A delicious enriched yeast dough rolled with a filling of sugar and dried fruits these Traditional Chelsea Buns are heavenly served warm from the oven. They are also pretty darn good the next day served for breakfast with coffee.
Regulars to the blog will know that I like to bake along to the Great British Bake Off on television, so when a recent episode had the contestants making Chelsea Buns for their signature bake on bread week, I knew instantly that I would be making them for the blog, regardless of their other tasks.
A good Chelsea bun is a thing of beauty and I had been meaning to share a recipe for them on the blog for a while but had not got round to it.
Buns and sweet yeasted breads are probably my favourite kind of bake and while you can easily buy them in the shops they seldom live up to expectations unless you make them yourself or buy them from a quality bakery.
On bake off, of course, there were all kinds of variations as each contestant tried to outshine the other and for a moment I thought about how I would make the recipe my own variation.
I was toying with the idea of adding chopped apple, I even got as far as chopping one up but in the end, I decided the traditional classic Chelsea bun is actually hard to beat and so decided against it.
Jane Grigson declared in English Food that the Chelsea bun is “the best of all buns, on account of their melting buttery sweetness.” I think that's about right but by all means, add your own twist to the filling or dough if you wish.
A lot of recipes finish the buns with icing but it is not traditional. Sometimes they are sprinkled with sugar (I seem to recall my dad's were sprinkled with nibbed sugar) but I think that is rather gilding the lily and just is not necessary.
Traditionally they would have been brushed with a simple sugar glaze, I have instead opted for brushing the tops whilst still warm with a little honey instead. It saves making a glaze and this is Recipes Made Easy after all!
A Brief History of The Chelsea Bun
The buns were made famous during the eighteenth century at the Chelsea Bun House, situated on the Chelsea Pimlico borders on a street no longer in existence.
Long queues would form outside the shop of people waiting to buy these prized and very popular buns. There’s a Bunhouse Place which runs between Passmore Street and Bourne Street and, close to the remains of the old Ranelagh Gardens, which is believed to be the exact location.
For a more detailed history of the Chelsea buns read this post by The Londonist.
Traditional Chelsea Buns Step by Step
Rub the butter into the flour. Stir in the sugar and yeast. Add the egg and milk and mix to a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Place in a bowl cover. Leave in a warm place for about 2 hours until doubled in size. Lightly knead the dough. Roll out to a rectangle. Brush liberally with melted butter Sprinkle with fruit and sugar. Roll up from one long side. Brush the cut surface with a little butter. Cover and leave to rise. Cut into 9 equal pieces. Bake until golden. while still warm, brush with a little honey.
Traditional Chelsea Buns
Ingredients
- 500 g strong plain white bread flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 50 g butter
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 7 g sachet easy blend yeast
- 1 large free-range egg
- 225 ml lukewarm milk
filling
- 50 g butter
- 150 g currants or mixed dried fruits
- 50 g light muscovado sugar
- a little honey to glaze
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumb, stir in the yeast and sugar.
- Beat the egg and milk together and add to the bowl, mix to form a soft slightly wet dough (add a splash more milk if required).
- Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes. If you have a stand mixer you can let that do the hard work instead. As the gluten develops it will lose some of its stickiness.
- Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size
- Melt the butter for the filling and use a little to grease a 23cm (9in) square cake tin. Turn the risen dough out onto a work surface and lightly knead. Roll into a rectangle about 35 x 25cm (14 x10in).
- Brush the butter very liberally allover the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the fruit followed by the sugar evenly over the surface of the dough. Drizzle over most of the remaining butter.
- Roll up like a Swiss roll from the long side, then using a sharp knife cut into 9 equally pieces (I used a serrated knife and a gently sawing action so as not to squash the roll out of shape.)
- Arrange the pieces in the greased tin and brush the surface with a little more of the melted butter. Cover loosely with cling film then leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes to rise.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6. remove the cling film and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with a little warm honey.
- Allow to stand in the tin for a few minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
More Sweet Yeasted Breads Made Easy
If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below, I love to hear how you get on making it too!
Avril Eastwood
Hi Jacqui, been looking for a traditional Chelsea bun recipe. Yours fits the bill, just have to adjust for a vegan diet. As I want to make them for my sons Foreverday (the day he came to live with us 19 years ago when he was 2) breakfast is it possible to make the dough first step and place in the fridge overnight? Looking forward to teaming them
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Yes you could make them in advance then leave them in the fridge to do a slow second rise overnight. Bring them to room temperature before baking and if your fridge is very cold you make want to leave them to rise a little more at room temperature. What a lovely start to your sone 21st Forever day. I hope it proves very special.
Avril
Thank you so much for replying I made them last night and put them in for their first rise. It was very difficult to roll them out so the dough was maybe not as light as it should have been. Your idea sounds so much more sensible. They were still very delicious and he was really happy with his breakfast. Thank you, brilliant recipe
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Sorry I didn't get back in time but glad you made them and they worked out well. Yeast dough is always a little tricky to roll out as it keeps wanting to spring back. Enjoy the rest of the day.
Avril Eastwood
Oh please don’t apologise you replied superquick. I will be making them again so that information is very valuable. Thank you for your wishes he had a lovely day.
Melanie Thompson
Hi Jacquie,
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS 🙂
I ate one straight away (who can resist that yeasty baking aroma?), two went next door, I ate a further two after supper, two this morning, so only two left for later. Just as well I can afford to put on weight after cancer.
The honey is an inspiration (I used locally produced for anti-histamine properties), a great glaze, and nothing is overly sweet about this recipe.
I have an NSGBBO (Not So Great British Bake Off) every Sunday just for myself and always give to the elderly couple next door who have survived my weekly offerings! I LOVE cooking, and my therapy place is the kitchen.
Yesterday I had a yen for Chelsea Buns (the last time I made them seemed like 100 years ago); I googled the best-rated recipes, and yours appeared in the top 10. I chose yours as it was only for nine buns, had pictures and clear instructions.
I followed your basic recipe but amended it slightly: I added the finely grated zest of one lemon to the milk before warming the infusion for the dough and also added two teaspoons of cinnamon to the sugar filling mix (& used dark muscovado as it's always in my cupboard).
For me, there were too many currants; next time, I will reduce a lot!
The temperature was too high for my fan oven, and I turned it down from 180 to 160 after 10 minutes.
TIPS from me:
1)I used dough hooks on a standard handheld mixer to save effort (don't need a processor)
2)After initial rolling out to get the dimensions, I pressed/patted into an exact shape; it worked!
3) It may be better to push some of the currants into the dough rather than just sprinkling?? This would help with such an abundance of fruit? They either fell out or burnt.
4) Leave one long edge with a clean 1cm margin and roll towards this edge.
I have minimal kitchen equipment as it's all in a container since my return to the UK!
Please email me about all the above.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Hi Melanie, Very pleased to hear you liked the recipe. A Chelsea bun should be quiet fruity a but it can be a little frustrating if the fruit bursts out during baking. Try rolling less tightly.
I like your idea of adding some lemon and I'm sure the extra cinnamon is delicious (I love cinnamon in bakes) if not exactly traditional.
Different ovens can have temperatures can vary from those set, so it may be that your oven is a little on the hot side. Reduce the setting slightly and if you do a lot of baking consider buying an oven thermometer.
Suji
These were fantastic! This was my first attempt baking anything bread like and it was quite intimidating, but the instructions were so easy to follow and it turned out great! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes, since my kids and I have been bingeing on GBBO during the pandemic. Thanks!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Suji I'm so pleased you have had great success with these. Yeast cookery is often seen as intimidating. Such a shame as I think they make some of the very best bakes. I am posting most of my new baking recipes on my baking blog onlycrumbsremain.com which you might like to check out.
Diana
Hi Jacqui. Literally just made these and scoffed one with butter. Divine.
I’ve just recommended you to a friend who I sent photos of my finished buns to. She says they look 10 stars (she’s a good cook) so thank you for kindly sharing the recipe.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Delighted that they were such a success and thank you for recommending me to your friend.
Sue
brilliant recipe very easy to follow and the end result is lovely.
My family were very impressed.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
So pleased it worked well for you and the rest of the family appricated them. Thank you for rating and commenting I love hearing of the sucesses.
Pat
Could these buns be made using plain flour instead of bread flour please?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Hi Pat, While you could make these with regular pain flour, it does not have the same amount of gluten and it is this that gives the dough its characteristic bread texture. Made with plain flour they will be more cake like and may be a little denser and heavier and will not be as nice as when made with bread flour so I would advise against it.
Trina Schaus
Your recipes look like I can handle them so I've got one baking right now. There are some ingredients I'm not sure of (being from Canada) so here's a list of them so far. Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake--- castor sugar (maybe icing sugar--very finely ground sugar??)/// lemon curd--not lemon zest?/// rapeseed oil--canola oil I think?? (we changed the name years ago for obvious reasons!)/// 7 oz. flour--came out to about 1 cup but I had to weigh it (very strange!). Fancy Dinner Rolls---pedal bin liner??//// Easy Apple Traybake--muscovado sugar &
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Glad you like the recipes.Its funny how we share the same language but have a completely different word for some things so In answer to your questions caster sugar is like granulated sugar but the crystals are smaller so they d (it is not the same as icing sugar/powdered sugar). In most cases, you can use granulated sugar as a substitute but you might need to beat for longer. On the lemon drizzle cake I spread the cake with a little lemon curd (a smooth preserve) but that can be omitted. rapeseed is Canola oil. Pedal bin is just a small bin, so a pedal bin liner is just a large plastic/polythene bag. Muscovado sugar is an unrefined soft brown sugar. Muscovado is always unrefined (which is my preference) but not all soft brown sugar is unrefined. Finally, I strongly believe when it comes to baking the only way yo guarantee successes is to specify weights not volume measurements. How you and I measure a cup of any given ingredient may vary especially with things like flour (packed or not packed in) and sugar, the amount of granulated sugar would be slightly different to caster sugar for example but 7oz is 7oz! which is why I do not give any cup measurements on Only Crumbs Remain and only limited here on Recipes Made Easy. Hope this helps do shout out if you want clarification on other ingredients and I will do my best to answer.
Tracy
Lovely easy recipe to follow, I used fresh yeast as that was all I had, would maybe turn oven down slightly not sure if too brown, but really happy with first Chelsea buns I've ever made.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Tracy so pleased you are happy with them. If they are a bit dark or a little dry then do just turn the oven down slightly. You can only use temperatures in a recipe as a guide as everyones oven varies I like working with fresh yeast when i can get it I love the smell. Thank you fo taking time to rate the recipe and leave a comment. It is always lovely to get feedback.
Lyn Isaac
Just wondering if anyone has delayed cooking them after rolling and filling? I would like them for a lunch but would not be able to make them and then give them time to rise before cooking for lunch and I am loathe to let them get cold whilst I am out in the morning. I am sure they would be absolutely luscious if they were still a little warm....
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Hi Lyn You can delay cooking them by putting them in the fridge after rolling and filling them. The cooler temperature will slow the yeast right down so that they do not over prove. Ideally, bring back to room temperature before baking. Hope you enjoy them as you say they are rather luscious while still warm.
Cheryl Tyrrell
I used your recipe but had to adapt the yeast as could not use the sachets. I used 1 teaspoon of active dried yeast which I dissolved in 1 tablespoon of warm water and mixed with the egg and milk.
I used raisins which I chopped, the fine zest of a lemon and satsuma, and a tablespoon of cinnamon. I glazed the buns with icing sugar mixed with lemon juice.
I haven’t baked with yeast before.
The results were spectacular and the buns were eaten in a flash. Very one loved them!
Oh, and I had to use a large round cake tin instead of a square one, but it was fine
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Cheryl I am so pleased you like them. As this is your first time for baking with yeast, well done for successfully swapping the yeast ( i fear we are going to have to adapt a lot over the coming weeks). I hope you continue to enjoy more yeasted bakes they are really one of my favourite types of bakes. If you haven't discovered it already you might want to pop over to my baking blog Only Crumbs Remain as I am now posting ost of my new baking recipes there now.
Sue
Can't wait to try these.... Have such fond memories of growing up in South Africa and having an icing laced Chelsea bun as a treat!
Well, there's always something new to learn, not being very familiar with using yeast, I didn't realise there were different kinds. Hopefully I do the right thing with what I have.
Bought it to make hot cross buns at Easter and, I think, the packaging said 'active live yeast'. I had to put it into another air tight container.
I REALLY want to try these!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Cheryl I'm sure you wont be disapointed these are sooooo good. Do let me know what you think when you have tried them
Jan cole
A really great recipe well done! So much better than a bought one!
I have made your Chelsea buns 3 times now they are absolutely gorgeous. Thank you.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Oh Jan so pleased that you like them, It would seem as much as I do. They are worlds apart from the ones you get in the shops arent they!
Jan Cole
They certainly are Jacqueline.... I am making a batch as I reply to you.
Thank you so much for the great recipe.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
These look gorgeous Jacqui! I would so like one of these right now - such a shame I can't just reach into my computer screen and grab one (I am sure they will develop the technology one day!!) Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine
As I know you are not one for sweet things I take this as an extreme compliment. Thank you, Eb
Anca
Your Chelsea buns look amazing. I'd love to try them. 🙂 x
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Thank you Anca
Shell Louise
I've never actually made a Chelsea bun but I'm very tempted to try all these different recipes #GBBOBloggers2018
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Yes, there are some lovely variations but I'm a bit of a traditionalist here.
Jenny Paulin
Jacqueline these look like Chelsea buns should, Soft and with a gorgeous golden colour. Mmmmm I could easily eat one now with my post school run cuppa! I need to give these a try myself x
Jenny Paulin
PS. thank you for sharing with the GBBOBloggers2018. / GBBOBakeoftheweek x
Jacqui Bellefontaine
I so want to make another batch they are perfect for a mid morning treat
Louise Fairweather
Oh these look great! My boys would be fighting over them. x
Jacqui Bellefontaine
It was the same here 😉
Tracy
Wow, your Chelsea buns look so neat and professional, and I love the photos where you can see how deliciously doughy they are - great Job!
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Thank you Tracy, these prooved easy to shoot I think breads are often very photogenic
Monika Dabrowski
These look glorious, they must taste amazing! You are a star baker Jacqui!
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Thank you Monika You are very kind.