I’ve resigned myself to the sobering fact that I’m not gonna be going anywhere anytime soon, nothing outside my self-imposed 5 mile radius…no flights across the country to visit friends in Maine…and certainly no trips outside the country. The world has, in effect, uninvited us to their party because we can’t be trusted to not sneeze on the buffet. The resulting cabin fever has me living vicariously through travel shows, or more specifically food travel shows, to satisfy my longing to get a taste of the outside world.

Recently, I came across the Paul Hollywood series City Bakes on YouTube. Now I have to admit, though I’m a fan of The Great British Bake Off, Paul was never my favorite judge. I’m a Mary Berry girl all the way. Paul always struck me as “Simon Cowell Lite,” full of know-it-all bravado, albeit with slightly less condescending snark. Nevertheless, the series sucked me in, transporting me to bakeries in far off destinations, from Reykjavik, Iceland and Dublin, Ireland, to Palermo, Sicily and Cape Town, South Africa. Okay, they had me at “Bake.” It’s the kind of traveling that speaks to me–just enough sites, scenery, and local history to put the food into context. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting museums and historical sites as much as the next tourist. I simply plan them around bakeries, markets, restaurants, and cafes I want to check out. After all, who has the energy to walk through, say the Louvre, without first having a croissant..or two at Eric Kayser?

No surprise, one of my favorites so far was the London episode, where Paul took us to the food hall at Fortnum & Mason, Borough Market, and later put together high tea at Cliveden House–food in a historical setting, what could be better.

As a small child, afternoon tea was an everyday after school ritual–a cup of black tea served with a small plate of assorted biscuits (aka cookies) and sweets, usually a couple pieces of foil-wrapped chocolates from a tin of assorted Quality Street (English brand) candies my grandparents kept around. During my adolescent years, I swapped out the tea and biscuits for toasted processed cheese sandwiches, chips, and soda. By the time I was junior in college, studying abroad in England, afternoon tea was a part of my everyday life again, but this time I learned to appreciate all its variations and levels of sophistication.

On the weekends, my friends (follow American exchange students) and I would take day trips up from Canterbury to London to visit art museums or see plays in the West End, or sometimes venture up to other college towns like Cambridge and Oxford. Invariably we’d end up at some tea room by late afternoon, in search of finger sandwiches and good scones. In Cambridge, it was Auntie’s Tea Shop, where the finger sandwiches and scones were more full hand-sized.

In London, we’d skip lunch to save our money for proper high tea at a fancy department store or hotel, where we’d indulge on a selection of refined petite cakes, sandwiches, pastries, and scones. I should mention that this was back in the 80’s before “British” food was anything to write about, so high tea was about as sophisticated and gourmet as we were gonna get.

For a break from of the dreadfully blah dormitory fare–there were just so many bowls of Bird’s custard and plates of fish and chips a girl could stomach–we’d trek down the hill from the university into town for afternoon tea a few times a week. There was really only one place for us to go and that was a rustic hotel on main street which served high tea. If we got there early enough we’d snag one of their crumpets, along with the sandwiches and scones. But the one specialty they were known for, the thing we always had to order, was the Chelsea bun.

I’m not sure which one of us first found their Chelsea bun. I know it was Susan who realized the crumpets where a hot ticket item because she was usually the first one to make it down to the hotel after class. The hotel’s Chelsea bun was a revelation. We’d never seen or eaten anything like it before. It was like a big, fluffy cinnamon roll on steroids, only without cinnamon and studded with dried currants. A classic Chelsea bun is usually just brushed with honey or some kind of syrupy clear glaze, but theirs was glazed with a thick vanilla icing, which meant you had to dig in with a fork if you wanted to be lady-like about it. We were ravenous Americans who dug in with both hands and licked the glaze off of our fingers with gusto.

Once we discovered the existence of the Chelsea bun, we went in search of it everywhere we went on our day trips. Most of them were okay, some were exceptional, but none rivaled the hotel’s version. A few times we arrived downtown too late to get the last ones and were devastated.

Of all the memories I have of my time at the University of Kent, none were as vivid as those Chelsea buns. Perhaps it’s because there were so few good food memories–which is usually how I remember the places where I’ve been–that Chelsea buns stood out. Of course, there was the crazy “sink” sangria we concocted out of five bottles of red wine and a bunch of fruit to go with the “Mexican” feast we built around the Old El Paso Taco Kit we found in the “American” section of Harrod’s grocery store. This was what a group of homesick students abroad would resort to when faced with really bad English dorm food for months on end.

Watching Paul Hollywood setting up afternoon tea had me reminiscing about those carefree college days, when we all did in between our studies was drink tea, snack on endless packages of biscuits, and plan our weekend adventures…oh and dream of Chelsea buns.

Today seemed a good a day as any to whip up a batch of Chelsea buns, being overcast and dreary. Since I didn’t have any dried currants on hand, I decided to veer off the traditional recipe and make Cherry Almond Chelsea Buns, substituting dried tart cherries for currants, and spreading a nice almondy frangipane on the dough instead of plain melted butter and sugar. Instead of making a thick vanilla glaze, I brushed the tops of the hot buns with a generous coating of Lyle’s golden syrup. Have I mentioned how I much I love golden syrup? I will use it at every opportunity.

I did not use Paul’s recipe. I’ve haven’t had much luck (and neither has Karen apparently) with his recipes, so I found one from Recipes Made Easy. I did adjust the amount of sugar, salt, and milk in the recipe, because it didn’t seem to be quite enough. The result was a beautifully fluffy, tender bun loaded with tart cherries and sweet almond flavor, perfect for afternoon tea.

Stay tuned for more classic British tea time treats!

Cherry Almond Chelsea Bun (adapted from Recipes Made Easy)

Yield: 9 large buns

• 4 c. bread flour
• 4 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 t. sea salt
• 3 T. sugar
• 2 1/4 t. instant yeast
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1 c. + 2 T. whole milk, warmed
• 2 c. dried tart cherries
• Frangipane (see below)
• Golden syrup or honey

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

1. Place the flour and butter in the mixer bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
2. Add the salt on one side of the bowl, sugar and yeast on the other, then whisk together to combine and create a well in the center.
3. Combine the egg and milk and pour into the center of the well.
4. Attach a dough hook to the mixer and begin mixing on medium speed until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium high and continue mixing until the dough in smooth and pliable. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle in a teaspoon of flour at a time until it’s no longer sticky but tacky.
5. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let in rise in a warm space until doubled in volume.
6. Deflate the dough and roll out to a rectangle about 10″x14″ on a lightly floured surface.
7. Spread an even layer of frangipane on the surface, leaving a 1/2″ border at the edge., then distribute an even layer of dried cherries.
8. Roll the dough into a tight pinwheel log, pinching close the seam. Cut the log into 9 equal pieces.
9. Arrange the pieces cut side up in a well-greased 10″ square pan. Cover with lightly with plastic wrap or clean dish towel and let it rise until doubled.
10. Bake in a preheated 400F degree oven for 25-30 mins. or until golden brown. Internal temperature should register 190F degrees.
11. Brush the hot buns with a generous coating of golden syrup or honey.

• 

• 

Frangipane:

• 4 T. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 c. sugar
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 T. Amaretto liqueur or rum
• 1/2 t. almond extract
• 2/3 c. almond flour
• 1 T. all- purpose flour

1. Beat the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg white, vanilla, liqueur, and almond extract.
3. Mix in almond flour and flour until smooth.