Blueberries and Thyme: Teacakes with greek flavours

These teacakes are easy and fast to make and super delicious with afternoon tea or coffee.

I re-watched old episodes of The Great British Bake Off the other day (don't judge! ;)) and came across something that I didn't know before: teacakes. They are brioche like buns, but less rich and sweet. Spiced and filled with dried fruit - sounded delicious! So here is my take on them.

I really like two very uncommon spices used in Greek baking. Mahlepi, which is ground cherry stones, and Mastic gum, a resin obtained from the mastic tree. These spices are used in sweet bread like Tsoureki which is traditionally baked for Easter in Greece. You can find them in greek shops.

Teacakes and these spices to me seemed like the perfect combination. I'd say however, that it's an accomplished taste, so start off with a quarter of a teaspoon and taste the dough so that you can find out how much of the spice mix is enough for you.

Enjoy them fresh out of the oven or toasted with your favourite toppings.

Recipe adapted from this recipe on BBC goodfood.

Teacakes with greek flavours

makes 4 small teacakes

50 ml milk
50 ml luke warm water
175 g high grad flour (strong bread flour)
3 g dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp spice mix (1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground mahlepi, 1 small rock mastic gum crushed, seeds of 1 cardamom pod, crushed)
35 g dried fruit (e.g. raisins, chopped apricots)
1 egg for the eggwash

Prepare the spice mix by combining cinnamon, mahlepi and the crushed mastic rock and cardamom.

Mix water with the yeast and sugar and let stand for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

In the meantime mix flour, salt and spice mix in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine well.

In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter and slowly warm up until the butter has melted. Let the milk and butter mixture cool a little bit before combining it with the yeast water.

Make a well in the flour mix and pour in the liquid ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Knead the dough on medium speed (setting 6 on my KitchenAid) until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test, about 5 -7 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towl and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 1.5 hours.

Once it's risen, divide the dough in 4 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each piece and fill with a quarter of the dried fruit. Roll it up and knead so that the fruit is distributed equally. Shape into a semi-tight ball by cupping your hand over the dough and moving it in a circular motion with the fingers of that hand slightly tucked in and slight pressure.
Leave the shaped buns in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C top/bottom heat).
When the buns have risen and the dough springs back slightly but leaves a dent when you poke it with your finger, they are ready to bake. Whisk the egg to make an eggwash and brush each bun with the eggwash. This gives them their characteristic shine. Bake in the top third of your oven for about 16-18 minutes until they have a deep golden brown colour.

I enjoy them warm with (peanut) butter and jam or ricotta, honey and fresh fruit.