Pillsbury lovers in the house? I am. A busted can of cinnamon rolls is what I grew up with. A dense and fluffy sugar bomb often with an overly thick blanket of icing. I even had some a few weeks ago. Exactly how I remember and not disappointing.
I was really fighting with this recipe and going for something that was both delicate and sophisticated but also feels like you’re biting into sweetened memory foam mattress. My cardamom buns are very light and airy and have less to do with hedonism than these cinnamon buns. Sinful is a played out word in the baking community like sexy is in the wine community. But any of you with recovering religious guilt know how good sin can feel when done responsibly. That’s what these buns are all about. Responsible sin.
The recipe is a riff on my cardamom bun dough with a new filling a rolling technique. The rolling and shaping is much easier. I’d follow the pics as best you can if you’re unsure. But it’s pretty straightforward. Good luck and please comment if you make them!
I also feel the need to stress again than I’m not a seasoned recipe-writer. I’m still learning and developing my style of writing in recipe format so forgive errors or lack of info! But please let me know what’s working/not working. It’s a huge help.
Makes 12 buns
Necessaries
stand mixer
kitchen thermometer
ruler
pizza or pastry cutter
pastry brush
2 baking sheets
Dough
300g whole milk, room temp
5g active dry yeast
500g AP flour
6g kosher salt
85g cane sugar
85g unsalted butter (softened to room temp)
Filling
120g light brown sugar
150g unsalted butter (softened to room temp)
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp + 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
Zest of 1/2 orange
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp flour
Egg wash
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp whole milk
Sugar topping
1 tbsp cane sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
Orange Syrup
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup cane sugar
Recipe
Whisk together milk and yeast in the bowl of the stand mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt. Dump dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and add butter. Affix dough hook and turn on medium low speed for 5-6 minutes. Turn off and cover with a kitchen towel for 5 minutes. Turn on medium speed and knead for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove dough, give it a couple of kneads by hand and gentle shaping and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof in the fridge overnight. 12-24 hours.
Next Day
Combine ingredients for filling.
Remove dough from fridge. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a rough 12x21 rectangle. Use your hands to stretch the corners to get it as close to a rectangle as possible. Spread butter mixture with a spatula evenly across the entire surface. Starting from the short end, fold 1/3 of the dough over itself, then the other 1/3 on top like a letter. Wrap the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 15-20 minutes at this point.
Roll out the dough slightly to 15x10 rectangle. Orient the dough to be horizontal. Cut twelve 1.25-inch strips. Gently twist each strip, first using your fingers then the flat palm of your hands, moving in opposite directions to form a coil. Hold one end on the inside of your fingers and wrap the dough piece around the outside of your fingers. It should be long enough to come around 1 full rotation. Then take the other end and tuck in the top to form a knotted bun. Gentle press and caress the dough to a taut knot. Repeat with all 12 and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap or in an off oven with a mug of hot water inside and let rise for 1 - 1.5 hours.
Once proofed, Preheat oven to 375. Combine cinnamon, cardamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush buns down with egg wash all over and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Place both pans in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown and the internal temp is 190 degrees. The buns dry out quickly so it’s best not to exceed 200.
While buns are baking, combine orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Remove buns from oven and immediately brush with orange syrup. Let cool completely. But it’s ok to enjoy them still warm…
You’re the best!
I made these today. They were delicious!
These look so yummy!