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Sticky Maple Pecan Buns
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Sticky Maple Pecan Buns

Sweet and buttery buns packed full of warming cinnamon, cardamom and smoky pecans. Heavenly for breakfast, serve whilst still warm. 

Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: English
Servings: 8 buns
: 429 kcal
Author: Just Jo
Ingredients
For the dough
  • 5 green cardamom pods
  • 375 g bread flour
  • 6 g yeast
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Seeds from one vanilla bean
  • 1 large eggs
  • 30 ml oil veg or rapeseed is good
  • 150-175 ml buttermilk* *= or use 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt made up to 350ml with milk
For the filling and frosting:
  • 100 g butter
  • 6 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 50 g pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
  1. Firstly crack open the green cardamom pods and grind the seeds to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar. 

  2. Add the flour, cardamom, yeast, sugar, salt and vanilla seeds into a stand mixer bowl. You can of course knead by hand if you don't have a stand mixer. 

  3. Whisk the egg, oil and buttermilk in a jug and slowly but steadily, dribble it into the flour until you have a soft and slightly sticky dough. All it to mix for 10-15 mins on low-medium speed by which time it should be elastic and cleaning the sides of the bowl. Leave to prove until at least doubled if not trebled in size - at least 1-2 hours unless the kitchen is really warm. 

  4. Meanwhile, beat the butter for the filling and topping until soft and fluffy then beat in the maple syrup. If very soft, put in the fridge until needed. 

  5. Pat and roll the proved dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 an inch thick - don't worry too much about the specific dimensions but if you want to get a ruler out, aim for about 15-16 inches on the longest side. Spread about 2/3 of the maple syrup butter mixture onto the dough as evenly as you can. 

  6. Mix the cinnamon and cornflour together then sprinkle evenly over the dough. Next, sprinkle over the pecans and roll the dough up into a log shape starting with one of the longer sides. Make sure it is reasonably tightly rolled so the filling won't fall out. Use a good sharp knife to slice into buns about 2 inches thick - you should get 8 buns out of this batch of dough. Place cut surface up on a baking tray or I use an 8x10-inch brownie pan leaving a small gap between them (no bigger than an inch). Allow to prove until doubled in size, about another hour, covered lightly with clingfilm. 

  7. Preheat the oven to 200ºC for conventional ovens but 10-20 degrees lower for fan ovens. When ready, bake for 20-25 minutes. They will rise up, brown on top and peak a little in the middle. Carefully prodding the size will see the bins spring back when they are ready but beware the hot sugar on your fingers.

  8. As soon as the buns are cooked, brush on the remaining maple syrup butter mixture. Allow to cool for 10-15 mins before eating but definitely serve them still soft and warm. 

Recipe Notes

If you can get Moose Maple Butter you can use that in place of making your own.