Paul Hollywood's Chelsea Buns

I wanted to do some baking today so I decided to take inspiration from the last GBBO masterclass, I literally cannot wait for the Christmas special! I chose to make Paul Hollywood's Chelsea Buns, now I have to admit that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Paul on the one hand he can irritate me but on the other hand I can't help but admire his talent ....... and eyes. 

Ingredients:

500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting.

1 tsp salt.

1 x 7g sachet fast-acting yeast.

300ml/10fl oz milk.

40g/1½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the tin.

1 free-range egg.

Vegetable oil, for greasing.

Filling:

25g/1oz unsalted butter, melted

1 orange, zest only, grated

75g/2½oz soft brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

100g/3½oz dried cranberries

100g/3½oz sultanas

100g/3½oz dried apricots

To Finish:

1 heaped tbsp apricot jam

200g/7oz icing sugar, sifted

1 orange, zest only, grated

Method:

1. Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast.

2. Warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is melted and the mixture is lukewarm. Pour into the flour mixture, add the egg and stir thoroughly until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead well for five minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and leave to rise, covered with a damp tea towel, for one hour or until doubled in size.

5. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough into a rectangle about 30x20cm/12x8in.

6. Brush all over with the melted butter. Evenly sprinkle the orange zest over the buttered surface, followed by the sugar, cinnamon and dried fruit.

7. Tack down the long side of the dough rectangle nearest to you by pressing it down onto the work surface with your thumb. Roll the opposite long side of the dough towards you quite tightly, until the roll is complete and tight. With a sharp knife cut into 10 4cm/1¾in thick rounds.

8. Grease a deep roasting tin or baking tray thoroughly with butter.

9. Place the buns, cut side up, into the greased baking tray leaving about 1cm/½in of space between each one. You want them to be close enough so that when they rise further and then bake, they will bake with their sides touching. They can then be pulled apart and you get a lovely soft edge.

10. Leave to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.

11. Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

12. When the buns are ready, put them in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden-brown. Check after 15 minutes or so and cover the buns with foil if they are getting too brown.

13. Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool slightly before transferring them from the tin to a cooling rack.

14. Melt the jam in a small saucepan with a splash of water until smooth. Brush the jam over the buns to glaze and allow to cool.

15. Mix together the icing sugar, orange zest and two tablespoons water. Drizzle the icing over the cooled buns and allow to set before serving.

And there you have it, I'm quite pleased with these for a first attempt I think next time I'll bake them individually and see if it makes any difference, you never know until you try! I really recommend making these they taste like Christmas it's amazing!

 Chloe xo

The Great British Bake Off - Victoria Sponge

Today I'm having severe withdrawal symptoms now that The Great British Bake Off has ended, what will I do on Tuesday evenings now? Anyway I decided to take some inspiration from the How To Bake book that coincided with the last series and tried my hand at making the 'perfect' Victoria sponge.

Ingredients:

4 free range eggs

225g/8oz caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake

225g/8oz sifted self-raising flour

225g/8oz baking spread, margarine or soft butter at room temperature, plus a little extra to grease the tins

1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract

1 tbsp of milk

A jar of raspberry jam

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8in sandwich tins: use a piece of baking or silicone paper to rub a little baking spread or butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking or silicone paper (to do this, draw around the base of the tin onto the paper and cut out).

3. Whisk the butter for 1 minute until it's light and fluffy (ideally the butter should be at room temperature, when place in the bowl.)

4. Break eggs into a separate bowl and then put in the 1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract and lightly beat together, after add a spoonful of the egg mixture into the creamed butter, then thoroughly whisk every time each tablespoon is added. This should take around 5 minutes.

5. Next gradually beat in the sugar until thoroughly mixed, after add the tbsp of milk, then sift the self raising flour again, once this is done add it to the mixture and gently fold in with a metal spoon until the streaks of flour disappear. Remember not to over mix as this with knock all the air out making the cake heavy.

6. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.

7. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the door while they're cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check them.

8. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.

9. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel – then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack.

10. Set aside to cool completely, to assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. If you want to, you can spread over whipped cream too. Top with the second cake, top-side up and sprinkle over a dusting of icing sugar.

And there you have it the perfect victoria sponge, hope you've enjoyed my first post. What's your favourite cake to bake?

Chloe xo