Yes, caramel walnut cinnamon buns…. Heaven awaits! My dear friend Bonnie makes these a few times a year, so I just had to give them a go! Kids and adults alike all loved them. The aroma going through the house is of pure joy! The combination of the cinnamon with the caramel and nuts is just sensational. Give this a try when you have a few hours on your hands – you will not be disappointed!
Ingredients
For act 1:
25 g active yeast
125ml warm water
1 tsp caster sugar
For act 2:
125ml milk
¼ cup caster sugar
3 tbs butter
A pinch of salt
For act 3:
2 eggs
4 cups plain flour
For act 4:
200g butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup walnuts
For act 5:
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tbs cinnamon powder
3 tbs melted butter
Method
Act 1: Get the yeast activated! Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast in warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.
Act 2: Pour the milk into a small saucepan, heating at a low temperature for about 10 minutes, then add in ¼ cup caster sugar, the 3 tbs butter, a pinch of salt and stir until combined. Set aside to cool.
Act 3: Put the eggs, yeast mix and milk mix in a mixing bowl and stir. Add half the flour and stir, then gradually stir in the other half a bit at a time. Once the dough is formed, knead it on a floured surface until well combined and looking good! Place the dough in a metal bowl, cover and set aside for an hour. The dough will rise steadily, and a smell similar to light beer will be around!
Act 4: Melt 200g of butter on low heat, then stir in the ¾ cup brown sugar. Grease a good size baking dish, I used my roasting dish, with some butter. Pour this thick syrup in to the bottom, spreading it out a bit, then sprinkle with crushed walnuts. If you have bought whole walnuts, it is easy to take the shell off, put the nuts in a plastic sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin to crumble without messing your whole kitchen – although, don’t look now – the kitchen for these buns is crazy!
Act 5: Roll your dough out to be as big as it can, but about 5mm thick. Spread the melted butter from act 5 over the dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon from act 5. Now you are ready to roll – lol! Roll the dough sideways, so you are rolling the longest length over and over. Cut the dough into portions, mine are about 5 cm long. Place each portion into your dish. Cover the dish with some cling wrap and leave for half an hour. In this time the dough will get fatter and fill out the dish more.
Sizing before letting sit.
The buns ready for the oven.
The finale: Bake the buns in your oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 35 minutes, until beautifully golden brown. Once browned, leave for a few minutes before turning upside down onto a huge plate! Can you smell that?! Have a taste! It was so worth it, wasn’t it!!
Golden brown straight out of the oven, ready for tipping out!
Inverted – beautiful sticky loveliness!
mollyandthechooks 