Fig and nutmeg buns for Advent - a dairy free recipe

It was the start of Advent on Sunday, and these fig spiked buns - gently spiced with nutmeg and sprinkled with demerera sugar are a lovely way to ease yourself into the start of the Christmas festivities. A hint of what's to come, without going full on CHRISTMAS! A simple bake, perfect with a hot drink - quick and easy enough to knock up before an NCT mamas lunch date where the toddlers try to cover as many square centimetres of their skin as is humanly possible with ratatouille. 

On my last post I apologised for my radio silence of late - the combination of getting used to new glasses and another shocking cough and cold from Harry, accompanied by a blast of sleep deprivation has meant that the blog has been last on my list. Well no, I've been last on my list, the blog is penultimate. This morning I've braided my hair, grabbed M's DSLR and got a bit of a wriggle on whilst bubba naps. There's a fair old amount going on in the Pantry at the moment. I'm trying to make some of my favourite Christmas bakes dairy free and get them up on here asap as well as getting organised for Christmas and all that entails.

Anyway - to (mis)quote my favourite Doctor "Allons-y!"

Fig and nutmeg buns
Dairy free, soya free
Makes 12

8oz plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3oz dairy free spread
2oz caster sugar
6oz dried figs (each chopped up into about 16)
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
3-4 tablespoons almond milk (or the dairy free substitute of your choice)
2 tablespoons demerera sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
Line a cookie sheet with greaseproof paper
Put the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir briefly
Rub in the the dairy free spread until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs
Add in the figs, and a really good grating of nutmeg
In a cup, beat the egg and almond milk together, then add this to the mixing bowl
Stir well to combine - you want a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl but that's sticky enough to hold together
Split the mixture into 12 buns, pop on the lined cookie sheet, and sprinkle with the demerera sugar
Bake for 15 minutes
Allow to cool before tucking in

These are not the sort of buns that keep forever (shame) so make them the day or at most day before you plan to eat them. I find husbands are very useful for finishing them off if there's any left!