This bun found its way into South African cuisine courtesy of the French Huguenots who settled in Franschhoek in the Cape. Just as they contributed so significantly to the development of viticulture in the region, they also brought their cooking and baking traditions with them. Mosbolletjies were made during the wine-making season when unfermented grape juice (stum) was readily available.

Afrikaans for ‘stum’ or ‘must’ is ‘mos’, and ‘bolletjies’ is the Afrikaans word for ‘little balls or buns’. As a bread lover, I simply had to include a mossbolletjie recipe, but I’ve replaced grape juice with rooibos tea. .

Recipe adapted from A Taste of South Africa with the Kosher Butcher’s Wife, Penguin Random House

• Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the sugar and yeast and mix.
• Once the tea has steeped for 2–3 minutes, squeeze the bag to extract maximum flavour from the tea bag.
• Place the hot tea into a bowl, then add the butter or margarine, warm water and milk. As soon as the butter has melted, add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Knead the resulting dough well until smooth and elastic, then place into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove until doubled in size (30–40 minutes).
• Knock back the dough, then roll out until it is about 2cm thick.
• Smear with the apricot jam and sugar-cinnamon, then divide into 8–10 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece into a rounded oblong and pack them tightly together into a greased loaf tin.
• Cover and allow to prove for another 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Beat the eggs and brush over the top of the loaf. Sprinkle over the raisins or sultanas, if using.
• Bake for 35–40 minutes until golden and risen.
• Leave to cool on a wire rack. Leftovers are great toasted.