Name: Chelsea Buns (Cinnamon Rolls)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 180 min
Ingredients: 250 grams water; 90 grams butter; 4 tsp active yeast; 125 grams milk; 1 egg; 1 tsp salt; 750 grams bread flour ((strong/high-grade)); 80 grams white sugar ((caster/granulated)); 60 grams butter; 100 grams light brown sugar; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; ¾ cup raisins; ¼ cup mixed peel; 300 grams icing sugar ((powdered/confectioner's)); 40 grams butter; 60 grams sour cream; 2 tsp lemon juice

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Are Chelsea Buns and Cinnamon Rolls the same thing? A Chelsea bun is very similar to cinnamon rolls, except the filling also contains raisins, currants or sultanas and sometimes even mixed peel. Chelsea buns are usually topped with a simple icing glaze and not cream cheese frosting. But I thought - what the heck - let's get crazy! Let's make a Chelsea bun and top it with sour cream frosting (mostly because I had sour cream in the fridge).

Chelsea Buns (Cinnamon Rolls) Sliced in Half on a plate

Chelsea buns are rather popular in South Africa, they can be found in pretty much every supermarket and in many bakeries. I've noticed they are fairly popular here in New Zealand as well! This makes sense since the Chelsea bun originated in Chelsea, London in the 18th century and thus spread through the commonwealth.

Ingredients for Chelsea Buns

Chelsea Bun Dough

High Grade/Strong/Bread Flour is a must when making any sort of bread. The higher protein content is essential in building gluten strands that hold the bread together and allow it to rise.

Sugar - sugar is used both in the dough as well as in the filling. I've used caster sugar in the dough and brown sugar for the filling.

Active yeast - 4 teaspoons of active yeast may seem like a lot, but this is an enriched dough. The added butter, milk, and egg make it more difficult for the dough to rise when proofing. The additional yeast gives that little extra oomph required for soft pillowy goodness.

Butter, milk and egg for the dough give the Chelsea bun (cinnamon roll) dough its rich flavour.

Chelsea Bun Filling

Butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg are the traditional ingredients in a Chelsea Bun and Cinnamon Roll Filling. You can also spice it up (pun intended) with mixed spice, ginger, pumpkin spice or a speculoos/biscoff spice mix.

Raisins are the traditional fruit used in a Chelsea bun, particularly in South Africa. However, I had some mixed peel leftover from my hot cross bun pound cake and decided to toss it in. If you have mixed peel - toss it in, and you won't regret it. But, if it's a cinnamon roll you are after, just leave the fruit out.

Salt is crucial in bread, even in sweeter bread. Many people will be tempted to decrease the salt within the recipe, but the bread just won’t taste as good. Also, keep in mind to NOT mix the salt directly with the yeast. It will kill the yeast. Keep them socially distanced, only being allowed to meet up in the dough.

Sour Cream Frosting

A sour cream frosting – if you like cream cheese frosting, sour cream frosting is a must-try. Just a little less tangy, but oh so delicious. The sour cream frosting is made from sour cream, butter, icing sugar and lemon juice.

How to Make Chelsea Buns

Step 1 - Place the water, butter and milk in a heat-proof bowl or jug and heat until the butter is melted. Allow the mixture to cool until it is lukewarm.

Step 2 - Add the egg, sugar and salt to the butter mixture and whisk to combine.

Step 3 - Add the liquids to 600 grams (4 cups) of flour and yeast. Mix through using a fork or spoon to cover the flour with the liquids. Let this mixture rest for about 15 minutes to allow the flour to become hydrated.

Step 4 - Using your additional cup of flour, flour the surface you are going to knead your dough on. Place the dough on the counter and toss the rest of the flour over your dough. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is soft, pliable, and forms a smooth ball.

Step 5 - Place the dough in an oiled or greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to proof for about an hour.

Step 6 - For the filling, combine the brown sugar, spices and butter in a heat-proof bowl and microwave until the butter has melted. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Set aside and allow to cool.

Step 7 - When the dough has almost doubled in size, roll it out on a lightly floured surface in a rectangle about 40cm long and 25 cm wide. Spread the filling over the dough using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the filling with the raisins and mixed peel.¼ cup mixed peel,¾ cup raisins

Step 8 - Beginning on the long side of the dough, roll the dough up tightly. Pinch the seams together to seal in the filling along the length of the dough. Cut the roll into 12 equal portions using a sharp knife, or bench scraper.

Step 9 - Place the rolls cut side down into your baking dish (about 30cm by 30cm) leaving about 2 - 3 cm of space between the rolls to allow them to rise.

Step 10 - Cover the rolls with a tea towel and allow to proof for about an hour. Bake the Chelsea buns at 180°C/355F for approximately 25 minutes.

Step 11 - While the buns are baking, let the butter and sour cream come to room temperature, you may need to pop them into the microwave for 10 seconds if they are too cold for creaming.

Step 12 - Add the icing sugar and lemon juice to the butter and sour cream and whip until well combined using either a stand mixer, electric mixer or whisk.300 grams icing sugar,40 grams butter,60 grams sour cream, and 2 teaspoon lemon juice. You can frost the buns as soon as they come out of the oven, or you can allow them to cool a bit first.

Flatlay showing chelsea buns on 3 plates with a hand holding a cup of rooibos tea

Tips for making Chelsea Buns

Autolyse – this recipe calls for a resting stage before adding the final flour and kneading. This allows the flour to absorb all the water, stimulating gluten development. Leaving the dough to rest for 15 to 30 minutes cuts down the kneading time.

The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.

For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.

Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.

Trust the recipe. You may be tempted to add more flour than the recipe calls for because the dough feels sticky and it's just a plain mess. But keep kneading, work that gluten and before you know it you will have a beautiful cohesive smooth ball of dough. Adding too much flour to this recipe may result in dry buns, nobody wants a dry bun.

Kneading can be done by hand or by using a stand mixer. I recommend using a stand mixer for enriched doughs. But if like me, you don't have one, some elbow grease will get you there.

Poke Test

The poke-proof test is a simple test to determine whether your dough is finished proofing.

You poke and the dough pops back immediately: under proofed
You poke and the dough doesn’t pop back at all: over-proofed
You poke and the dough pops back but still leaves an indentation: perfectly proofed

Weighing Ingredients

Weighing & Measuring Ingredients

Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.

However, I have activated the grams-to-cups conversions on the recipe card. Simply click on "cups". For these conversions, cups are equal to 240mL/8 fl oz, tablespoons are 15mL and teaspoons are 5mL.

If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating! It gives my readers and me helpful feedback. If you want more recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Chelsea Buns (Cinnamon Rolls)