🇲🇹 Maltese Recipes

Traditional Mediterranean Cuisine

Ħobża ta' San Martin (St Martin's Sweet Buns)

Soft Maltese aniseed buns with a sugar glaze, sesame and an optional liquorice sweet, baked for the November feast of St Martin.

Prep: 30 minutes (plus 1½-2½ hours rising) Cook: 20 minutes Servings: 10 buns
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Watercolour illustration of glazed St Martin sweet buns with sesame, liquorice sweets, walnuts and dried figs.

Ingredients

Have your ingredients ready? Go to instructions
Measures: 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml. For local ingredient names and substitutions, see our guide to Maltese ingredients abroad.

Instructions

  1. Knead: Mix flour, yeast, sugar, aniseed and salt. Add milk and vanilla, mix, then knead in the soft butter gradually. Knead for 10-12 minutes until elastic. The dough should stay soft and slightly tacky.
  2. First rise: Cover and leave for 1-2 hours until doubled. Divide into 10 equal pieces, shape into tight round buns and place apart on lined baking trays.
  3. Prove and glaze: Cover and leave for 30-45 minutes until puffy. Heat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°C). Warm the glaze sugar and water just until dissolved, then brush a little over the buns and sprinkle with sesame.
  4. Bake: Bake for 16-20 minutes until golden and cooked through. Brush lightly with the remaining glaze. Add an optional liquorice sweet to each warm bun, then cool on a rack.

A Bun for the Autumn Feast

These are soft sweet buns, distinct from sesame biscuits and from the nut-filled St Martin cake. Allow both rises; a cool kitchen can lengthen the waiting time. The stated preparation time counts active work.

Serving and Keeping

Serve on the day of baking or the next day. Cool fully before wrapping and freeze spare buns for longer keeping. The liquorice decoration is optional; check its ingredients if a vegetarian sweet is needed.

Pack the buns using our borża ta’ San Martin guide, or plan the rest of the table in the autumn and November collection.

At the Maltese table

St Martin’s feast belongs to November and the Maltese autumn calendar. The borża ta’ San Martin brings together nuts, fruit and a sweet bun; aniseed, glaze and a liquorice decoration are familiar features of the bread.