by Beth Keating
Lifestyle
DisneyBizJournal.com
July 25, 2023
Back when we were less knowledgeable Disney travelers, we spent a vacation at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort…. with a small toddler…. who was still in a stroller… and we were assigned a second floor room. And those of you who know where I’m going with this are busy slapping your foreheads right now, while others are wondering, “So what’s the problem?”
The problem is that Caribbean Beach does not have elevators, which we were clueless about until we’d checked in. So, coming back from the parks after fireworks, with a stroller and a sleeping child, meant either waking the child up (gasp!), or trying to finagle our way up the stairs, each of us balancing a section of the stroller with the sleeping child still in it, park bags and shopping bags akimbo (admittedly, not a good idea either!). We liked Caribbean Beach enough to go back again, but not until the kids were older (much older), and we consider it a primo spot now that it is on the Skyliner route. (And that pool is fabulous – one of the most fun on Disney property!)
We were flipping through our ancient copy of Cooking With Mickey: Gourmet Mickey Cookbook Vol. II recently reflecting on how many of the restaurants (and even Disney-MGM Studios) no longer exist. As we turned pages, we found ourselves laughing over such stories as our Caribbean Beach stroller quandary. We came across this recipe for Jamaican Buns from the “Cinnamon Bay Bakery” at Caribbean Beach, part of their old food court. (In case you’ve never been to Caribbean Beach, each of the room sections is named after a different Caribbean island, hence the reference to “Jamaica.” Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, and Trinidad make up the rest of the distinct island designations.)
These buns are a bit of a quick bread, no yeast needed, and have a sweetness to them from the raisins and shredded coconut, and a little tang from the lemon zest. They are a yummy tropical treat for summer by the pool. Or just dinner. Enjoy as you reminisce about your favorite pool at Caribbean Beach!
Just a cooking note from us: These “buns” were delicious, but ours came out looking more like thick cookies than a traditional “bun.” I chose to use the butter version rather than the shortening, so I’m not sure if it was the water content in our butter or not, but there was quite a bit of “spread” on our buns, even though they were originally piled high with the ice cream scoop. Nonetheless, we loved the flavor – they just didn’t come out with the bun shape we were expecting. The recipe also makes a lot – we got nearly 30 buns from our attempt.
Jamaican Buns From Caribbean Beach
3 ½ cups flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon rind (or 1 tablespoon lemon extract)
1 cup butter or shortening
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 cup raisins
1 ¼ cups shredded coconut
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon rinds. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly in texture. Beat eggs with milk and add to flour mixture. Blend until just moistened. Do not overmix. Add raisins and coconut and mix again, just enough to incorporate. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, portion dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops of each bun with beaten egg whites and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Buns should be golden brown and firm to touch.
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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.
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