Pixelated Provisions

Video Game Recipes Brought to Life

The Witcher 3: Sweet Bun

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The Witcher 3 celebrated its 5 year anniversary last week! This game does a great job of placing delicious food on the plates throughout the game. Many of the tables are filled with delicious items and tons of alcohol. I found myself getting distracted by the tables while I explored the world. I made sure that Geralt’s pockets were always filled with many treats and snacks just in case he needed them while on the road. One of my favorite items to get my hands on was the sweet roll. I spent a while trying to decide how to approach this recipe because of the image in-game. It appears to have a spiral-like shape at the top but not what you would typically see in a cinnamon roll. After a bit of thinking, I decided to take the route similar to a hot cross bun. Hot cross buns typically have nice little cross hatches on them, so instead we are going to make little spiral marks on each. On top of that, hot cross buns are normally mixed with dried fruit. The Witcher 3 is filled with lots of piles of dried fruit so these buns were the perfect direction to take the sweet bun.

Jump to Printable Recipe

Dough
½ cup rum
½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup dried cherries
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 cup almond milk
2 ¼ tsp yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tbsp butter, room temp
½ tsp almond extract

Spirals
½ cup flour
⅓ cup water
2 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature

Glaze
¼ cup orange juice
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar

Combine the rum, raisins, dried cherries, and dried cranberries in a bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Drain the rum and set aside.

Combine the almond milk and yeast in a large bowl. Let it rest for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to become active. Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, orange zest, and lemon zest.

Place the butter in a large bowl and mix until whipped. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the eggs and almond extract.

Add a third of the flour mixture and mix. Add another third, mix, and then the final third.

Add the dried fruits and knead into the dough. Lightly flour a countertop and knead the dough for five minutes. Smooth the dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough ball into the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Divide the dough into 14 – 16 equal portions. Shape into round balls and place on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the spirals until smooth. You want the mixture to be thick but thin enough to pipe. Transfer to a ziplock bag. Cut a small hole in one of the corners.

Make spirals on top of each of the buns. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, water, and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until slightly thicken. Brush each of the buns with the glaze.

Print Recipe

Sweet Bun

Ingredients

Dough

  • ½ cup rum
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup dried cherries
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 2 ¼ tsp yeast
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • zest of 1 orange
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 tbsp butter room temp
  • ½ tsp almond extract

Spirals

  • ½ cup flour
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 2 tbsp cream cheese room temperature

Glaze

  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 3 tbsp sugar

Instructions

  • Combine the rum, raisins, dried cherries, and dried cranberries in a bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Drain the rum and set aside.
  • Combine the almond milk and yeast in a large bowl. Let it rest for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to become active. Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, orange zest, and lemon zest.
  • Place the butter in a large bowl and mix until whipped. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the eggs and almond extract.
  • Add a third of the flour mixture and mix. Add another third, mix, and then the final third.
  • Add the dried fruits and knead into the dough. Lightly flour a countertop and knead the dough for five minutes. Smooth the dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough ball into the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
  • Divide the dough into 14 – 16 equal portions. Shape into round balls and place on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  • Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the spirals until smooth. You want the mixture to be thick but thin enough to pipe. Transfer to a ziplock bag. Cut a small hole in one of the corners.
  • Make spirals on top of each of the buns. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
  • To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, water, and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until slightly thicken. Brush each of the buns with the glaze.