Cherry, Orange and Almond Sweet Buns
The base recipe is along the lines of the Slovenian Easter Buns – Velikonocni Kruhki which I had done last year during the spring time. Yes this time in spirit of the advent of spring; of the light, bright, and the cheerful; hoping to bring it on soon with these blooming flavors.
Spring seems to have lost it’s way among the moaning winds, the ice and the snow. I am feeling like a prisoner within the closed doors and windows, and within myself for all these months; the soul craves for that balmy air, the invigorating smells and the pretty buds and blooms; the colors and the air that naturally draws one outdoors, and makes one run around and breathe in and awaken and rejuvenate. Well if I cannot control the weather I can at least make my home smell good with the bread.
Coming to the sweet bread now – the Slovenian buns were much loved when I made them last year. Mildly sweet, nice crust, almond flavored, soft, airy and slightly crumbly inside, and with generous bites of raisins. With the abundance of the oranges and mandarins, I had made some orange sugar (orange zest and sugar mixed together) a couple of weeks back. The sugar smells lovely, fresh and vibrant like a pretty garden. It was time I thought I used the sugar to make something equally refreshing! With the base ingredients intact, I replaced the raisins with dried tart cherries and used a lot of orange. I did not use the egg wash this time, so the bread is all vegetarian.
Note: I am still getting used to my convection oven; it takes less cooking time. The first set of the buns were slightly over done; the bottom turned a shade darker which I did not like. So I reduced the baking time to about 20 minutes the next time in my oven.
Don’t forget H2Ope for Haiti! The raffle is open and live now, and will run till the 28th of February 7th of March. Buy ticket for minimal price and you can win $50 Amazon gift card (my donation), or any other wonderful prizes listed there. We urge you to make your contribution.
Cherry, Orange and Almond Sweet Buns
Ingredients:
- 2.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup warm milk
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour + some more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup sugar (I used homemade orange sugar)
- 3/4 stick melted and cooled butter
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of 2-3 small mandarin oranges, with pulp
- zest of 2 small mandarin oranges
- 3/4 cup coarsely ground (not chopped) almonds
- 1.5 cups dried tart cherries, soaked in warm water for about 1/2 hour and then drained
- few tablespoons of milk to brush the buns
- few tablespoons of sugar to sprinkle on the buns (optional) – I used orange sugar
- might need a few tablespoons of milk or orange juice if the dough gets too dry
Preparation:Combine the orange zest with the sugar and let it sit for a couple of hours.
Sift flour and salt.
Mix yeast, milk and sugar in a small bowl. Stir, cover and let rise for 5-10 minutes until yeast has dissolved and bloomed.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, place flour, yeast mixture, cardamom, orange zested sugar, butter, almond extract, and orange juice. Combine all until it forms a soft dough. (add extra liquid if needed)
Add the ground almond and cherries, mixing well. Knead for 10-15 minutes by hand or 5-7 minutes by machine. Add the additional flour, as needed. The dough should not be sticky.
Make a large ball, Cover the bowl and let dough rise for 5-6 hours or until doubled. (I made the dough at night & let it sit overnight, baking them early in the morning)
Punch down dough and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a couple of minutes.
Form 10-12 (or about 18 smaller balls like I did this time) balls from the dough and place on a baking sheet. Cover and let them sit for about 30 – 45 minutes.
When ready to bake, brush the buns with milk; sprinkle some sugar on the top if you want.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake 25-30 minutes. (Convection oven; bake for about 20 minutes). Cool on a wire rack and store them in air tight containers.
These were intensely good. I have a weakness for oranges and almonds and those of you following my blog will know it. The cherries, almonds and the orange came together really well in the bread. We have been enjoying these along with our cuppa of tea or coffee.
These sweet babies are Yeastspotted!
On another note: Gera of Sweets Food has awarded me with the Honest Scrap Award. Thanks! I had done a meme before and I do not have much more to say about myself:-) You can read about me here if you are interested.
Related Posts:
Velikonocni Kruhki: Slovenian Easter Buns
Tags: Almond, almond and orange, bake recipes, baking, blessing of zegen basket, bread baking, bread with almonds, bread with cherries, bread with orange zest, bread with refreshing flavors, buns with cherries, Butter, cherry, cherry and almond, cherry and orange, dried cherry, East European Bread, East European Easter Bread, easter, easter bread, easter bread without egg, easter bun, Easter tradition, eggless, eggless baking, eggless bread, eggless recipe, fruit bread, orange flavored bread, orange zest, recipe for spring, similar to hot cross buns, slovenian, Slovenian Easter Bread, Slovenian Easter Buns, spiced with cardamom, spring bread, spring country bread, spring time recipe, sweet bread, sweet buns, sweet rolls fruit buns, tart cherry, Velikonocni Kruhki, Velikonocni Kruhki recipe, yeast, yeasted bread, yeasted sweet bread, zegen basket, zest
February 28th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I love the combination of almonds and orange…these sweet buns look indeed sweet n yummy:)
February 28th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Lovely buns Soma. Absolutely right, in the kitchen you can bring spring in the middle of winter.
February 28th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
lovely combo of flavours.
February 28th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Delicious combination of flavors Soma! Happy Holi
February 28th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Another must try from your blog Soma. Ekhoni banate chole jetam but orange neyi .. and I love orange. Ki shundor dekhte lagche choto choto bun gulo!
February 28th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
These buns look amazing!!!
February 28th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
These look wonderful. It’s always great to discover new ways of making bread. I’ve been baking a lot of buns lately and hope to post about them soon.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Lovely! So perfect with a cup of tea.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
wow! they look good soma!
March 1st, 2010 at 12:48 am
soma these look totally delicious! can imagine having a few for breakfast!
March 1st, 2010 at 2:04 am
So delicious looking! A great breakfast item!
Cheers,
Rosa
March 1st, 2010 at 2:06 am
lovely flavours..looks awesome..
March 1st, 2010 at 3:12 am
I am so so going to make these buns. I know I too bought in december convection oven, and i sometimes forget to reduce the oven heat from the recipe i am using.
March 1st, 2010 at 5:44 am
Lovely buns!! Yeah!!
Yummie all the way,…
March 1st, 2010 at 5:50 am
hi soma,
nice clicks
These look absolutely delicious
March 1st, 2010 at 6:51 am
I know what you are saying! I was secretly wishing Spring would be here soon every time we had the warm weather but there was more snow!We have snow again this Wed:(( I like the buns…They look very cute and lovely,Soma.Happy Holi!
March 1st, 2010 at 7:35 am
Convection oven mane konta ? Toaster oven ?
Sandeepa, this is kind of like a toaster oven, but works as good as a regular oven, only smaller in size.
Breville Smart Oven – Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ
March 1st, 2010 at 8:09 am
these are wonderful…absolute delicious..nice pics
March 1st, 2010 at 9:42 am
Fantastic sweet buns- they are perfect breakfast!
March 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am
Scrumptious buns! I love the cherries and almonds in them!
March 1st, 2010 at 9:51 am
Just wanted to let you know that the My Legume Love Affair 20 roundup is now live. Thank you for submitting your awesome recipe.
March 1st, 2010 at 10:33 am
Ur buns look delicious and beautiful!!!
March 1st, 2010 at 10:43 am
Love your buns. Amazing pics.
March 1st, 2010 at 10:44 am
they look tasty …will make a good eat
March 1st, 2010 at 2:11 pm
They look gorgeous and delicious!!
March 1st, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Nice buns, love the combination of the fruits and almonds
Would love to have for breakfast with a cup of coffee!
March 2nd, 2010 at 5:14 am
Soma, those gorgeous buns have all my favourite things in there; wish I could pick one up, not that I’d mind another
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:02 am
Wow!Those buns look perfect! I love all the combination of flavors …. I can imagine the smell of your kitchen when you baked the.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:27 am
These sound incredible! They’re like hot cross buns, and the mix of cherry, orange, and almond is lovely.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:53 am
Jeez, I thought I already commented here. I havealready looked at these beauties thrice. I love the crusted buns with lots of holes inside. I would not mind having them for lunch now:-)
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I am soooo looking forward to spring! And your description of the lovely spring weather and the blossom… well, that makes me long for it even more! Your buns are perfect though! Lovely!
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
If a little drizzle of chocolate might be good on these, you might want to join in the giveaway for free chocolate. I’m not sure I would do anything more to those terrific looking buns. Delish…
If you want to comment for the giveaway, here is the link: http://www.applecrumbles.com/2010/03/02/hersheys-chocolate-giveaway/
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
Lovely combination of flavours Soma!!
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
The buns with all these ingredients look so beautiful…yummy with the fruits and nuts
A pleasure to give you the award Soma!
Have a great week,
Gera
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Always love mini buns, but the mix of flavors sounds so delicious
March 5th, 2010 at 1:04 am
[...] Cherry, Orange and Almond Sweet Buns [...]
March 5th, 2010 at 6:05 am
The flavors are spot on! These buns look amazing!
March 5th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Great pictures, the rolls look yummy!!
March 19th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Hi Soma – love your blog. I am planning to try these out this week-end – got all my ingredients except cherries. Do you think they can be made with whole wheat flour instead of maida?
Thanks!
You can substitute the cherries with raisins or any dried fruit of your preference.
I have not tried these with WW flour. The results could differ with yeast, as the AP flour and WW flours have different protein and gluten content, which will affect how they will turn out. You could try with half WW and half the amount of AP. The texture will become heavier tho’, not as fluffy and airy.
check out this place for some details on kinds of flour and the effect.:
Flour Facts
If you succeed with WW flour do let me know:-) It is obviously a healthier option.