Gluten free raspberry buns

My mum used to make raspberry buns a lot when I was younger and they were one of my brother’s favourite things to have for his supper. I do love making things that evoke happy memories of years gone by.

I’ve had a go at rustling up gluten free raspberry buns twice now and I’ve been delighted with how well they turned out. And of course any recipe success stories need to be shared with you too.

These gluten free raspberry buns are super simple to pop together. The basic recipe is pretty much the same as the one you would use to make scones, minus the baking powder and with a touch more milk added to give you a stickier dough. 

I like to give the raspberry buns a little brush of milk and a generous sprinkle of caster sugar before baking. This gives the buns a lovely crisp sugary crunch before you bite through into the light soft centre and hit the jackpot…raspberry jam!  

Ingredients (makes 12)

225g (8oz) gluten free self-raising flour (plus a little extra to flour your hands)
50g (2oz) chilled butter, cubed 
50g (2oz) caster sugar (plus a little extra to sprinkle over the buns)
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
Good pinch of salt (only required if using unsalted butter)
1 large beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 – 5 tablespoons milk (you may not need it all or you may need a touch more – you will need a little extra milk to brush over the buns too)
Raspberry jam 

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5/170C Fan.

Lay a piece of greaseproof onto a large flat baking tray (10 x 14 inch approx) no need to grease. If you don’t have any greaseproof then just very lightly grease the tray. 

Add the gluten free flour, xanthan gum and salt (if using unsalted butter) to a large mixing bowl and give it a stir with a fork or blend with your fingers.

Next add the cubed butter and rub it into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the caster sugar and combine well.

Mix the vanilla extract with the beaten egg and add this to the bowl.

Give everything a really good stir, before slowly adding just enough milk until the mixture comes together and forms a soft, sticky but not too wet dough. Stir for a minute or so with a fork until the mixture cleans the sides of the bowl.

Pop a bit of gf flour into a bowl so it’s nice and handy to flour your hands. Then with lightly floured hands form the dough into small balls (slightly smaller than a ping pong ball) and place them onto the prepared tray. 

Dip your thumb into the bowl of gf flour then firmly press it into the centre of each ball. You want to go really deep into the dough, but not all the way through. If you wiggle your thumb around a little when you press it in, it will make the hole larger to allow you to add more jam.

Before adding the jam, brush each bun with a little milk and then scatter over a generous amount of caster sugar. 

You can use a teaspoon to fill the buns with jam, but I found it so much easier to use a disposable piping bag to pipe it in instead.

Once the buns are filled with jam, pop the tray into the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the buns from the oven and leave to cool before tucking in.

Recipe notes and suggestions:

The buns are at their very best on the same day you make them. However, they will keep well in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They can also be frozen.

I liked the size of the raspberry buns I made. A perfect little treat to enjoy with a cuppa. But should you fancy making them a bit bigger that would work fine too. Just increase the cooking time accordingly.

You can choose to fill the buns with anything you fancy instead of jam. Lemon or orange curd would work well and maybe also add a little grated orange or lemon zest to the mixture at the rubbed in stage to add a subtle flavour to match the filing. I would skip the vanilla extract should you choose to add a citrus flavoured filling.

The base recipe for the raspberry buns is low in sugar, which is great if you are on a low sugar diet. Just switch to sugar free jam and skip sprinkling on the sugar before baking.

To make the raspberry buns dairy free, switch to a dairy free hard margarine and use dairy free milk instead.

---

Thanks for checking out this recipe. I do hope you like the things I share, and you are now tempted to rustle up some tasty creations of your own.

Don’t forget to tag me on Facebook or Instagram should you make and share any of my recipes. Thanks so much.

For now
Liz x

*Double check this ingredient to ensure it has no gluten containing ingredients, ‘may contain’ or ‘not suitable warnings’. If in doubt leave it out.