Special Sticky Buns

Yield: 6 large buns
Recipe: 51/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 231

    Like many other desserts from Anna’s cookbook, I had never made “sticky buns” or, as we called it in French, brioches. With anything else that I had never done before, I thought that sticky buns were very complicated to do. It is not so! This recipe was so well-explained that even a novice like me was able to do it. My only problem, I realized later, is that I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. I naively thought that they are the same thing.

    Albeit the sticky buns I obtained were heavenly, sweet and sticky, the dough was very elastic. When I was rolling the dough to contain the cream cheese goodness, it was very hard to manage. Consequently, the buns I obtained were not circular but were rather deformed. The buns I obtained were just as scrumptious, I am sure! These are definitely in my top 5 desserts done so far. You will have to exert incredible self control in order to not eat them all in one sitting, so good luck!

Ingredients for dough:

• 3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Ingredients for filling:

• 1/2 package (4 oz or 125 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredients for glaze:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. To prepare the dough, stir together the milk, yeast, sugar and egg in a stand mixer to blend.
2. Add the flour, salt and nutmeg. With the stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment (alternatively, you can use a bowl and a wooden spoon), mix well until the dough is evenly blended.
3. Add in the butter, mixing until homogenous.
4. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it on the counter to rise for about 2 hours, until it is about 1 1/2 times its original size.
5. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. To do so, beat the cream cheese and butter together using a hand or stand mixer. Beat in the brown sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon, making sure to mix well.
6. Grease an 8-inch square pan. Turn out the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle of about 15 inches by 10 inches (38 x 25 cm).
7. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the dough and roll it up from the long side. Slice into 6 equal buns and arrange them in the prepared pan. Cover the pan with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the buns and bake them for 25-30 minutes, until they are evenly browned. Let cool for 15 minutes.
9. For the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar and milk. Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the sticky buns. These are best enjoyed warm out of the oven!

Valerie