Irresistible Mincemeat and Marzipan Cinnamon Buns: A Festive Christmas Baking Delight
The festive season often brings with it an abundance of wonderful ingredients, and perhaps none is more emblematic of Christmas than mincemeat. After indulging in the delightful process of crafting my own homemade mincemeat, I found myself with a generous supply! While a classic mince pie is undeniably a joy, even the most devoted fan can only consume so many (though, admittedly, that number can be surprisingly high!). This delightful predicament sparked a creative quest to discover novel ways to transform this spiced, fruit-laden treasure into other equally enchanting treats.
My culinary exploration led me to a truly inspired creation: these incredible Mincemeat and Marzipan Cinnamon Buns. Not only do they offer a fantastic alternative to traditional mince pies, but they also ingeniously provide a delicious solution for another festive leftover – the marzipan that often remains after decorating a grand Christmas cake. Combining these two iconic seasonal ingredients into soft, sweet, and aromatic buns creates a truly memorable experience that captures the essence of holiday indulgence.
These exquisite buns are far more than just a clever way to reduce food waste during the holidays; they are a celebration in themselves. Imagine waking up on Christmas morning to the inviting aroma of freshly baked cinnamon buns, enhanced with the rich flavors of mincemeat and the sweet, nutty essence of marzipan. They make a truly wonderful festive breakfast, an ideal treat for a holiday brunch, or a comforting snack on a chilly winter afternoon. What’s even better is how surprisingly easy they are to prepare, making them accessible even for novice bakers looking to impress.
For your convenience and to fit various schedules, the baking process for these mincemeat and marzipan cinnamon buns can be flexible. You can opt to complete all the steps, from kneading the dough to baking, within a single day. However, my personal preference, and a method I highly recommend for ease and enhanced flavor, is to prepare the dough the day before. Allowing the dough to rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator not only simplifies your baking day but also develops a richer, more complex flavor and a wonderfully soft texture. This makes them an excellent make-ahead option for busy holiday mornings.
I typically bake these delectable buns in a standard muffin tin, which helps them hold their shape beautifully and creates individual, perfectly portioned treats. However, if you prefer, a large roasting tray or even a cast-iron skillet can also be used, allowing them to bake together for a pull-apart style. The dough itself is a dream to work with – soft, subtly sweet, and infused with a hint of warming vanilla. The filling is delightfully simple yet incredibly flavorful: a generous layer of mincemeat, a sprinkle of fragrant cinnamon, and a scattering of finely diced marzipan cubes. As they bake, the mincemeat caramelizes slightly, the marzipan melts into pockets of almondy goodness, and the cinnamon ties all the festive flavors together.
To crown these festive creations, a simple yet elegant drizzle of orange glaze is added after baking. This vibrant glaze instantly elevates their appearance, making them look 1000% prettier, as if touched by a magical dusting of snow. Beyond their visual appeal, the glaze also imparts a refreshing burst of tangy orange flavor, perfectly complementing the rich, spiced notes of the mincemeat and the sweetness of the marzipan. It’s the perfect final touch that makes these buns truly irresistible.
To further streamline the baking process and enhance the joy of creating these wonderful Christmas treats, I had the pleasure of trying out some brilliant products from Joseph Joseph. These innovative kitchen tools proved to be incredibly helpful, making dough handling and preparation a breeze for both experienced and aspiring bakers. Incorporating high-quality tools can significantly improve your baking experience, and these certainly delivered.
Firstly, the non-slip silicone pastry mat was a game-changer. This mat is designed to be placed directly on your worktop, providing an ideal, stable surface for rolling out pastry, various doughs, or even icing. Its non-slip nature ensures that it stays firmly in place, preventing frustrating shifts and slides that often occur when working with floury surfaces. This ingenious design not only keeps your worktop immaculately clean, saving you from a messy clean-up job, but it also features incredibly useful measurements. With both circular and square guides, marked in both inches and centimeters, you no longer have to guess the size or frantically search for a ruler mid-bake. This feature is particularly handy when aiming for precise dough dimensions, like the rectangle needed for these cinnamon buns. For any home baker who has struggled with floury hands fumbling for a measuring tape, this mat is an absolute lifesaver. Plus, it conveniently rolls up for compact storage and includes a lockable strap, ensuring it remains neatly tucked away until your next baking adventure.
Secondly, the adjustable rolling pin revolutionizes the way we achieve perfectly even dough. This sturdy wooden rolling pin, also featuring handy measurements, comes equipped with removable rings on either end. These rings vary in thickness, ranging from 10mm down to a precise 2mm. By attaching the appropriate rings, the rolling pin’s surface is automatically raised to that specific height, allowing you to effortlessly roll out dough or pastry to a consistent, even thickness across its entire surface. It can be quite challenging to visually judge the thickness of dough as you roll, and even more so to ensure that thickness is uniform throughout. This adjustable rolling pin eliminates that guesswork entirely, guaranteeing professional-looking results every time. For recipes like these cinnamon buns, where a uniform dough thickness is key to even baking and consistent roll shape, this tool is invaluable.
Thirdly, the innovative two-in-one dough cutter and bowl scraper proved to be incredibly versatile. The bowl scraper component is made from flexible silicone, allowing you to efficiently scrape every last drop of batter or dough from your mixing bowl. This not only minimizes waste but also ensures you get the most out of your ingredients. The other side features a robust, solid metal dough cutter. Its sharp edge glides through dough with remarkable ease, making tasks like dividing the cinnamon bun log into 12 even slices incredibly simple. Etched onto the blade edge are useful measurements, further aiding in precise and consistent dough division. This tool is also exceptionally useful for scraping off any stubborn bits of dough that may stick to your work surface, ensuring a clean and tidy workspace. The two pieces are cleverly designed to be magnetic, allowing them to stick together neatly for easy, clutter-free storage in your kitchen drawer.
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Mincemeat & Marzipan Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
Bread Dough:
- 270 ml (1 + ⅛ cup) full fat milk (or non-dairy milk – soy is best)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 50 g (3tbsp) butter (or vegan block butter/margarine) cubed
- 500 g (4 cups + 2tbsp) strong white bread flour
- 50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
- 10 g (3 tsp) fast action yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg (or 1 flax egg – 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tbsp warm water)
Filling:
- 450 g (16oz) mincemeat
- 300 g (10.5oz) marzipan
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Glaze:
- 100 g (1 cup) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 2 tsp orange juice
Instructions
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In a small saucepan, combine the milk, vanilla extract, and cubed butter. Heat gently, stirring continuously, until the butter is fully melted and the mixture just begins to boil. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside to cool until it reaches a lukewarm temperature (this scalding process actually helps to make the final bread softer and more tender).
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Take a large mixing bowl and add the strong white bread flour. Create a small well in the center of the flour. Add the caster sugar and salt to one side of the bowl, and the fast-action yeast to the other side (keeping salt and yeast separate initially is important as salt can inhibit yeast activity). Pour the lukewarm milk mixture and the egg (or flax egg) into the well. Stir all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly unfloured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Lightly grease a clean bowl, place the kneaded dough inside, cover it with a lid or clingfilm, and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. Alternatively, for a more convenient option and enhanced flavor, you can let it rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight.
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Prepare your baking vessel. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin, or for easier cleanup, line it with large muffin liners. Once your dough has risen, gently ‘knock it back’ by pressing out the air. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a large rectangle, approximately 5mm (¼ inch) thick.
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Prepare the filling: dice the marzipan into small cubes, about 1cm (½ inch) in size. Evenly spread the mincemeat over the entire surface of the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon generously over the mincemeat. Finally, scatter the diced marzipan cubes over the filling. Carefully roll the dough up tightly from one of the long edges, forming a log.
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Trim off any uneven ‘scraggy’ end bits from the dough log to ensure nice, uniform buns. Then, using a sharp knife or the Joseph Joseph dough cutter, slice the log into 12 even pieces. Place each slice, cut-side down, into the prepared muffin tin holes. Loosely cover the tin with lightly greased clingfilm or a clean tea towel and set aside to rise again for about 30-45 minutes, or until the buns look visibly puffy.
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While the buns are on their second rise, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F / Gas Mark 4). Bake the buns for approximately 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown and an internal thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers at least 94°C (200°F). If you notice the tops of the buns browning too quickly before they are fully baked, you can loosely cover them with a sheet of tin foil partway through baking to prevent them from burning.
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Once baked, remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow the buns to cool in the tin until they are lukewarm. Carefully lift them out and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. To make the glaze, place the sifted icing (powdered) sugar in a small bowl. Gradually stir in enough orange juice, a teaspoon at a time, until you achieve a smooth, runny glaze consistency. Drizzle the delightful orange glaze generously over the cooled buns just before serving. These festive buns are best enjoyed fresh but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Please note: I was generously sent some free products from Joseph Joseph for review purposes. However, I was not compensated financially to write this post, and all opinions and thoughts expressed remain entirely my own, genuinely reflecting my experience with the products.