Easy cinnamon buns with caramel sauce frosting
These delicious cinnamon buns can be started the day before which makes them perfect for breakfast or brunch. If you would rather bake them on the same day, you can skip resting the buns in the fridge overnight and proof them straight away.
RECIPE
Makes around 12 buns
Ingredients:
DOUGH
240 ml 1 cup whole milk
135g 2/3 cup granulated sugar
14g 2 packets easy bake fast action/ instant dried yeast
2 medium free range eggs (at room temperature)
115g 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
558g 4 1/2 cups plain flour plus extra for dusting
FILLING
90g soft unsalted butter
100g granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
CARAMEL SAUCE
225g 1 cup granulated sugar
70ml water
100ml double cream
70g unsalted butter
Plus a handful of chopped almonds or other nuts of your choice
DIRECTIONS
DOUGH
- gently heat the milk in the microwave (1 minute on high power) or on the stove until it is warm but not hot
- stir in the yeast to the warm milk
- transfer to a larger bowl and add the softened butter. The batter will look lumpy at this stage
- add the eggs to the mixture, one at the time and mix until incorporated
- slowly add the flour and salt
- mix with hand until all a soft and sticky dough forms
- transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes by hand (if using an electric mixture - 5 minutes). The dough should become elastic and no longer stick to hand
- shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl
- cover with a plastic lid or a damp tea towel and let the dough raise in a warm temperature for about an hour until almost doubled in size
- after the dough has risen, take it out to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds
- with a rolling pin, roll out the dough to around 33x45 cm (13x18 inches) rectangle, taking care to roll it out to an even thickness
FILLING
- spread the sofened butter evenly all over the dough, so it covers the whole rectangle
- mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and then sprinkle over the dough
- starting from the longer side of the rectangle, roll up the dough so that you are left with a 45 cm (18 inch) long dough
- divide the dough to 12 equal pieces. To ensure the buns are uniform, divide the lenght of the dough by 12 and using a ruler mark equal distances on the dough
- using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 pieces
- grease a a pan (rectangle/square/circle) with butter or oil (alternatively line with baking paper or both)
- arrange buns on a pan, making sure you leave around 1-2 cm gap between buns
- if resting the buns overnight - cover with a damp tea towel/aluminium foil/ baking parchment and place in the fridge
- if baking on the same day skip the fridge part and proceed to next point
- cover with a damp tea towel/aluminium foil/ baking parchment and place in a warm place for around 1 -1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size
- meanwhile preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F)
- bake the buns until golden for around 25 minutes but keep an eye on them in case they turn too brown - cover with a sheet of alluminium foil and continue baking
CARAMEL
- add the sugar and water into a medium saucepan and heat until sugar has dissolved in the water. At this stage you can stir the mixture to help dissolve the sugar
- increase the heat and simmer until the liquid has got a dark amber colour - be careful not to burn. When it's bubbling DO NOT stir the liquid as it will result in a grainy texture of the caramel
- take it off the heat and slowly stir in the double cream - take caution as it will bubble up and grow quickly!
- finally add the butter and stir until it reaches smooth consistency
- you can add more cream at this stage to get a runnier sauce if you wish
Enjoy ! xxx
I have taken the recipe for the dough from www.sallysbakingaddiction.com