Lenten Buns

Makes 10 buns
25 g yeast
100 g margarine
250 ml milk
1 egg
85 g sugar
2 pinches salt
2 pinches baking soda
360-420 g plain flour
Glaze: egg
Filling: 100 g almond paste, 2-3 tbsp milk
Topping: 2 dl whipping cream, icing sugar

Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Melt the margarine in a saucepan. Add the milk and heat to 37°C.
Pour some of the liquid onto the yeast and stir until dissolved. Add the remaining liquid, egg, sugar, salt, baking soda and almost
all the flour (save some for kneading). Knead the dough until smooth and elastic and it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the dough and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Lift the dough onto a floured surface and knead it well with the rest of the flour. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, round bun and place on a tray covered with baking paper. Cover the buns and leave to prove for about 20 minutes. Brush the buns with the beaten egg.
Bake in the middle of the oven at 250°C for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool. Slice the top off each bun. Remove some of the inside. Grate the almond paste and mix together with the bun crumbs and milk.
Spoon the mixture back into the buns. Whip the cream to a stiff peak.
Spoon or pipe the cream onto the buns and replace the top. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.