great british bake-off challenge May 2019: Iced Fingers!

Ok, so I haven’t been able to get Iced Fingers out of my head since I saw them on the show years ago. They looked like hot dog buns filled with whipped cream and jam and topped with icing. And Paul Hollywood’s nostalgia is almost palpable as he tries each one and calls them a childhood favorite. Naturally I was intrigued. Somehow (how exactly though..?) all these years have passed without me actually trying them.

What was I waiting for?! You guys. These. Are. YUM. I almost can’t understand why they are so yummy. They really are just hot dog buns filled with whipped cream and jam and topped with icing. The bun is so soft and light and not very sweet; and the whipped cream is so fluffy and light and not very sweet; the jam is tart and sweet and the icing is pure sweet and it all comes together as a soft, light, sweet-but-not-too-sweet mesmerizing confection.

I don’t have many notes on the recipe because it was all very straightforward and simple. Start to finish took maybe 4 hours, more or less depending on how long it takes your buns to cool completely. I was careful not to use too much flour in my dough in the kneading stage so that they wouldn’t be too dense or dry, so the dough was a bit on the stickier side, but nothing unmanageable. The shaping is probably the fussiest part of the process but if you don’t care too much how they look, then just get a rough version of a hot dog shape and you’re good to go. For piping the whipped cream I did use my piping bag but you could use a ziplock and snip off the end. That’s what I did for the jam (a sandwich size ziplock.) I didn’t have strawberry jam so I used raspberry and it was perfectly delicious.

These would be perfect Mother’s Day treats. GO MAKE THEM!

iced fingers

makes 12

Ingredients

[for the dough]

• 3 1/2 cups (500g) bread flour

• 3 Tbsp + 2 tsp (50g) sugar

• 3 Tbsp (40g) unsalted butter, softened

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 4 1/2 tsp yeast

• 2 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup (150ml) warm milk

• 1/2 cup (140ml) water, divided

[for the icing}

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

• 5 tsp cold water (plus more if necessary)

[for the filling]

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

• 1 Tbsp sugar

• strawberry jam ( I used raspberry)

Instructions:

[for the dough]

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup of water, and a 2 tsp sugar, stirring to combine. Let sit five minutes. (It should get foamy. If not, your yeast is dead!)

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, remaining 3 Tbsp sugar, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the milk, remaining 1/4 cup water, eggs, butter, yeast mixture and knead on medium low until a soft dough forms, about 10 minutes. The dough will be soft and tacky, but if it seems too sticky, add flour by the tablespoon as needed (but do so sparingly!)

3. Cover and let dough rise in a warm, draft free area for one hour or until doubled.

4. Gently punch down dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into 5 inch long “fingers”. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with enough space in between to double in size. Let rise for 45 minutes. Ideally, they’ll be just touching each other when they’ve finished rising.

5. Preheat oven to 425. When the buns are ready, bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

[for the icing]

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a wide bowl or shallow dish. Gradually stir in enough water to make a thick paste.

2. Dip the top of each bun into the icing, smoothing over the top with a spoon (or your finger.)

3. Set aside on a wire rack to set.

[for the filling]

1. Using the wire whisk attachment of your standing mixer, whip the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a large piping bag. Spoon the jam into a smaller piping bag or squeeze bottle.

2. Slice each bun horizontally, leaving one side in tact. Pipe a generous amount of whipping cream, and then a smaller amount of jam.

3. Dust with powdered sugar if desired and serve.

Recipe source Paul Hollywood