Chelsea Buns
A spiral of enriched dough rolled around currants and spice, baked touching so the sides stay soft, and glazed sticky while hot. Named after a bun house George III used to visit.
Photograph credit: Chelsea Buns by MarkvanJaarsveld · CC0 1.0 · Wordpress
Build the Meal Around Chelsea Buns
- A pot of tea
- Butter, if you must
- Eaten warm from the tin
Photograph credit: Fitzbillies Chelsea Buns by dullhunk · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
How to Cook Chelsea Buns
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Mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar, warm milk and egg to a rough dough, then knead 10 minutes until smooth.
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Add the salt, then work in the 60 g butter a piece at a time until fully absorbed.
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Cover and prove 90 minutes, until doubled.
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Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle about 40 by 30 cm.
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Spread the 80 g softened butter over it, then scatter the brown sugar, spices, currants, candied peel and lemon zest, leaving a clear 2 cm border along one long edge.
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Roll up tightly from the other long edge and pinch the seam closed.
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Refrigerate the log 20 minutes, then cut it into 9 equal slices with a sharp knife.
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Set the slices cut side up in a lined 23 cm square tin, packed close so they will touch as they rise.
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Prove 45 minutes more, until the buns are touching and puffed.
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Bake at 180°C / 355°F fan / 200°C / 390°F / gas 6 for 25 minutes, until golden on top.
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Boil the 3 tbsp sugar and water together 2 minutes to a syrup and brush it over the buns the moment they leave the oven.
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Dust with the last of the caster sugar and pull them apart while still warm.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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Worth Knowing Before You Cook
Bake them touching. Buns baked apart go dry.
Glaze them straight out of the oven while they are hot.
Twenty minutes in the fridge before slicing keeps the spirals round.
Keeping What's Left
In a tin for 2 days. Freezes 2 months. Warm briefly before serving.
Chelsea Buns: Your Questions Answered
How long does Chelsea Buns take to make?
30 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours 35 minutes of proving the dough twice, so allow 3 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 9.
Chelsea Buns Nutrition Facts
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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