As the Assembly House's official Scone Jedi (take a look at my Instgram hashstag) I have spent my career making cakes, viennoiseries and desserts.

After training in the UK and in Switzerland, I worked at a number of West End hotels including the Hilton Park Lane (where I was chased by a furious French pastry chef brandishing a rolling pin), the Mayfair Intercontinental and I was head pastry chef at Claridge’s Hotel. 

I worked for Albert Roux in Amsterdam, and have cooked for a formidable list of queens, from Queen Elizabeth, her mother and family, to Queen of Pop Madonna, Queen of Soaps, Joan Collins and Queen of Romance, Barbara Cartland.

None of the above, however, could have prepared me for Christmas at The Assembly House in Norwich! 

At this time of year, the house is like the bakery division in Lapland as the pastry team hand-makes up to 400 Nutcracker afternoon teas every day, serves full houses for breakfast, bakes cakes for elevenses, creates desserts for lunch and, in between, hosts cookery demonstrations and pastry classes at The Richard Hughes Cookery School.

Did I mention prepping for the brand-new afternoon tea which begins in January?

I am in early every morning, just like always, to make the breakfast pastries – it’s the quietest time in the kitchen, still dark outside at this time of year, a nip in the air before I fire up the ovens.

Eastern Daily Press:

Breakfast, I think, is a really special meal and one that deserves more attention than it often gets.  This recipe is a very slight variation of the bun on our Festive Beforenoon Tea, which is being served in igloos and dining rooms until January 8. We add a dash of cranberry for sharpness and flavour.

It makes a great breakfast at Christmas time, filling the kitchen with the wonderful scents of spice and fruit and setting you up for the day.

If time is of the essence, you can make these buns up to step five the night before, prove them in the fridge and then, in the morning, just bring them to room temperature and bake for that in-house bakery feel.

Now excuse me, I’ve got several thousand gingerbread men to make…Merry Christmas!

Spiced Clementine Breakfast Buns

Ingredients

75g unsalted butter, diced

100ml milk

500g strong plain flour

7g dried yeast

1 tsp salt

50g caster sugar

1tsp mixed spice (or just use cinnamon)

Two large eggs, extra for glaze

Vegetable oil

2 clementines plus their zest

For the topping:

75g icing sugar

1 tbsp clementine juice

Method

Place the butter, milk and 100ml water in a small saucepan and warm until butter melts. Set aside to cool.

Put flour in a bowl. Add yeast to one side of bowl and sugar, salt and spice to other.

Beat the eggs into the lukewarm milk mixture and add gradually to the dry mixture, stirring until a sticky dough forms. Knead using dough attachment on a mixer or by hand on a lightly-oiled surface until smooth, elastic and no longer sticky. Sprinkle over the zest and fold in. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for up to two hours until doubled in size.

When risen, turn dough on to an oiled surface and fold it over on itself a few times to knock out any large air bubbles. Roll into a rectangle which is roughly 40cm x 20cm. At this stage you can add a filling if you’d like, by spreading 60g of softened butter over the dough and adding either 3tbsps of marmalade or jam over the top. Tightly roll the dough and cut into 10 rolls and place on a baking tray with space for a single layer to double in size. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave for at least 45 minutes or until doubled in size, or place in fridge ready for the morning.

Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas Mark 6. Brush risen rolls with beaten egg and then bake until golden, for around 15 to 20 minutes. Mix together the icing sugar with enough clementine juice to make a thick icing. Drizzle or pipe over the tops of the buns, add a little extra zest and then serve warm. Best enjoyed fresh, but will keep for a day or two.

assemblyhousenorwich.co.uk