Weekend Brunch for Eight
- Serves
- 8
- Dishes
- 4
A long, relaxed brunch where most of the work is done the day before: buns shaped and chilled overnight, shakshuka sauce made ahead, compote cooling in the fridge. In the morning you bake, flip pancakes and crack eggs.
On the menu
From the ovenCardamom Cinnamon Buns16 buns, shaped the night before and baked straight from the fridge.
From the panButtermilk PancakesMake ×2About 24 pancakes; keep them warm in a low oven.
SavoryShakshukaMake ×2Two pans of 6 eggs each, served from the pan with bread.
- FreshYogurt with Fruit CompoteMake ×2
Use whatever fruit is in season, or frozen berries.
To drink
Mimosas: dry sparkling wine topped up with fresh orange juice. Non-alcoholic: fresh orange juice topped up with soda water, and plenty of coffee.
The day before
- Make the bun dough, fill, cut and shape the buns; cover the trays and refrigerate overnight.
- Make the compote and chill it; it keeps 1 week.
- Make the shakshuka sauce in both pans (up to the point of adding eggs), cool and refrigerate.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients for the pancakes and cover.
- Set the table; chill the juice and sparkling wine.
Game plan
Counted back from the moment you serve.
- 2 h 5 min before serving
Take the buns out of the fridge to puff at room temperature, 30–45 minutes.
- 1 h 40 min before serving
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
- 1 h 25 min before serving
Brush the first tray of buns with egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake 12–14 minutes (a minute or two longer than usual, as they started cold).
- 1 h 10 min before serving
Second tray in for 12–14 minutes. Squeeze the orange juice.
- 55 min before serving
Buns out to cool on a rack. Turn the oven down to 90°C (200°F) and leave the door open for a few minutes to cool it for the pancakes.
- 45 min before serving
Melt the butter and mix the pancake batter; rest it 10 minutes. Start the coffee.
- 35 min before serving
Cook the pancakes in batches, 4–5 minutes per batch, moving them to a rack in the warm oven (about 25 minutes in all).
- 25 min before serving
Meanwhile reheat both pans of shakshuka sauce gently until bubbling.
- 12 min before serving
Make 6 wells in each pan, crack in the eggs, cover and cook on low 6–8 minutes, until the whites set.
- 5 min before serving
Spoon the yogurt into a big bowl with the compote and granola alongside. Scatter feta and herbs over the shakshuka.
- Serve
Put everything on the table at once.
Shopping list
Produce
- 2 onions
- 1 head garlic (6 cloves)
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 lemon
- 1 kg fruit for the compote (berries, rhubarb, plums or apples; frozen is fine)
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (about 16 g)
- 250 g fresh berries, for the pancakes
Dairy & eggs
- 18 large eggs
- 300 g unsalted butter
- 300 ml whole milk
- 1 liter buttermilk
- 1.25 kg Greek or skyr-style yogurt
- 200 g feta
- 100 g unsalted butter, for serving the pancakes
Bakery
- 1 large loaf crusty bread or 8 pitas, for the shakshuka
Pantry
- 4 cans (400 g) whole peeled tomatoes
- tomato paste (2 tbsp)
- 1.25 kg all-purpose flour
- 250 g sugar
- 90 g light brown sugar
- 30 g pearl sugar
- vanilla extract (2 tsp)
- 7 g instant yeast
- baking powder (1½ tbsp)
- baking soda (1 tsp)
- harissa or chili flakes (2 tsp)
- 200 g Big-Cluster Granola or toasted nuts
- 250 ml maple syrup, for the pancakes
- Pantry check: olive oil, fine sea salt
Spices
- ground cumin (1½ tbsp)
- sweet paprika (1½ tbsp)
- ground cinnamon (2 tbsp)
- ground cardamom (2 tsp)