My Classic Iced Bun Recipe

Some recipes just belong to a family, don’t they? Iced buns are one of ours. I’ve been making these with my kids for years now, and I’m not exaggerating when I say they’ve become a proper ritual in this house. We’re talking flour on every surface, someone inevitably licking the icing bowl before it’s ready, and the absolute chaos of three very opinionated children arguing over who gets the one with the most icing on top.

Honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Iced buns are one of those brilliantly nostalgic British bakes that don’t get nearly enough credit. They’re soft, pillowy, sweet little finger rolls glazed with a thick, sticky icing – the kind of thing you’d find in an old-school bakery window, right next to the custard slices and the jam doughnuts. They remind me of school tuck shops and Saturday morning trips to the baker’s with my mum. And now they remind my kids of weekend baking sessions in our London kitchen, which honestly feels like the best kind of passing something on.

If you’ve never made them before, you’re in for a treat. And if you have – well, this recipe is going to become your go-to.

What exactly are iced buns?

If you’re not familiar (where have you been?!), iced buns are enriched yeasted finger rolls, sweetened with a little sugar, made soft with butter, eggs and milk, and then finished with a thick fondant-style glaze icing. They’re sometimes called iced finger buns or finger buns, and in parts of the north they were known as penny fingers or school buns, served in school canteens as a pudding. Honestly, what a time to be alive that was.

They’re not complicated, but they do require a bit of patience – yeasted doughs always do. The reward is absolutely worth it though: fresh out of the oven, still warm, glazed and glossy. I defy anyone to eat just one.

Why this recipe works

I’ve tried a lot of iced bun recipes over the years. Some came out too dense, some too bready, some weirdly dry. After a lot of trial and error (and a lot of bun-eating, which is obviously a hardship), this is the version I keep coming back to.

The key is in the enriched dough. Using warm milk, butter, eggs AND a little sugar creates a dough that’s soft and slightly sticky – that’s what you want. Don’t be tempted to add more flour to make it easier to handle. Trust the process, and you’ll end up with that soft, cloud-like texture that makes a truly great iced bun.

The other non-negotiable? A good thick icing. Not a thin drizzle, not a glaze you can see through – a proper, generous, opaque coating that sets slightly as it dries. That’s the whole point of an iced bun.

What you’ll need

Nothing unusual here, which is one of the reasons I love this recipe. It’s a genuine store cupboard bake (once you’ve got the yeast in).

For the dough you’ll need strong white bread flour, fast-action dried yeast, caster sugar, salt, unsalted butter, whole milk, water and two medium eggs. For the icing you just need icing sugar, a tiny bit of water, and food colouring if you want to go classic pink (and trust me, if you’re making these with kids, you absolutely want to go classic pink).

A stand mixer with a dough hook makes this significantly easier, but it’s completely doable by hand if you’re happy to knead for about ten minutes. I’ve done both. The stand mixer version is obviously more civilised.

The iced buns recipe

Ingredients

For the dough (makes 12 buns):

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 x 7g sachets fast-action dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 40g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
• 150ml whole milk, warmed to blood temperature
• 140ml warm water
• 2 medium free-range eggs, beaten

For the icing:

• 200g icing sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tbsp water (add gradually)
• Pink food colouring (optional but highly recommended)

Method

Step 1 – Make the dough

Pop your flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Make sure the salt and yeast are on opposite sides of the bowl – salt kills yeast if they come into direct contact, and after all that kneading effort, you really don’t want flat buns.

Add the warm milk, warm water, beaten eggs and softened butter. If you’re using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed with the dough hook for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulling away from the sides cleanly. If you’re doing it by hand, bring it together in the bowl first and then tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a good 10 minutes.

The dough will be sticky. This is correct. Resist the urge to add more flour. A sticky dough makes a soft bun.

Step 2 – First prove

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film or a clean damp tea towel, and leave somewhere warm to prove until it’s doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour, but it depends on how warm your kitchen is. Mine is generally arctic, so I cheat and pop it in the oven on its lowest setting with the door slightly open.

Go and do something else. Have a cup of tea. Chase a child out of something they shouldn’t be in. You know how it goes.

Step 3 – Shape the buns

Once the dough has doubled, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back — give it a good punch to deflate it. Divide it into 12 equal pieces (a kitchen scale is useful here if you want them to all come out the same size, which I admit I only bother with about half the time).

Roll each piece into a smooth sausage shape, roughly 10-12cm long. Place them onto two lined baking trays, leaving a little space between each one – not too much, as you want them to just touch when they rise, which helps them hold their shape and stay soft.

Step 4 – Second prove

Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to prove again for another 30-45 minutes until puffed up and starting to touch their neighbours. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220C (200C fan / Gas 7).

Step 5 – Bake

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown on top and they sound hollow when you tap the bottom. They go a beautiful burnished gold and your kitchen will smell absolutely incredible. I’m warning you now — the children will appear from wherever they’ve been hiding the moment these come out of the oven.

Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before you ice them. I know this is hard. It’s very hard. But warm buns plus icing equals a slidey, runny disaster, and we’ve learned this lesson the hard way more than once in this house.

Step 6 – Make the icing

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water a tiny bit at a time, stirring as you go. You’re looking for a thick, gloopy consistency – think the texture of thick yoghurt. It should hold its shape when you spread it but still be spreadable without tearing the bun. If you’re going pink (and you should go pink), add your food colouring now and mix until you get an even colour.

The key mistake people make here is adding too much water. Go slowly. If it gets too thin, add more icing sugar. If it’s too thick, add water a few drops at a time. You want it thick enough that it sits on top of the bun rather than running off the sides.

Step 7 – Ice the buns

Either dip the top of each bun into the icing and smooth with your finger, or use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to spread it on. A generous, even coating is what you’re after – don’t be shy with it. That thick layer of icing is the whole point of an iced bun.

Leave them on a wire rack for the icing to set. This takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on how thick you’ve gone. If you want a glossy finish, a quick blast of cold air from a hairdryer on its cool setting speeds the drying up and keeps the icing shiny – a tip I picked up years ago and have used ever since.

Tips for perfect iced buns

Don’t rush the prove. I know it’s tempting, especially when you’ve got impatient children circling the kitchen like small hungry sharks, but under-proved dough makes dense buns. Give it the time it needs.

Keep the dough slightly sticky. This is what makes the buns soft. If the dough is too dry, the buns will be tight and bready rather than pillowy and light.

Cool completely before icing. Hot buns melt the icing and it slides right off. I know you know this. Do it anyway.

Make the icing thick. Thin icing looks sad on an iced bun. It should be thick enough to hold shape but soft enough to spread. When in doubt, add less water.

Bake them close together. Iced buns baked touching each other stay softer and hold their finger shape better. Pull-apart buns are the best buns.

Can you freeze iced buns?

Yes – but freeze them before you ice them. Bake as normal, cool completely, then wrap individually and freeze for up to two months. When you want them, take them out and leave to thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours, then ice as normal. If anything, this makes them even better for batch baking because you can have fresh-iced buns on demand.

Once iced, they really do need to be eaten the same day. Not that this has ever been a problem in our house. Twelve buns between five of us rarely makes it to the next morning!

Variations worth trying

The classic is plain white icing, or pink. But once you’ve got the recipe nailed, there’s a lot of fun to be had with iced buns. A few of our favourites:

Rainbow iced buns: Split the icing into four or five bowls and use different food colouring in each. Every child gets to pick their colour. Chaos ensues. Everyone is happy.

Lemon iced buns: Replace the water in the icing with fresh lemon juice. Adds a lovely sharpness that cuts through the sweetness beautifully.

Chocolate iced buns: Melt a little dark chocolate and stir it through the icing instead of using food colouring. Rich, glossy, and the first to disappear every single time.

Filled iced buns: Paul Hollywood famously splits his and fills them with jam and Chantilly cream for the Great British Bake Off version. I’ll be honest, I’m a purist – I like them plain. But if you want to go full retro bakery, slice them horizontally and add a generous layer of strawberry jam before replacing the top. You won’t regret it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make the dough the night before?

Yes – after the first prove, knock the dough back, shape the buns, place them on the trays and cover tightly with cling film. Pop them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, take them out about an hour before baking to let them come back up to room temperature and finish their prove. They’ll need the full 30-45 minutes, possibly a bit longer because they’re starting cold.

Can I make iced buns without a stand mixer?

Absolutely. Bring the dough together in the bowl and then tip out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic. Your arms will have a workout. Worth it.

Why are my iced buns dense?

Almost certainly under-proved. The dough really does need to double in size – if it hasn’t risen properly before baking, the buns will be heavy and tight. Make sure your yeast is fresh, your milk and water are warm (not hot, hot liquid kills yeast) and give the prove enough time. A warm kitchen helps enormously.

Why is my icing running off the buns?

Either the icing is too thin or the buns weren’t completely cool. Both are easy fixes. Add more icing sugar to thicken the icing, and always make sure the buns are completely cold before you even think about icing them.

Can I use plain flour instead of bread flour?

Bread flour gives the best texture because of its higher protein content, which helps develop the gluten and gives you that soft but slightly chewy crumb. Plain flour will work in a pinch but the results won’t be quite as good – the buns will be a little less springy. If you can, use bread flour.

A word on baking with kids

I’ve made these with my kids since they were tiny, and they’re still a favourite baking project now that the eldest two are teenagers (yes, even teenagers like making iced buns – especially when they get to eat them afterwards). The jobs are easy to share out: the youngest loves kneading the dough (or rather, poking it enthusiastically), the middle one has taken complete ownership of the icing stage, and my eldest is now genuinely good at shaping the buns evenly.

It’s one of those recipes where even the waiting time becomes part of the fun – the watching and waiting and prodding the dough to see if it springs back yet. And the moment those buns come out of the oven, golden and fragrant and utterly perfect, is genuinely one of those small, lovely parenting moments that I hope my kids remember when they’re older.

Right. Go and make some iced buns. Your family will thank you for it!

 

See some more of my baking posts here!

Other Bakes You Might Enjoy

For more nostalgic British baking, try some of my Mary Berry classics!

• Traditional Treacle Tart – Another school dinner classic
• Swiss roll – Even more school nostalgia
• Classic Victoria Sponge – For when you want to impress
• Blueberry Muffins
• Chocolate Swiss Roll
• Raspberry and Pistachio Cake