Thunder and Lightning
Soft Cornish yeast buns generously filled with thick clotted cream and drizzled with rich golden syrup or black treacle.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 410 kcal
Equipment
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Baking tray
- •Baking parchment
- •Wire cooling rack
- •Measuring jug
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 410 kcal
- fat
- 20 g
- carbs
- 52 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 7 g
- calories
- 410 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Rub in the softened butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- 3
Pour in the warm milk and warm water, stirring into a soft, pliable dough.
- 4
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for eight minutes until smooth and elastic.
- 5
Divide the dough into eight equal portions and roll each into a smooth, round ball.
- 6
Place the balls onto a lined baking tray, spacing them five centimetres apart.
- 7
Cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes.
- 8
Heat your fan oven to 190°C while the buns finish rising.
- 9
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until pale golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.
- 10
Transfer the splits to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- 11
Cut each split horizontally through the middle, leaving the back edge attached as a hinge.
- 12
Spoon a thick layer of clotted cream inside each bun and drizzle generously with golden syrup.
Chef's tips
Always let the splits cool completely before adding cream, otherwise the clotted cream will melt immediately. Warm the spoon in hot water before measuring golden syrup to help it slide off easily without sticking.
Ingredient substitutions
- Cornish clotted cream → thick double cream
- golden syrup → black treacle or clear honey
- strong white bread flour → plain white flour
Storage
Store unfilled baked splits in an airtight container for up to two days, assembling with cream and syrup just before eating.
Reheating
Do not reheat filled splits, but you can warm plain, stale splits in a low oven at 140°C for three minutes before cooling and filling.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Filling the buns while still warm, which turns the rich clotted cream into liquid butter.
- •Overbaking the splits until deeply browned, which ruins their characteristically soft, tender crust.
- •Adding too little cream, which upsets the traditional equal balance of bread, cream, and syrup.
Serving suggestions
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