Iced Buns Budget Recipe - How To Make Your Own Iced Buns

 Photo by Terje Sollie

There’s something almost unfair about an iced bun. It looks simple, but one bite tells you it’s not. Soft, sweet bread, a thick cap of icing, and if you want the classic version, a split filled with jam and whipped cream.

This budget recipe is beginner-friendly, needs no stand mixer, and makes 6 buns that feel like they came from a bakery shelf. You’ll spend more time waiting for the dough to rise than doing hands-on work. The baking is quick, too.

One key promise: the icing is easy, but you must add water slowly. A little too much and it turns into a runny glaze that slides straight off the buns.

Ingredients and cost breakdown for 6 iced buns

You don’t need anything fancy here. This is classic sweet bread dough, plus a simple icing, with optional fillings that make it feel like a proper treat.

Ingredients (metric)

For the buns:

• 250 g strong bread flour
• 25 g sugar
• 20 g butter (softened, or melted then cooled a bit)
• 1 egg
• 1 sachet dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 75 ml milk (lukewarm)
• About 70 ml water (add gradually)

For the icing and filling:

• 100 g icing sugar
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp water (add slowly)
• Double cream (100 ml works, but 200 ml gives a fuller fill)
• Jam (about 1 tbsp, any flavor you like)

In one carefully costed home example, the base batch came out around £1.43 total, which is roughly 23p per bun. If you go heavier on cream (very easy to do), it may push closer to 30p each, still far cheaper than many shop-bought iced fingers.

If you’re curious how other home bakers approach them, compare notes with a couple of popular versions like this quick iced buns recipe and the classic-style approach from Good Housekeeping’s iced buns.

What’s required vs optional?

The bun + icing is the core. Jam and cream are optional, but they’re the part people remember.

Simple swaps to keep costs down

• Flour: Bread flour gives the fluffiest bun, but plain (all-purpose) flour still works. The crumb just won’t be quite as bouncy.
• Butter: Margarine works, or a mild oil in a pinch.
• Egg: If you’re short, you can skip it, the bun will be a bit less rich.
• Milk: Any milk works, even made-up powdered milk.
• Icing: Keep it minimal, thick, and simple. You don’t need extra flavors for it to taste good.

Step-by-step: make fluffy iced buns from scratch

Think of this dough like a soft pillow that starts off sticky and rough, then turns smooth as you knead. Don’t fight the stickiness at the start, it’s part of what makes the buns tender.

1) Wake up the yeast

Warm the milk until it’s lukewarm, not hot. Stir in the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar, then leave it for a few minutes. You’re looking for foam or froth on top. That’s your sign the yeast is alive.

If nothing happens, the milk may have been too hot or the yeast may be old. It’s better to restart now than waste flour later. For more general technique comparisons, this BBC Good Food iced buns method is a helpful reference point.

2) Mix the dough

In a bowl, mix the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Add the egg and butter, then pour in the yeasty milk.

Start mixing, then add water a little at a time until you get a sticky dough. It should look slightly shaggy, but it should come together.

3) Knead until smooth (about 10 minutes)

Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes. By the end, the dough should feel smooth and elastic.

You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one, but it’s not needed.

4) First rise (about 1 hour)

Oil the bowl lightly, add the dough, cover, and leave it somewhere warm until it roughly doubles in size. An oven with the light on works well.

5) Shape 6 buns

Punch the air out gently, then divide into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball first, then roll into a short sausage shape, like a small hot dog bun.

Place on a lined tray with space between them.

6) Second rise (about 1 hour)

Cover and leave until the buns look puffy and lighter. They should expand enough that they look like real buns, not tight little logs.

7) Bake hot and fast

Bake in a very hot oven, around 220°C, for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Move them to a rack and let them cool fully before icing or filling.

Quick troubleshooting

• Dough feels dry: add 1 teaspoon of water and knead it in.
• Dough is very sticky: dust your hands lightly, but don’t add lots of flour or the buns can turn dense.
• Buns brown too fast: move the tray lower, or reduce the heat slightly next time.

Icing and fillings that look bakery-style (jam, cream, and more)

The icing is where most people go wrong, not because it’s hard, but because water moves fast. Add a splash too many and you can’t take it back.

Thick icing that stays put

Mix 100 g icing sugar with about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of water, adding the water gradually. Aim for a stiff, opaque icing that holds its shape on a spoon.

You’ve got two good ways to top the buns:

• Spread it over the top with a spoon for a neat finish.
• Dip the tops into the bowl for a thicker coat (messier, but very bakery-like).

Classic jam and cream filling

Let the buns cool completely first, warm buns melt cream and turn it slack.

Whip double cream until it holds soft peaks. Spoon it into a piping bag (or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped). Slice each bun lengthways, but don’t cut all the way through. Spread jam on the bottom, then pipe a line of cream down the middle.

A practical make-ahead approach: store buns plain in a sealed container, keep cream chilled, and fill only the ones you’ll eat soon. That way, you keep the bread soft and the cream fresh.

February 2026-style ideas (simple, not fussy)

• Vegan version: plant milk plus vegan spread, then fill with a thick plant-based whipping cream.
• Chocolate icing: add a teaspoon of cocoa to the icing sugar, then adjust water slowly.
• Pink icing: one tiny drop of coloring goes a long way.
• Toppings: sprinkles or desiccated coconut.
• Extra-soft experiment: try a tangzhong (water roux) method if you like testing bread textures.

Storage, freezing, and serving tips so they stay soft

Iced buns are at their best the day you bake them, when the crumb is still springy and the icing has that fresh bite.

Store plain buns in an airtight container at room temp for a day or two. Avoid refrigerating unfilled buns if you can, the fridge tends to dry bread out faster. Keep whipped cream in the fridge, always.

For freezing, freeze the buns baked and fully cooled, ideally unfilled and un-iced. Thaw at room temperature, then ice and fill. You can freeze iced buns, but the icing may lose a bit of its shine after thawing, the taste is still good.

Serve them filled right before eating, and grab a napkin. Sticky icing is part of the deal.

Conclusion

Homemade iced buns don’t need special kit, just a soft dough, a hot oven, and thick icing made with water added slowly. Keep the base simple, then choose your finish, plain iced, or the classic jam and fresh cream combo. The best part is the cost, a true budget recipe that still feels like a treat.

If you bake a batch, share how you finished yours, did you spread the icing or dip the tops, and what jam flavor won the day?