Sticky spiced-orange Chelsea buns, Signature

Dan Beasley-Harling’s Sticky Spiced-Orange Chelsea Buns

The handshake card

• Baker: Dan Beasley-Harling
• UK series: Series 9 (2018)
• Week/theme: Week 3, Bread
• Challenge: Signature
• Handshake fact: Dan received a Hollywood handshake for his sticky spiced-orange Chelsea buns.
• Yield: 12 portions
• Difficulty: Needs skill
• Official timing: 45 minutes hands-on, plus rising; 20 minutes baking
• Source: Dan’s Sticky Spiced Orange Chelsea Buns, The Great British Bake Off
• Evidence: Master index entry #22; research sources [S1], [S2], [S7].

Why it earned the handshake

Dan’s buns make the filling do double duty: sultanas and spice bring warmth, while homemade candied orange peel supplies a tender, fragrant bitterness that survives the bake. The official recipe’s defining move is to use the peel’s cooking syrup as a glaze, then finish with a quick orange icing. It is a bread that earns its stickiness honestly, through time and citrus rather than a shortcut.

Ingredients

Dough

• 200ml whole milk
• 50g unsalted butter
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• Finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed orange
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 10g fast-action dried yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp orange extract

Filling and candied peel

• 150g sultanas
• 3 tbsp brandy
• 2 large oranges, quartered
• 300g caster sugar
• 100g light brown soft sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 50g unsalted butter, softened, for spreading

Finish

• 100g icing sugar
• A squeeze of juice from the reserved oranges

You will also need water for blanching and candying the peel, a buttered baking tin, and a piping bag or paper cone for the icing.

Method

1. Warm the milk with the butter until the butter is almost melted. Put it in a mixer bowl with the remaining dough ingredients and knead with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let it rise for about 1 hour, until doubled.
2. Warm the sultanas with the brandy for 1–2 minutes, then cool them in their liquid. Peel the orange quarters into 5mm strips, reserving the fruit for the icing. Boil the peel in fresh water for about 10 minutes; change the water and repeat twice, until the pith is translucent.
3. Dissolve the 300g caster sugar in 150ml water. Add the peel, boil for 5 minutes, then drain and reserve the syrup. Cool the peel and dice it. Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Knock back the risen dough and roll it into a 35–40cm square. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C; 180°C fan). Spread over the softened butter, then the spiced sugar, sultanas, and candied peel.
5. Roll up tightly from the near edge. Trim the ends and cut into 12 pieces. Arrange them cut-side up in a buttered tin in three rows of four. Cover and prove for about 1 hour, until the dough springs back slowly when touched.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, turn out as one piece, and brush with warmed candied-orange syrup.
7. Mix the icing sugar with just enough orange juice to make an icing that settles back into itself in about 20 seconds. Pipe diagonal lines over the buns.

Baker’s tips

• Blanch the peel fully; the repeated water changes soften the pith and tame its bitterness.
• Roll the dough tightly enough for a defined spiral, but do not crush the layers.
• Let the second proof finish before baking: under-proved buns can split, while over-proved buns lose their lift.
• Warm only a little syrup at a time for glazing so the buns stay glossy rather than wet.

Make-ahead

The candied peel and syrup can be made ahead and chilled. Shape the buns the day before, cover, and refrigerate for a slow overnight proof; allow them to lose their chill and finish rising before baking. Ice once cool.