Christmas Day 2024 brought us Aardman’s latest stop motion story – much to the joy of all of us fans! Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl gave us a new spin on the lives of everyone’s favourite clay Yorkshire man and his brilliant canine companion. Plus, it also brought back one of the most iconic villains in animated cinema: Feathers McGraw. The very penguin that inspired these adorable sweet buns! Anyone seen Norbot?

Contents

• The Bake
• Top Tips
• The Recipe
• The Film
• Recipe Card

The Bake

I’ve mentioned Aardman Animations a few times on the blog; my Arthur Christmas brownie recipe, my Christmas movie bingo and my Ultimate Fall Bucket List all reference the works of Aardman on varying levels.

With Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl out for the world to enjoy, I felt inspired to create another recipe in honour of an Aardman movie. This time in the form of sweet buns!

Due to his adorable appearance, Feathers McGraw was able to conceal his true nature. His *superbly convincing* disguise helped him get away with a life of crime for some time. I would argue that his vibe is softly menacing and these buns are inspired by him for this reason.

Buns are an easy way to make bread that is both delicious and exceptionally cute.

They are also incredibly rewarding to make. One of the best smells in the world is fresh bread. Anyone else feel the same way?

My Feathers McGraw inspired buns are easier to make than they look and require little decoration. You can add extract into the dough to flavour them if you want, too!

Similarly to my My Neighbor Totoro inspired cinnamon loaf, this recipe uses a basic white bread recipe – with a little extra sugar added.

All you need to decorate is chocolate chips, fondant or sugar paste and a little more food colouring (or paint) for the features. Creating Feathers McGraw’s disguise hat is entirely optional, but it’s a fun addition to the bake. 

If you choose to do this, red fondant is accessible and is a fun connection to the brief: fondant is a little like an edible clay, no?

Top Tips

• If you’re wanting to add an extract into the dough, add just 1 – 2 tsp, especially if it’s high strength.
• Avoid over-flouring your work surface when needed. It can lead to a drier dough. Trust that the dough will come away from the surface it may stick to as you work with it.
• You’ll know your dough is ready and the gluten well developed after kneading when the surface is smooth, and it springs back halfway when you gently press on it. It should feel a little bouncy once it’s ready.
• If your house is typically a little cold, place your dough in an airing cupboard or in the oven (turned off) to isolate some warmth and allow the dough to rise well. Just make sure to check it once an hour has passed! Over proving can affect the end result of your bread.
• If you don’t have strong bread flour, you can certainly use plain/all-purpose flour. Just be mindful that the texture of the bread will likely differ, but it will still be delicious.
• If you don’t add enough black food colouring initially, you can massage more into the dough as you knead.
• I used chocolate chips for the eyes, but you can just as easily paint the eyes on using black food colouring instead.

These Feathers McGraw inspired sweet buns are simple to make, but will absolutely make people smile. They are a delicious treat for the fresh bread fans. Ideal for a Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl movie night or Wallace and Gromit themed party. Enjoy!

The Recipe

Ingredients

Feathers McGraw buns:

• 500g [3 cups + 2 tbsp] strong white bread flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 7g (1 sachet) fast action dried yeast
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 300ml [10.5 oz] warm water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Black food colouring

Decoration:

• White fondant or sugar paste
• Orange food colouring or food paint OR orange fondant
• Dark chocolate chips
• Red fondant or sugar paste  optional

Serves: 10

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Rising time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

Decorating time: 20 minutes

Method

Feathers McGraw sweet buns:

1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other side. Do not let the salt and yeast touch yet.
2. Add the sugar and mix gently with a wooden spoon until well distributed.
3. Make a well in the centre of your ingredients and add the oil, water and food colouring. You will be able to add more food colouring later if necessary.
4. Mix it all together until a rough dough has formed.
5. If kneading by hand, tip the dough out onto a clean and floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes. If more colour is needed, add it during this process and the colour will distribute well while you knead. If kneading in a standing mixer with a dough hook, knead for around 5 minutes on a medium speed.
6. Your dough will be ready when it is smooth and elastic-like. If it stretches between your fingers enough to allow light through before ripping, it is ready. If it rips straight away, knead for a few minutes more and check again.
7. Place your dough in a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel/cling film/beeswax paper and set aside. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Shaping:

1. Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it out onto a clean and floured surface and knock the air out briefly. 
2. Shape into 10 equal balls – roughly weighing 85g each. Stretch and shape each bun into a (ten pin) bowling pin-like shape, then make two incisions either side of the body using a sharp knife and pull the dough away from itself on both sides slightly to create the fins.
3. Place the buns on 2 lined baking trays (5 on each), leaving a couple of inches between each one. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise for another 30 – 45 minutes until they have doubled in size and the dough springs back half way when gently pressed on with one finger.
4. About 20 minutes into this last rise, preheat your oven 200°C [345°F] or 180°C fan.

Baking:

1. Bake the buns for 15 minutes or until baked. You can check whether they are baked through by tapping their undersides (taking care here as they will be very hot!) and listening out for a hollow sound.
2. Once baked, leave to cool fully on the tray before decorating.

Decoration:

1. Cut egg shapes out of the white fondant: 1 for each bun. I did this by using a small cookie cutter to cut out circles and then stretching the shape slightly to create a more egg-like finish.
2. Shape large beaks using the orange fondant (or white, then paint using orange food paint or colouring). If doing so, use the red fondant to mould Feathers McGraw’s disguise hat. Have fun with this!
3. Once the buns are cool, attach a piece of egg shaped fondant to each bun by dabbing a bit of water on the underside of the fondant and gently pressing it onto the belly of each bun.
4. Using a chopstick or similar tool, pierce eye holes into the buns. Place a chocolate chip in each hole upside down.
5. Finish by attaching the beaks by dabbing a bit of water on the flat end and gently pressing them into place. This won’t glue them in place, but will keep them there until the buns are ready to be eaten.

These super fun Feathers McGraw sweet buns are best eaten on the day, but will last for another day or two if kept in an airtight container. They make a great movie night snack or treat for a Wallace and Gromit themed party. Enjoy!

The Film

As expected from Aardman, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) is a crowd pleaser. It’s been nominated multiple times throughout the 2025 award season, which I’m certainly happy to see.

They’re a true British film institution after all. Go on lads.

Aardman are known for creating films that are globally loved, but maintain a sense of British humour and culture.

Responsible for this in Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is Aardman icon Nick Park, along with fellow writer Mark Burton and fellow director Merlin Crossingham.

Wallace’s inventing proves to be going a little too far in Vengeance Most Fowl.

After being subjected to the numerous inventions overtaking their house, Gromit gets the ultimate surprise when the latest invention turns out to be an artificially intelligent gnome.

Designed by Wallace, the gnome – named Norbot – was designed to help Gromit with his gardening – as if Gromit needed or wanted any help.

But, when a villain from their past makes a sneaky reappearance (we see you Feathers McGraw), Norbot’s disposition takes a rather different turn.

A lesson on the dangers of AI perhaps? We see you, Aardman. We see you.

Like most Aardman Animations movies, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl has a brilliant cast.

Ben Whitehead; Lauren Patel, Peter Kay, Reece Shearsmith, Adjoa Andoh (any Bridgerton fans here?), Diane Morgan, the legend that is Lenny Henry, Muzz Khan and many more all provided their voices to help bring these stop motion characters to life.

Let it be known that the artists that work on Aardman movies are cinematic warriors. The time and effort it takes to make a seamless stop motion animation requires endless patience and dedication.

I can’t list every single name here, but they really are the core of what Aardman Animations do.

Watching Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl on Christmas Day was one of my favourite parts of the festive season. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will always have the warm fuzzies any time I watch the film as a result.

Recipe Card