Despite the name, Belgian buns are not directly linked to Belgium, though the country does produce a similar speciality known as a “rozijnenkoek” or “couque suisse”.
The baked treats are traditionally round or square-shaped sweet raisin-filled buns that are topped with icing and sugared cherries.
Sharing her easy recipe on the blog Sims Home Kitchen, London-based foodie Jen Sim claimed that her formula creates buns that are “perfectly soft on the inside and sweet and sticky on the outside”.
She said: “They are surprisingly simple to make and only require a few easy-to-find ingredients.
“The smell of these buns baking in the oven is enough to have everyone lining up, you’ll soon forget all about the buns from your local bakery!”
READ MORE: Bake off star’s ‘popular’ 2.5kg Christmas cake recipe costs less than £9 to make
Ingredients
- 100ml milk
- 275g plain flour
- 7g fast/quick yeast
- 60g unsalted butter
- One egg
- 50g sugar
- One teaspoon of orange extract
- 50g lemon curd
- Two to three tablespoons of raisins/sultanas
- One tablespoon of lemon zest
- Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
For the glaze:
- Three tablespoons of water
- Five tablespoons of icing sugar
- One tablespoon of lemon juice
- Glazed cherries for decoration
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Method
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk (up to 37C), three tablespoons of flour and one spoonful of sugar. Stir well and leave the bowl in a warm place to allow the yeast to react with the sugar. After 15-20 minutes, foam should appear on the surface of the milk, to indicate that the yeast is being activated.
To the same bowl of yeast mixture, add the melted butter, egg, orange extract, sugar, and sifted plain flour. Hand-knead the ingredients into dough. Jen noted that if the dough is too sticky, a little more flour can be added, but not so much to cause the dough to become too dense.
Once adjusted to the perfect consistency, cover the bowl with cling film and leave it to rise in a warm place for an hour.
In a separate bowl, combine the soft seedless raisins, cinnamon powder and lemon zest, followed by the fruit curd. Mix well then prepare the oven by preheating it to 180C for 20 minutes.
By this time, the dough should have increased in size by two or three times. Once this has happened, transfer it to a table and roll it into a flat layer. Spread the curd mixture on the layer and leave the edges uncoated.
Roll the dough firmly to prevent it from unsticking, then cut the roll into equal-sized portions. According to Jen, each piece should be about 2-3 cm thick.
Place the dough swirl side up and lay each roll 2-3cm apart on a tray lined with some lightly greased baking paper. Next, grease the buns with the mixture made from 50ml of water with one teaspoon of sugar.
Bake the buns in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes. While the buns are baking, combine the icing sugar and lemon juice so it’s ready to glaze the rolls when they’re fresh from the oven.
Finish by topping each one with a glace cherry and enjoy. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days after baking.
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