Toffee Apple and Cinnamon Buns

I always admire lovely swirled buns whenever I see them online or in a bakery so I was excited to come across this recipe when I was considering what to make for Calendar Cakes this month as the theme is Bread, Rolls and Buns. I was however a little apprehensive about making them as I thought it might be difficult but it acutally turned out to be a lot easier than I thought!

Toffee and apple is a classic combination and these buns are no exception. They tasted delicious and just as a bun should....they were lovely and soft with a subtle hint of cinnamon. There was also the added bonus of the sticky toffee sauce on the bottom which complemented the apples perfectly. I really enjoyed these buns and would definitely make them again. They look rather unassuming in the photos but I don't think the pictures do them justice!

There were a number of different elements to this recipe but all were simple to do! First up was making the dough which consisted of milk, dried active yeast, golden caster sugar, strong white bread flour and butter. Only 5 minutes of kneading was required.

Whilst the dough was rising I stewed my apples down to a puree (the apples were Braeburns which didn't want to stew down without a fight), made the toffee sauce from butter, golden syrup and soft light brown sugar and finally I mixed up the cinnamon butter (butter, cinnamon and a little golden caster sugar).

The toffee sauce is poured into the bottom of a 23cm tin ready for the buns to be placed on top before baking. I was a little worried about the toffee leaking out of the bottom of the pan so I invested in a Push Pan from Lakeland. I've mentioned Push Pans before and they seem like a really good idea as there is a seal which prevents leakage...and it worked perfectly. The Push Pan would also be great for upside down cakes....I previously had an upside down cake leak and wished then I had one of these!

Once the dough had doubled in size (about an hour and a half) it was gently kneaded for 30 seconds before being rolled/stretched out to 50 x 30cm rectangle...I even had my ruler out! This was then spread with the cinnamon butter followed by the stewed apple before being tightly rolled up starting with the long side. The roll was then cut into 7 and each piece was then placed in the pan on top of the toffee sauce. This was then left to rise again. Finally, the buns were brushed with beaten egg and sprinkled with demerera sugar before baking.

The recipe for these Toffee Apple Buns is from BBC GoodFood and as it's rather long you can follow this link if you'd like to make the buns. The recipe would also be a great starting point for creating your own flavours. If I made these again I might add some sultanas and maybe some sugar nibs on top!

Inspired by Homemade Bread Day on November 17th, these Toffee Apple Cinnamon Buns are my first entry into this month's Calendar Cakes. The theme is Breads, Rolls and Buns. We'd love you take up the challenge, you can find out more here.