In April last year, i noticed my skin especially on my hands and feet was starting to turn orange. One day my sister took one long look at me and asked “I think you may be over doing it with the fake tan”. I laughed and told her “I hadn’t used any fake tan”, tan does not look good on me, occasionally in the height of summer, all my freckles merge into one big freckle making me look slightly tanned and well, with the orange hair- it gives trump vibes.
After a quick session on Dr Google I was instantly convinced I had kidney failure and called the doctors. 5 days later I was sitting in a stiff chair, with a puzzled looking doctor.
“How do you feel?”
“Completely fine”
“Have you made any changes to your diet?”
“No, not really”
“Do you eat any carrots? odd question, I know. But I’m trying to rule out all possibilities”
“Yeah I eat about a 500g bag”
“A week?”
“A day”
“Oh. WOW……Kitty i think you should stop eating so many carrots, you’ve got carotenimia”
My 4pm hyper fixation snack of a pot of hummus and a bag of carrots had slowly turned me into well…a carrot. It’s been a year now and I’m glad to say my pasty translucent skin has returned.
But i still like to sneak a carrot or two in when I can, and these carrot cake Chelsea buns are always worth going orange for.
Ingredients (Vg conversion)
For the dough
200ml warm milk (250ml soy milk)
120g melted butter (120g plant based butter)
1 egg (no egg)
500g strong white bread flour
7g instant dried yeast
10g salt
50g caster sugar
Carrot cake filling
100g melted butter (plant based butter)
3 tbsp brown sugar
3tsp cinnamon
1 carrot, grated
100g raisins or sultanas soaked for 15 mins in hot water or tea
50g chopped walnuts
For the glaze
3 tbsp apricot jam
50ml water
Cream cheese icing
150g cream cheese
50g icing sugar
Few handfuls of walnut halves
Method
1) Starting with the wet, pour all your dough ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Either knead by hand for 8 minutes or in a stand mixer fitted in a dough hook for 5. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes (this relaxes the gluten and helps it form bonds) then knead for another 3-4 mins.
2) Scoop the dough into an oiled bowl, pop a cloth over the top and prove for 1hr before placing in the fridge to stiffen. Leave in the fridge for anywhere between 1-24hrs (completely up to you and your bun desire).
4) Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, dust the top and roll into a 1cm thick rectangle. Brush over the melted butter, then sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Drain the raisins and spread them over the dough alongside the grated carrot and walnuts. Roll length ways into a log, then slice into 12 chunks and place cut side up on a lined baking tray. Proof for 30 mins and preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan.
5)Brush the buns with a egg wash (or some soy milk for the vegan option) then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Whilst the buns bake, make your glaze. Bring the apricot jam and water to a boil then once the buns are out, brush it on top. Finally, cool the buns, mix the cream cheese and icing sugar together. Dollop on top of each bun then place a walnut half on top. Eat! but don’t eat too many as you don’t want to turn orange like me ;)
Haha!! Once I ate too much Chard and turned yellow and everyone thought I had jaundice. Classic. Glad you’re ok! Love this take on Chelsea buns!!
They look amazing! But what if I wanted to use a sourdough starter instead of the dried yeast? Would that be possible or would I need to completely change the recipe? And if possible, how much should I use? 🤔