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!