Iced buns recipe

Love iced buns? Why not make your own. This recipe was first published in Woman's Weekly in June 1956 and is a delight with its soft and sweet bun topped with pink and white icing

Ingredients

• 500g (1lb) plain flour
• ½ level tsp salt
• 60g (2oz) butter
• 90g (3oz) caster sugar
• 1 x 7g sachet easy-bake dried yeast (¾oz fresh yeast)
• 2 medium eggs
• Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
• 225ml (7½fl oz) milk, warmed (tepid)

For the icing:

• 175g (6oz) icing sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Pink food colouring, optional

Large baking sheet, buttered

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Warm it in a low oven for a few mins or in the microwave on High for 30 secs. Rub in the butter, then stir in the sugar and dried yeast. Make a well in the centre. Beat the eggs with the lemon rind, add the milk and pour into the dry ingredients.
2. Using your hands, work in the flour to a soft, elastic dough (almost like a very thick batter), then beat it with your hand for 10 mins. Or make the dough in an electric mixer with a dough hook. Cover the dough with a damp cloth, or cling film, and leave in warm place until doubled in size. This could take about 1½ hrs.
3. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and divide into 12. Form each piece into a long bun by kneading it, then rolling it on the surface with your hands lightly. Place buns spaced apart in 2 rows on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with oiled cling film and put in a warm place to rise. This could take 30 mins.
4. Set the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7.
5. When buns have risen nicely, bake them for 10 mins, then turn the oven down to Gas Mark 5 or 190°C and bake for 2-3 mins. The buns should rise a lot, and be touching each other when baked. Put on a wire rack to cool.
6. To ice the buns: Mix the sifted icing sugar to a thick, smooth icing with the lemon juice and 4-5 teaspoons water. Break the buns apart and spoon the icing over them using a dessertspoon. Ice half of them white, then add a few drops of pink food colouring to the rest of the icing and ice the rest of the buns