Mar 9

Homemade Belgian Buns

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. 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 (I’m back in Leicester for a while so I’ve plenty at hand) 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.

Homemade Belgian Buns are easy to make; the dough can be mixed in a breadmaker or stand mixer and is then left to rise.

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.


Tempted ? If you’d like to try Homemade Belgian Buns for yourself, here it is an easily printable form. Just hit the PRINT button on the recipe card below.

 

4.9 from 14 reviews
Homemade Belgian Buns
 
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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!
Author:
Recipe type: Teatime Treat
Cuisine: Bread Baking
Serves: 12 buns
Ingredients

Sweet dough:
  • 450 g (3 ¼ cups) strong white bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon fast action yeast
  • 4 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 115 g (4 oz) softened butter
  • 200 ml (7 fluid oz) warm milk
  • 1 egg - beaten

Filling:
  • 6 tablespoons lemon curd
  • 115 g (4 oz) sultanas

Topping:
  • 300 g (10 oz) icing sugar
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 12 glace cherries

You will need:
  • 2 large baking trays.
Instructions

Make your dough:
  1. Combine all the dough ingredients, in either the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook fitted or in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Mix on slow speed number 1 for approximately 1 to 2 minutes then on speed number 2 for 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. If mixing by hand stir the ingredients together until they form a ball and then knead for 10 to 12 minutes.
  4. Check your dough is sufficiently smooth and elastic to pass the windowpane test.
  5. Place your dough in a large greased mixing bowl and cover.
  6. Leave to rest in a warm place for at least one and a half hours or until doubled in size.

Shape and bake your Belgian Buns:
  1. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and roll out into a rectangle about 40 x 25 cm (16″ x 10″).
  2. Spread the dough with lemon curd and sprinkle with the sultanas.
  3. Starting from a longside, tightly roll up the dough like a swiss roll or jelly roll and with a sharp knife cut into 12 even slices.
  4. 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.
  5. Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C / Gas Mark 6
  6. Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Make your icing:
  1. Sieve 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.

Decorate:
  1. Spoon the lemon icing onto the top of each bun and top with a cherry.
Notes
Preparation time does not include proving times.

Pin Homemade Belgian Buns for later:

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!

Let’s keep in touch! You can find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

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 form Spades, Spatulas & Spoons to help me out.

I’m also entering Homemade Belgian Buns into a couple challenges this month:


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80 thoughts on “Homemade Belgian Buns”

  1. 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 🙂

    Reply

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  8. OMG that lemon curd inside the bun looks to die for!! I was trying to figure out what the difference between this and a traditional cinnamon bun is, and the second I saw the lemon curd, I was like “oh, yeah I’ve gotta try this!”

    Reply

    • Thanks Derek, homemade lemon curd makes all the difference if you have time to make some. Do let me know how you get on 🙂

      Reply

  12. 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

    Reply

    • 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

      Reply

    • 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 🙂

      Reply

  17. 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!!!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  23. 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!

    Reply

    • Thanks Gloria, we love homemade here at the Kitchen Shed. I haven’t had one for breakfast yet but it sounds a good idea 🙂

      Reply

  33. 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.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the lovely compliment Fred. The icing is quite sweet and I’m sure they’ll still be a special treat without.

      Reply

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  36. 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!

    Reply

    • Thanks Liz, I’ve made some more lemon curd for another batch. Thanks for helping me cohost the Fiesta party for the first time 🙂

      Reply

  43. 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!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

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