The+12+Bakes+of+Christmas

MINCEMEAT& MARZIPANCINNAMON BUNSMakes 12At Christmas, every single meal should count. I’m never one to skip breakfast, but sometimes it’s a meagre offering,or a quick fridge raid. During the festive period though, I wake up knowing that I have the time to make somethingindulgent and worthwhile. These buns are perfect with the strongest of coffees, and will keep in an airtightcontainer for a few days.Ingredients for the Bread500g strong white flour,plus extra for dusting5g salt10g caster sugar7g fast-action yeast150ml tepid water120ml milk1 large egg40g unsalted butter,at room temperatureFlavourless oil, for greasingIngredients for theFilling and Icing350g luxury mincemeat150g marzipan,cut into 5mm cubes1tsp ground cinnamon100g icing sugar1-2tsp orange juiceMethodTo make the dough, place the flour in a bowl and stir in the salt and sugar.Add the yeast and stir it through the flour. Add the water, milk and egg andmix well with a wooden spoon or your hands until you have a scraggy dough.Squeeze in the softened butter, then knead until the mixture is smooth andelastic – about 10 minutes. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover withcling and allow to rise until doubled in size – usually an hour but could bemore if your kitchen is cool.Once the dough has risen, flour the worktop and roll the dough out into asquare of about 45cm/18-inch. Spread the mincemeat all over the dough, thenscatter on the marzipan cubes, before dusting over the cinnamon. Roll up intoa tight spiral. Trim off the messy ends, then cut the roll into 12 equal-ish slices.Place these, spiral sides up, into the greased muffin tray. Allow to rise foranother 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 8. Bake the buns for 15 minutes,or until risen and golden. Remove from the tin immediately and place onto awire rack to cool.For the topping, simply mix together the icing sugar and orange juice toa thick, but pourable icing. Ice the cool buns before serving.Essential Equipment12 hole deep muffin tray,very well greased