Cornish Splits for St Piran's Day

Today, the 5th of March, if you did not know it, is St Piran's day. St Piran (Saint Piran in Cornish) is the patron saint of Cornwall so today is a day for all Cornishmen and Cornishwomen to celebrate their history and ancestry.

Flag of St Piran, Patron Saint of Cornwall.

To mark this occasion, I am posting a classic Cornish recipe on this blog. And what could be more classically Cornish than that staple of the Cornish cream tea, the Cornish split (splytys Kernowek in Cornish).

These are sweet, yeasted, buns that are typically split, filled with cream and served as part of a cream tea. Below is my version of this Cornish classic.

Of all the yeasted tea buns the Cornish Split is one of the easiest to make and despite being a sweet bun it works just as well for breakfast, filled with bacon and scrambled eggs as it does as the classic tea time bun.

Cornish Splits (Splytys Kernowek) Recipe

Serves: 9

Ingredients:

75g (3 oz unbleached plain flour
1 tsp active dried yeast
300ml (1 1/4 cups) lukewarm milk
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Method:

Mix together the milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Whisk to combine then set aside for the yeast to activate (about 10 minutes).

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl then add the butter and stir-in. Add the yeast mixture and stir-in. Bring the mixture together as a dough then tip onto a floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Roll into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover and set aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in volume.

Knock the dough back and knead for a few minutes then cut into 9 equal pieces and shape these into balls. Place the balls, evenly spaced, in a well-buttered 22cm square baking tin. Cover the buns and place in a warm spot, allowing them to rise for about 20 minutes.

Remove the cover and place the tin in an oven pre-heated to 210ºC (410ºF, Gas Mark 7). Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the buns are browned and puffed. Tip from the tin, allow to cool on a wire rack then split open and serve warm.

For hundreds more Cornish recipes, both traditional and modern, please visit the Celtnet Cornish recipes and information page.

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