Extended Christmas Treat

I had no plans to bake today, yet I found myself dancing around the kitchen by lunchtime. 

Since Christmas, I have been storing left over mincemeat from my yummy mince pies which I had no idea what to do with. I know it keeps really well due to the alcohol (and this mincemeat had a hell of a lot of booze in it) but I don’t really have the space to keep it. So after a google and research I settled with mincemeat Chelsea buns. I have made Chelsea buns twice before and really enjoyed the proving and rolling, plus they are so rich and sugary you can’t really go wrong. 

Buying yeast is much harder than I ever thought, so many different types all needing different things to activate them. Unfortunately I bought the dried active yeast which you need to active with water. After working out how to manage the liquid from the recipe and the yeast I decided to just go with it.  

I know my biggest flaw is I watch all my bakes like a hawk and if something doesn’t happen straight away, I fear it will be a disaster. The yeast was really concerning me as I wasn’t seeing it rise as much as I wanted despite proving for double the time. Even so, I carried on layering the mincemeat and rolling up the soft delicate dough.

 

To my absolute relief the buns grew in the oven and looked incredible. Eating them reminded me of when my Nan used to take us to the bakery and we got to pick one treat to take home. It was always a tough decision as you wanted it to be the best thing your going to eat and enjoy that day. Well these buns were the best thing I’ve eaten in ages! So deliciously sweet and rich with the soft dough being moist and so indulgent. So happy I gave this a go today 🤎