Chelsea Buns with Apricot and Almond flakes

Chelsea Buns with Apricot and Almond flakes



Shopping List:

Strong white flour, 450 gr, plus extra for dusting your worksurface
Easy-blend yeast, 2 x 7gr sachets
Caster sugar, 50 gr
warm milk, 150 ml
1 egg, beaten
Oil, for greasing. I always use olive oil
Salt, 1 teaspoon
warm water, 50 ml



For the topping:

Softened butter, 25 gr
Dried Apricots, finely chopped, 85 gr
toasted flaked almonds, 85 gr, plus extra to decorate ( the ones i buy are always toasted already)
Caster sugar 25 gr
Apricot jam, 2 tablespoons


Put the flour, yeast on the left, sugar  in the middle and 1 teaspoon of salt  on the right, into your large mixing bowl and stir well. Make a well in the centre of your mix and pour in the warm milk,
50 ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything to form a dough. You can start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands and if the dough is too dry you can add a little water, and more flour if it's too wet.

Knead with your hands in your bowl or on a floured work surface until the dough becomes smooth and feels soft and springy. Put the dough into your lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean lightly damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place so it can rise until it has roughly doubled in size. This will take approx. 1 hour but it doesn't matter if it's longer.

Preheat your oven to 200C and grease or spray a 21 or 23 cm cake tin.  Take the risen dough out of your bowl onto your lightly floured worksurface and knead it for a few seconds. Roll out your dough to a rough 20 x 30 cm rectangle. Then spread the butter ( i softened it in my microwave for 10 seconds) evenly over the dough and then sprinkle it with your chopped apricots, almonds and sugar.
Roll it up firmly like you would a Swiss roll from one of the long sides. If it doesn't stick, dampen the edge a bit. With your sharp knife cut the roll into 8 round pin wheels, an then arrange them in your prepared tin with their cut side pointing up. Then you cover it again with a clean damp tea towel and prove it in a warm place again for about 20 minutes or until double in their size.


Bake the Chelsea Buns for 10 minutes in your 200C  preheated oven. Then lower it to 180C for another 10 minutes until golden brown and gorgeous. Melt the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water, brush that all over the buns and then sprinkle them with a few more flaked almonds.


                                              


                                                            "Enjoy"