Cinnamon and Apple Pie Sticky Buns (Chelsea Buns)

I made these after a very long day studying and practising for the Outdoor First Aid Certificate.  I still have another long day ahead of me tomorrow and the thought of these just eases the pain slightly.

Not that it was an exceptionally hard course, just tiring and intense.  Very, very useful though.  I now know what to do if I come across an unconscious person, if someone is choking, if someone is drowning, having a heartache, a seizure, is in shock and generally just injured.  And there is more to learn tomorrow.

The instructors were very good too, making us do the sequences and procedures again and again until they were completely drilled into our heads. 

It’s funny how a little knowledge can impart so much confidence.  Because that’s what I’ve come away with today – quite a bit more confidence than I had yesterday.  I know that if I was to come across a situation in which someone was in trouble, then I could do what I needed to the best of my ability, and more importantly, what I couldn’t do which is just as important really.

This is a Paul Hollywood recipe, a savoury one called ‘Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry Chelsea Buns’.  It was featured in a Great British Bake Off Masterclass and I knew that I wanted to make it into a sweet recipe instantly.

The flavours are basically all inspired from apple pie and the method is very easy to do.  After making the dough and rolling it out into a rectangle spread the softened butter, cinnamon and dark brown sugar over it but leaving the sides or edges free.  Then grate an apple or two and spread it over the filling.  If you’re grating the apple in advance like I did, make sure that you soak it in some citrus to prevent it going brown (I used a simple syrup made from limes and sugar that I had lying around). 

The syrup that goes into the baking tray contained walnuts with more brown sugar, butter and a little oil.  The effect was cinnamon buns with a hint of apple pie flavour.  The dough from Hollywoods recipe was amazing!  So soft and pliable and not too rich with butter.   

Everyone really enjoyed these with a cup of tea and make sure you eat them fresh as, although they’re still delicious and soft, they’ve just not got that magic the next day.

Cinnamon and Apple Pie Chelsea Buns

·         500g strong white flour

·         50g caster sugar

·         10g salt

·         40g butter, cut into small pieces

·         2 eggs

·         2 x7g sachet fast-acting yeast

·         150ml lukewarm milk

·         90ml lukewarm water

Filling:

·         100g butter, softened

·         3 tsp cinnamon

·         150 dark brown sugar

Topping:

·         80g butter

·         20g oil

·         300g dark brown sugar

·         50g maple syrup

·         75g walnuts, chopped

Place the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and combine well.  Add the butter, eggs, yeast, milk and warm water.

Mix all the ingredients with your hands until a rough dough is formed.

On a well floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic.   Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Make the topping by mixing the ingredients together with an electric whisk until well combined, then pour into a 20cm x 30cm baking tin.

Make the filling by combining all ingredients together to form a spreadable paste – the butter has to be very soft in order to achieve this.

Once the dough has almost doubled in size, roll it out into a large rectangle that is about ⅓ inch thick on a very lightly floured surface.  Spread the filling over the rectangle as well as you can (including the grated apple), then begin to roll the dough up from the longer side.  Once the dough is rolled up, brush some water on the very edge of the dough and ‘glue’ this bit on so that the roll doesn’t open up.

Slice the roll into pieces around 1 ½ cm thick and place these on the topping you have filled the baking tin with.  Leave a slight space between each so that they room to expand in their second proving.  Prove for a second time for about 40 min to 1 hour.

Bake for between 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven gas mark 180 C.

Once out of the oven, leave to slightly cool for about 10 minutes then tip the baking tin over on to a large enough tray, so that the buns are upside down with gooey topping on top.  Eat warm with a cup of tea.