Cardamom, Rose and Pistachio Sticky Buns

Looking for a gooey breakfast treat this weekend that has just the right balance between sweetness and nuttiness? These cardamom, rose and pistachio sticky buns are the warm and comforting bake that you’ve only ever dreamt of – just in time for fall!

Okay, I’m not going to lie here. When I made these, I ate about four of them in one sitting. These buns are that good (or maybe I was just really hungry, but I’m going to go with it’s because they tasted AMAZING). They taste like a version of a cinnamon roll with a sticky syrup instead of the icing, and a slightly floral and nutty flavor replacing the cinnamon. Warm and fresh out of the oven or heated up the next day in the microwave, they really hit the spot.

If you like super sweet buns, then you’re going to want to sprinkle a little regular sugar or brown sugar over the top of these bad boys before you dig in, but if you’re like me and like it when desserts are subtly sweet and not overpowered by sugar, then these will be perfect by just following the recipe.

It’s extremely important to turn these buns out onto a serving plate as soon as you take them out of the oven. If you leave the buns to cool before turning then out onto a plate, they’ll just stick to the pan and refuse to come out. So, when you take them out of the oven, what are you going to do? That’s right. Turn them out IMMEDIATELY. This is serious bun business here.

I wanted to be a little extra, so I topped my buns with dried rose petals; they just made the buns look so pretty! But you absolutely do not have to do this, the taste isn’t impacted at all by this addition (even though they do say you eat with your eyes first…hmmm…).

I found this on Chetna Makan’s amazing blog and just made a little adjustment to the filling. She also has a great YouTube channel that you NEED to check out called ‘Food with Chetna’. Baloo the bear from The Jungle Book would tell you it’s a bare necessity for you to go explore her channel.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for, the recipe!

Cardamom, Rose and Pistachio Sticky Buns

Servings: Makes 8 buns

Ingredients:

For the buns:

• 225 g all-purpose flour
• 30 g sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 25 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 4 g dried fast action yeast
• 75 ml whole milk
• 1 tsp. ground cardamom

For the filling:

• 75 g unsalted butter, softened
• 10 g sugar
• 30 g dark brown sugar
• 20 g pistachio, finely chopped

For the syrup:

• 60 ml maple syrup
• 60 g unsalted butter, very soft
• 20 g dark brown sugar
• 20 g pistachios, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. rose syrup

Directions:

Step 1: To make the dough and put the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cardamom in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Lightly whisk the egg and add it to the flour and then slowly add the milk, bringing it together to form a dough. Then work in the soften butter with your hands until fully incorporated into the dough.

Step 2: Place it on a clean work surface and knead it for 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth. Place the kneaded dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp linen kitchen towel. Let it rest for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Step 3: In a separate bowl make the syrup by combining the maple syrup, butter, sugar and rose syrup. Mix this all together very well until it is all thoroughly combined. Spread it on the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan. Use a fixed bottom pan and not a loose bottom one, otherwise the caramel will leak. Then sprinkle the pistachios evenly on top and set aside.

Step 4: On a clean work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle that’s about 25 cm x 35 cm. Spread the butter on top of the rolled out dough and then sprinkle the sugar, followed by the chopped pistachio pieces on top.

Step 5: Roll the dough from the long side like a swiss roll. Make sure it’s a tight and neat roll. Clean up the ends of the roll by chopping off the bad bits and then divide the remaining roll into 8 pieces. Place these pieces in a circle shape on top of the syrup layer in the prepared cake pan.

Step 6: Place the cake pan in a large plastic bag (I like to use a turkey-size oven bag) or with a damp kitchen towel placed over top of the pan. Let it rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F.

Step 7: After the dough has rested for an hour, bake the buns for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked. Be sure to turn the buns out straight out of the oven onto a serving plate. If you leave it in the pan for long, it will get stuck to the pan, so remove it immediately. Enjoy these buns while they are warm and fresh, or warm them up in the microwave if you have left any leftovers (which I doubt:)).

Happy baking!:)