Buns

Method

For the Raspberry Gel and Reduction

1. Into a medium heat-proof bowl, add the frozen raspberries and pour the sugar over the top. Toss them gently to combine. Tightly wrap the surface of the bowl with cling film so that it is completely sealed.

2. Place a medium saucepan on the hob, filling it ⅓ with water. Bring this to a gentle simmer.

3. Immediately lower the heat to its lowest setting and place the bowl of raspberries on top. Let this sit on the pan for 2 hours.

4. After 2 hours, place a sieve lined with kitchen paper over a large bowl and pour the cooked raspberries into the sieve. 

5. Place the bowl into the fridge for 2 hours (or ideally overnight), allowing the raspberry syrup to drip into the bowl underneath.

6. Scoop the raspberry reduction out of the sieve and scoop this into a bowl. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to use. 

7. Take the raspberry liquid from the bowl, and pour it into a jug sitting on a digital scale. For every 100g of raspberry syrup, we are going to add 1g of agar agar powder. (So for example, if the liquid weighs 120g, add 1.2g of agar agar powder)

8. Add the raspberry syrup and the agar agar powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, whisking to combine. Once at a boil, cook for 1 minute.

9. Remove it from the heat and pour it onto a shallow baking tray and set it in the fridge to cool until firm to the touch (this should take about 30 minutes). 

10. Once firm, break the gel into pieces and blend until smooth. Set this gel aside, covered in the fridge, until ready to use.

For the Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add milk, eggs and yeast. On top of that, pour the flour, sugar & finally the salt. Add in the lemon zest & vanilla.

2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a medium low speed, scraping down the sides half way through to make sure everything is incorporated.

3. After 10 minutes, add in the cubed cold butter a little at a time, and increase the speed to medium. Once all the butter has incorporated, knead for a further 3 minutes by which point the dough should be nice and smooth.

4. Lift the dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Gently shape it into a smooth round ball and lift it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and proof the dough for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

5. Once proofed, remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into 100g pieces. You should get 6 pieces of dough in total.

6. Take each piece of dough and roughly shape it into a tight ball. Then, using your hand, flatten the dough into a rough oval shape, flip it over, so the smooth side is now facing down, and the short edge of the dough is facing towards you.

7. If the dough has started to contract, just press it out again with your fingers.

8. Use your fingers to gently blend the bottom edge of the dough into the work surface. Then, starting at the top, tightly roll the dough on itself, into a log shape. You might need a tiny bit of flour on your hands as you do this, but avoid using too much or it will prevent the dough from sticking together. 

9. Once you’ve got the log shape, gently roll it back and forth on the surface, and then use your fingers to apply some pressure at the ends of the dough, pressing down and rocking the dough back and forth, to form small ‘tails’ on the end of the dough (almost like a baguette)

10. Carefully lift the dough, seams side down, onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining dough. 

11. Cover the dough loosely with a tea towel and allow it to proof again for another 1-1.5 hours until the dough has increased in size about 1.5x.

12. Just before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 180C/355F (non-fan assisted).

13. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk.

14. Use a pastry brush to paint an even coating over the dough and then place the dough into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

15. Remove from the oven and lift them onto a wire cooling rack, to cool completely.

For the cream

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the double cream and icing sugar until you have a medium peak.

Assembly

1. Cut your bun down the centre (like a hot dog!) and add a small amount of the raspberry pulp across the bottom of the bun. I wouldn’t recommend overloading your bun with this! If you want to take this to the next level, you can also add some crème pâtissière from Tier 1 too! 

2. Fill the rest of the bun with the whipped cream. Then, using a warm palette knife, scrape across the edge of the bun to smooth the cream and create a nice clean finish. You’ll be left with a little cream around the edges, so I tend to use my (clean!) finger to remove this.

3. Next, add your raspberry gel to a piping bag and cut a small hole at the end. Pipe the gel onto your bun as you wish. I went full-on hot dog and piped mine like ketchup in a zigzag pattern over the cream.

4. Finally, dust your optional raspberry powder over the top of the bun, and add the optional edible flowers. Repeat for all buns.