The Chelsea bun is a type of
currant bun that was first baked in the 18th century at the
Bun House in
Chelsea, an establishment favoured by
Hanoverian royalty accustomed to similar pastries in their native cuisine. The shop was demolished in 1839.
[Alan Davidson "Bun" in ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 114 ]
The bun is made of a rich
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
dough flavoured with
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
peel,
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
or mixed
spice
In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
.
The dough is rolled out, spread with a mixture of
currants,
brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
and
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
, then formed into a square-sided log. The process of making this bun is very similar to that involved in producing the
cinnamon roll
A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon scroll, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria, Estonia, The Netherlands and ...
.
[Pamela Foste]
''Abbey Cooks Entertain''
Burlington, Ontario: Pamela Powered Inc., p.50 After being baked, traditionally the chelsea bun is
glazed with syrup (or cold water and sugar). It is glazed while still hot so that the water evaporates and leaves a sticky sugar coating. Commercially made buns are sometimes topped with glace icing.
See also
*
List of British breads
This is a list of bread products made in or originating from Britain. British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Bread prepared from mixed grains was introduced to Great Britain aro ...
*
List of buns
*
List of sweet breads
Here is a list of sweet breads. Sweet bread, also referred to as pan dulce, buns, or coffee bread, is a bread or cake that is typically sweet in flavor. Some sweet breads, such as Portuguese pão doce, may be prepared with potato flour, which im ...
*
Mohnstrudel, a similar European bread filled with poppy seeds or chopped nuts.
*
Belgian bun, a similar British cake but covered in icing.
References
External links
*
How to make Chelsea buns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea Bun
British breads
British cakes
Sweet breads
Yeast breads
Buns
Raisin dishes