Homemade Belgian Buns – nothing beats a freshly baked iced bun with a cherry on the top. Filled with homemade Lemon Curd & juicy sultanas – so much better than Greggs!
One of my favourite treats when I go to a cafe or a bakery is an iced bun, especially if there’s a cherry on the top.
Regular readers will know about my love of bread baking and I thought I’d have a go at recreating my favourite cafe treat.
WHAT IS A BELGIAN BUN?
Apparently Belgian Buns aren’t Belgian at all. Although I’m told you can find similar dough based buns known as a rozijnenkoek or couque suisse in bakeries in Belgium.
A Belgian Bun is like a Chelsea Bun but with icing and a cherry on the top. OH and I had a debate about the filling in a Belgian Bun – should there be lemon curd with the sultana filling ?
The famous Belgian Bun from Greggs has lemon curd inside. So my plan was to offer my taste testers a “with curd” and a “without curd” bun.
It never happened because everyone who tried the first batch of buns loved the lemon curd filling and said this is what makes the buns so special.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSTANT YEAST & ACTIVE DRY YEAST?
I’ve used instant yeast in the recipe, often called fast action or quick yeast. This yeast has the advantage that you can add it directly to your flour.
I like to use Dove’s Farm Quick Yeast which comes in a handy 125g packet. Once opened, Dove’s Farm Yeast will keep for up to two months if you store it in a cool dry place. I order my yeast from Amazon in packs of three and the Use Before date has always been a couple of years in the future.
Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved first and left to bloom.
CAN I USE ACTIVE DRY YEAST IN THIS RECIPE?
Yes you can!
Add 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast to the warm milk along with a spoon of the caster sugar, stir and leave for 10 to 15 minutes to bubble up.
Now you’re ready to make the dough.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BELGIAN BUNS
Homemade Belgian Buns are easy to make.
Make the dough in a breadmaker or stand mixer. Alternatively, you can make the dough by hand. Knead until your dough is smooth and elastic and check with the window pane test.
The windowpane test is a consistently reliable way to check your dough is ready. Pinch off a small piece of dough and gently stretch it apart, pulling and rotating the dough into a thin membrane, or window pane, which is translucent when you hold it up to the light.
Leave to rise and then all you need to do is roll out the proved dough.
Spread with lemon curd and sultanas, roll up like a swiss roll and slice ready to prove again.
Then it’s time to bake and cool.
Then top with lemon icing and a cherry – Homemade Belgian Buns couldn’t be easier.
IF YOU LIKE HOMEMADE BELGIAN BUNS ……you might also like:
Sweet & Spicy Christmas Tree Bread
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Homemade Belgian Buns
Equipment
- 2 x large baking trays / sheets
Ingredients
Sweet Dough
- 450 g strong white bread flour
- 1 tbsp instant yeast I use Doves Farm
- 4 tbsp caster sugar superfine sugar
- 115 g softened salted butter
- 200 ml warm milk
- 1 egg beaten
Filling
- 6 tbsp lemon curd
- 115 g sultanas
Topping
- 300 g icing sugar powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar
- 5 tbsp lemon juice
- 12 glace cherries
Instructions
Make your dough
- Combine all the dough ingredients, in either the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook fitted or in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix on slow speed number 1 for approximately 1 to 2 minutes then on speed number 2 for 8 to 10 minutes.
- If mixing by hand stir the ingredients together until they form a ball and then knead for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Check your dough is sufficiently smooth and elastic to pass the windowpane test.
- Place your dough in a large greased mixing bowl and cover. Leave to rest in a warm place for at least one and a half hours or until doubled in size.
Shape and Bake
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and roll out into a rectangle about 40 x 25 cm (16″ x 10″).
- Spread the dough with lemon curd and sprinkle with the sultanas.
- Starting from a long side, tightly roll up the dough like a swiss roll or jelly roll.
- With a sharp knife cut into 12 even slices.
- Lay slices flat on your lined baking trays and cover with a cloth or greased cling film.
- Leave to rise from approximately 30 to 45 minutes until well risen.
- Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C / 180°C Fan / Gas Mark 6 . Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Make your icing
- Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and mix with the lemon juice until nice and smooth. Add extra lemon juice if necessary, the icing should drop slowly off your spoon.
- Spoon the lemon icing on to the top of each bun and top with a cherry.
Notes
I am taking my mouth wateringly delicious Homemade Belgian Buns to this week’s Fiesta Friday #162 which is a weekly foodie party hosted by the lovely Angie. This will be my first week co hosting so I’m pleased I’ve got a fellow co host, Liz from Spades, Spatulas & Spoons to help me out.
I’m also entering Homemade Belgian Buns into a couple challenges this month:
- Corina’s Cook Once Eat Twice over at Searching For Spice.
- Treat Petite co hosted by Stuart over at Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer, hosted this month by Stuart.
They only need 15 minutes the recipe says 20-25 minutes it’s too long
Hi Taghrid, thanks for getting in touch. Oven temperatures can vary from oven to oven. I bake my Belgian Buns for 25 minutes at 200 C in a conventional oven. I’m wondering if your oven is fan assisted? it can make a difference of up to 20 degrees and would explain why your Belgian Buns were baked in 15 minutes. I’m in the process of updating my site with fan oven temperatures and I’ve added 180 C to the recipe card today.
Is there any way I can prep these a night before and bake them in the morning? If so, at what point should I stop the prep and should it be stored in fridge until the morning!?
Thanks so much!
Hello Sunny, yes you can prep the night before. I find the best results are from retarding the dough in the fridge overnight. Let your dough rise in a covered bowl for about an hour before you put it in the fridge. When you bring it out in the morning let it come back to room temperature before you roll the dough out and spread with lemon curd and sultanas. It usually takes about an hour to come back to room temp in a warm kitchen.
I haven’t tried putting the buns in the fridge ready shaped in case the lemon curd seeps out of the buns.
Hope this helps, let me know how you get on.
These were absolutely delicious! I made these following the recipe exactly, not only were the instructions so easy to follow but the end result was absolutely better than anything I’ve had from a store.
Hi Sarah, I was just about to make these bun when I realised there was no salt mentioned in the recipe. Is this correct? Many thanks.
Hi Ellie. I don’t use salt in my sweet doughs as I tend to use salted butter. I always have salted butter in my fridge as unsalted doesn’t have a very long shelf life. You have raised a good point though so thank you for bringing it up. I’ll amend my recipe to include salted butter instead of butter. You could of course use unsalted butter and add half teaspoon salt if you prefer. Do let me know how you get on 🙂
Thanks so much for your prompt reply Sarah, I really appreciate it.
I have just made these buns and OMG, they are fabulous! I’m so pleased to have stumbled across your lovely site, and have already made a mental note of several of your recipes for the future. Thanks again. ????
You’re most welcome Ellie. Glad to hear my reply got to you before you made your Belgian Buns and so pleased they turned out so well. They’re a family favourite and vanish pretty quickly, sometimes before I ice them. It’s a pleasure to share the recipe and look forward to hearing from you again.
Those Belgian buns looks so soft and delicious, I feel like grabbing some from the screen. Saving the recipe to try them later.
I’m rubbish at baking but these look so good I think I’m going to give them a try! And I agree, lemon curd filling for the win!
WOW, these Belgian buns look super fluffy and delicious, but they are also topped with a bit of icing and a cute cherry which convinces me to make them really soon! I need to make these as I have never made these before. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These Belgian buns look absolutely yummy! Need to add this recipe to our fall baking must-make list!
What a delicious buns recipe to try at home. Looks fantastic. I wish I could grab one right now. I am making this recipe soon.
Wow! You are quite the baker! These Belgium buns look to die for! Can’t wait to make these for the holidays,
WOW, this looks great! I have never tried anything like this. Looking forward to making it. Thanks for sharing.
Those Belgian buns look amazing! I’ll be making them for breakfast tomorrow
Thanks Dennis, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
What a wonderful homemade Belgian buns recipe. These were so delicious and the flavors and texture came out perfect. Will make again.
Thanks Julie, so pleased to hear you’ll be making them again.
Your Belgian buns recipe looks really delicious and I would love to make this for my kids. Thank you!
Thanks Amy, it’s a pleasure to share the recipe. Do let me know how you get on.
This is such a cute recipe! I think my kids would love to try to make this with me!
Thanks Leslie, my boys used to love rolling up the buns and icing them. I hope you enjoy making them as much as we do.
These iced buns are amazing. I recently made them for an afternoon tea and everyone loved them.
Thanks Alexis, so pleased you enjoyed Homemade Belgian Buns.
These Belgian bars are adorable and delicious! I love the cute cherry on top. Another great recipe from you, thank you!
Thanks Emily, you’re most welcome. It’s a pleasure to share the recipe.
I’ve never had a Belgian bun but now I’m obsessed, the lemon curd puts it over the top for me 🙂
These are almost too pretty to eat! I’ve never tried making Belgian buns , I’m excited to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
You’re most welcome Taleen, do let me know how you get on.
As a lover of Belgium Buns I really have to try this recipe it sounds perfect, but with just two of us here and twelve buns it is a lot, can they be frozen?
Hi Dave, thanks for stopping by. Good news – my Belgian Buns freeze really well. We often freeze ours as like you say twelve buns are a lot for two people to eat and they are best eaten on the same day.
Hi
These are fantastic..
I am a new lockdown inspired baker and after following this recipe it was suggested to me I had cheated and bought them from a real baker!
…..and I didn’t even have any Lemon Curd!
My marmalade substitute obviously didn’t detract to much????????.
Will be making them again strictly to the recipe.
Thanks
Hi is the temperature for fan assisted oven or a normal oven ?
Hi Gary, sorry this reply is late. I’ve had a bit of a break from my blog. It’s for a normal oven so set at 10 or 20 degrees less depending on your convection oven.
Made these a few times now, mother in law says perfect now but 1 issue I now need to make them every week!! Great recipe.
Tried baking these, they look awesome, saving them for fathers day… couldn’t resist eating one before .. absolutely delicious recipe!!!
Just made these for my family and they are incredible! Utterly delicious!
I made these today and they are AMAZING! So easy to make and taste delicious. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 It won’t let me rate the recipe below but it’s 5 star for sure!
You are quite right to put Lemon Curd in as Belgium Buns should always have this as part of it’s ingredients otherwise it just becomes an iced fruit bun. I am a trained baker by the way and have managed several bakeries 🙂
Thanks for popping by Mike, thanks for the info – good to hear from a professional baker.
These look flippin’ delicious! DELICIOUS I tell you!!!!!! 😀
Thank you for entering these into Treat Petite. That icing just looks so tempting and inviting. Would love to bite right into one of these!
Thanks Stuart and always a pleasure to link up with #TreatPetite 🙂
Thanks Derek, homemade lemon curd makes all the difference if you have time to make some. Do let me know how you get on 🙂
These look amazing! Filling them with lemon curd is just genius! Thanks for linking up with #TreatPetite
Thanks for the lovely compliment Kat and always a pleasure to link up with #TreatPetite x
These look and sound perfect and CUTE! That filling has me drooling over here. It’s almost 12am and your photos got me craving sweets!
Thanks April, apologies for causing your sugar craving 🙂
oh wow!! I love the filling and the toppings of these buns. Sounds perfect for tea time!
Thanks Manju, we love a teatime treat here at the Kitchen Shed 🙂
These buns look absolutely delicious. I am going to have to try my hand at these. Thanks for sharing your easy recipe
Thanks Jennifer, it’s a pleasure to share the recipe, do let me know how you get on 🙂
My daughter loves anything with lemon curd inside, so we both would go for this version, too. Can’t wait to bake up some of these for an Easter treat!
Thanks Lynne, look forward to hearing how you get on 🙂
I love love love Belgian buns. These are going on my (admitted pretty long so it might take a while!) to try list.
Thanks Charlotte, I do hope you get time to make some 🙂
Ooh you are soooo good at bread Sarah! These look so inviting, and I’d absolutely love to try them. I have to admit that I’ve never come across Belgium buns before, but with that lemon curd rolled up in the dough who could resist! Gorgeous bake!
Angela x
Thanks for such a lovely compliment Angela. My boys and me laugh at my first attempts years ago and they often tell me how much better my bread is now, I’m glad I kept on baking x
İ will not pass my brunch anymore if İ had these yummy looking belgian buns in my plate. bookmarked your recipe..thank you for sharing with us Sarah
Thanks Citra and a pleasure to share the recipe 🙂
I have never had a good hand at baking but my love for lemon curd might make me attempt these!
Thanks Ali, I hope you do try the recipe. I’d definitely have a go, the more you bake the better you get, my boys tell me I’ve improved over the years 🙂
Such a beautiful bun Sarah. I’ve never actually had a bun stuffed with lemon curd (and with a cherry on top for that matter) but it sounds so delicious. . .sort of like a donut. . .only better.
Thanks Lyn, if you like donuts than you’re sure to like a Belgian Bun 🙂
Scrumptious! My girls would love these especially as they always beg for extra cherries. I’m sure these are fun to make too!
Thanks Amy, we did have fun decorating them 🙂
These look divine! Every week when I was young, Mum would take us three girls to swimming lessons, we each got to choose a cake from Tesco bakery first, little sis went for giant cookie, middle sis went for double choc muffin and I ALWAYS went for Belgium Bun. Need to perfect a GF/DF version these days!!!
Thanks Rebecca, nice to meet a fellow Belgian Bun fan. Vicki has a gluten free flour I’m thinking of trying and to make it dairy free a soy milk would be a good alternative.
Thank you so much for selecting my potato salad recipe to be featured in this week’s Fiesta Friday! And the lovely write-up that came with it:)
You’re most welcome Monika, your salad looked delicious and I’m looking forward to trying it soon 🙂
Perfect buns and they look so pretty with the cherry on top. I could just eat one with a cup of tea.
Thanks Gillian, we love a cherry on the top here at the Kitchen Shed 🙂
Oooh yum! These looks and sounds like the perfect treat! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thanks Kirsty, always a pleasure to link up with #CookBlogshare x
I haven’t heard of these before. They look like the perfect treat with coffee. Just gorgeous!
Thanks Antonia, they do go well with a cup of coffee or two 🙂
I’ve never had a Belgian bun either, but I love lemon curd so I’d totally try this. Maybe without the raisins though, not a fan. Looks nice anyway 🙂
Thanks Jacqueline, do let me know if you try the raisin free version. 🙂
These look fabulous! I’ve been playing around with this kind of bread with my gluten-free flour blends…they are never quite like the gluten containing version but they are darn tasty none the less. I need to make some like yours with icing and a cherry!
I agree Vicki, my favs x
Thanks Vicki, I’ve heard about your fabulous gluten free flour. Let me know how your gluten free version goes 🙂
Those look really gorgeous! I love lemon curd so definitely ‘with’ in my book.
Thanks Helen, it seems everyone is with us on the lemon curd 🙂
These look gorgeous.I am so into baking buns at the moment.Any enriched dough is hard to beat I think!
Thanks Jenny, I love baking with enriched doughs too.
Those buns look so yum and so fresh. I can think of thousand ways to use them. yummy
Thanks Aish and thanks for popping by 🙂
Ok…so I would just devour these for breakfast. Anything with lemon curd is perfect in my books. Homemade buns are the best.
Thanks Gloria, we love homemade here at the Kitchen Shed. I haven’t had one for breakfast yet but it sounds a good idea 🙂
They look cute!! First time hearing of Belgian buns, though.
They sound delicious Sarah, I would probably prefer version with curd 😉 Can you believe I have never tried them?
Thanks Margot, if you like iced buns than you’ll love a Belgian Bun 🙂
I haven’t ever had a belgium bun. These look good!
I love a Belgian bun but I’ve never had a homemade one before – I bet these are amazing!
Thanks Mandy, homemade are so much fresher and softer than bought ones.
these look so good – so professional and neat. I especially love that they have a lemon curd filling – mmmm!
Thanks for the lovely compliment Jenny and thanks for popping by 🙂
I need to start calling you the baking guru… Lol. I love the look of these buns, I would love to have them without the icing, not too much of an icing fan.
Thanks for the lovely compliment Fred. The icing is quite sweet and I’m sure they’ll still be a special treat without.
Wow Sarah, this is one delicious looking recipe. I love pastries and one of our favorites is the lemon filled. I’m pinning this for when I’m treating John and I for a very special breakfast!
Thanks for pinning Julie, I hope you enjoy your breakfast treat 🙂
These buns look gorgeous Sarah, and they are probably better than ones you would get in a cafe, I love the lemon curd in them:)
Thanks Monika, the lemon curd has certainly proved a popular choice.
I like these buns a lot!
Yum! Lemon curd filled buns sounds like such a special treat! 🙂 Thank you for co hosting FF and enjoy the weekend 🙂
Thanks Petra, it’s been great to join in the Fiesta fun. 🙂
Sarah, I am not much of a baker but these look delicious and I adore lemon curd. These would be perfect for Easter! Oh yum!
Thanks Liz, I’ve made some more lemon curd for another batch. Thanks for helping me cohost the Fiesta party for the first time 🙂
This looks great! We (Belgians) never have them as cute as yours 😮 Love them!
Thanks Sarah and thanks for the compliment, I would love to try a Belgian Bun from Belgium 🙂
With curd, of course! Always! ? They look great, Sarah! So special with the icing and cherry on top. Thanks for cohosting. Have fun!
Thanks Angie and thanks for asking me to cohost Fiesta Friday, it’s certainly been a lot of fun.
Wow these Belgian buns look so good Sarah, just like you might get in the bakery! I think I would like the ones with lemon curd in the middle as well so I agree with your taste testers. Drooling now!
Thanks Lucy, that’s so very kind of you. We’ve gone lemon curd mad here and I’m making some more buns this weekend.