Things are slow in the garden during these rainy, dark, cold weeks of winter, and there’s no better excuse to bake.

Over the past three weeks,I’ve baked spice cake, blackcurrant pie, raspberry studded pound cake, molasses crinkle cookies, and lemon chocolate chip cupcakes. 

And two weeks ago, I went overboard on Sunday breakfast. Saturday evening, I made up some blackcurrant twists, which rose in the fridge overnight, to be baked Sunday morning. Half of the twists went into the freezer, to be baked last Sunday morning before I went off to the Tamariki Book Festival. (Because I couldn’t miss my Sunday morning baking just because I was working all weekend, now could I?)

The twists were excellent, and the dough froze well. But they were very messy.

The recipe I was loosely following said something vague like “Twist each strip into a knot.” Um … sure. A twist and a curl, and I called them good enough. All the while, blackcurrant jam was spewing out of them, and I was wondering whether there’d be any jam left inside by the time they baked. 

I wisely baked them on parchment, rather than directly on a tray, because the jam did continue to ooze out. But there was plenty left inside, and those gooey baked jam blobs that escaped were delicious!

I thought they looked a bit rough, coming out of the oven, but my husband loved their rustic look. (he didn’t see the beautiful buns pictured in the online recipes…) Regardless, they really were yummy.

Here’s my variation, based on a couple of online recipes:

Dough:
1 1/4 cup milk
60 g butter
scant Tbs yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups regular flour
2 cups wholemeal flour

Blackcurrant jam:
2 cups frozen or fresh blackcurrants
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water

Filling:
25 g melted butter
1/4 sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Make the dough: Bring the milk nearly to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring until melted. Allow to cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast and allow to sit until it begins to foam. Then beat in the sugar and egg.

In a bowl, combine the flours. Add the milk mixture and stir until it comes together in a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place the ball of dough in a greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise about 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

While the dough rises, make the blackcurrant jam: Combine fruit, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until it just begins to thicken. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water, and then add to the blackcurrants. Cook, stirring, for a few more minutes, until it thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Once the dough is risen, roll it out on a floured surface into a large square (about 45 cm on a side). It will be quite thin.

Melt the butter for the filling, and spread the dough with it. Combine the sugars and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the butter. Then spread the whole thing with blackcurrant jam (I used ALL the jam, but if you want less messy buns, you could use less).

Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter. Then cut the folded dough into 12 strips with a sharp knife (Yes, jam will spill everywhere. You can lick it up later, I won’t tell anyone). Give each strip a twist, and then coil it into a knot and set it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow the buns to rise 15-20 minutes (or put them into the fridge to rise overnight). Bake at 190℃ (375℉) for 16 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before eating. If you’ve refrigerated or frozen your buns before baking, allow them to warm up on the kitchen bench for about 30 minutes before baking. Frozen buns require a few extra minutes in the oven.