Chelsea Buns

Name: Chelsea Buns
Prep time: 16 min
Cook time: 29 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 500g White Flour; 1 tsp Salt; 7g Yeast; 300ml Milk; 40g Butter; 1 Eggs; Dash Vegetable Oil; 25g Butter; 75g Brown Sugar; 2 tsp Cinnamon; 150g Dried Fruit; 2 tbs Milk; 2 tbs Caster Sugar

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with British flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 74 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 45 min total

500g White Flour
1 tsp Salt
7g Yeast
300ml Milk
40g Butter
1 Eggs
Dash Vegetable Oil
25g Butter
75g Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
150g Dried Fruit
2 tbs Milk
2 tbs Caster Sugar

Step-by-step instructions

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast.
Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter melts and the mixture is lukewarm.
Add the milk mixture and egg to the flour mixture and stir until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough. (You may need to add a little extra flour.) Tip the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Knead for five minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer feels sticky.
Lightly oil a bowl with a little of the vegetable oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn until it is covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Lightly grease a baking tray.
For the filling, knock the dough back to its original size and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 0.5cm/¼in thick. Brush all over with the melted butter, then sprinkle over the brown sugar, cinnamon and dried fruit.
Roll the dough up into a tight cylinder , cut ten 4cm/1½in slice and place them onto a lightly greased baking sheet, leaving a little space between each slice. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Bake the buns in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.
Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the buns from the oven and brush with the glaze, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Why this works on a weeknight

Chelsea Buns lands at about 45 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Chelsea Buns actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert British Bun Baking Treat