

1/2 Cup/115g Granulated sugar

1 Large Egg

2 1/4 Teaspoons Rapid-Rise Yeast 

1 Teaspoon Salt

Nonstick Spray or Vegetable Oil

Filling

3/4 Cup/150g Golden Brown Sugar (I used soft dark brown)

2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon 

1/4 Cup, 1/2 Stick, 57g Unsalted Butter

Glaze 

113g Cream Cheese

1 Cup/110g Icing Sugar

1/4 Cup, 1/2 Stick, 57g Unsalted Butter

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1. Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds.

2. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup/110g of the flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.

3. Add 2 1/2 cups/remaining 275g flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form a ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. I needed an extra 2 & 1/2 tablespoons of flour and the dough was still alittle sticky.

4. Either turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, or continue using the mixer with the dough hook attached. 

5. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and then a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours or until dough as doubled in size. This is best done in a warm draft free area.

6. In a bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt set aside.

7. Punch down the dough, transfer to a floured surface and roll out into a 15×11 inch rectangle. Spread the butter across this leaving a half inch border, sprinkle this with the sugar mixture. 

8. Roll the dough into a tight log along the long edge

9. With seam side down, cut dough into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

10. Oil two 9 inch glass baking dishes (I used metal worked fine) and line each dish with half the rolls. Cover again with cling film and kitchen towel and let rise for a final 45 mins at least till doubled in size.

11. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F/190°C . Bake rolls until tops are golden, around 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

12. Working with a Stand mixer with the paddle attached blend the butter till creamy, add the cream chesse and beat till incorporated then work the sugar in and finally the vanilla. Spread on still warm rolls for the best enjoyment