For Queen Victoria’s birthday, I decided to try out one of many, many recipes named for her. This recipe for Victoria Buns comes from Isabella Beeton – the same author who published the first known recipe for Victoria sandwiches, a much more famous dish also named after Queen Victoria.

Victoria Buns

• 2 oz baker’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 1.5 oz rice flour
• 2 oz butter
• 1.5 oz currants
• 1.5 tbsp candied peel, finely chopped
• 9-10 tbsp flour

1. Whisk the egg, then add the sugar and beat the egg and sugar together.
2. Cream the butter, then stir in the rice flour, currants and candied peel.
3. Stir the egg and sugar mixture into the butter mixture.
4. Stir in the flour, a little bit at a time. The dough should be just barely stiff enough to form into balls, but should still be fairly sticky.
5. Form dough into 7 or 8 balls and place on a baking sheet.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until starting to turn golden-brown on top.

Tasting notes:

These buns surprised me. From the name, I thought they might turn out more like muffins or scones or some other breakfast pastry. Instead, they seem much more like tea cookies. The rice flour gives them an interesting texture, making them slightly soft and crumbly. The currants and candied peel are very typical flavorings for Victorian baked goods, and they work well together in these too. These cookie/buns would be perfect for an afternoon tea.

References:

Beeton, I. (1861). The book of household management. London: S.O. Beeton. https://archive.org/details/b20392758/page/846/mode/2up