*ahem*
Now I have your attention. I just wanted to show you the good-looking thing that was knocking around my kitchen this Weekend.
But wait! I’m not done yet.
After the dough was drizzled with espresso syrup and dark chocolate chips…the resulting hot buns got smothered with a coffee and maple glaze.
Oh, you like that do ya?
I devised this recipe to use the rich espresso that we have been making in the new coffee machine…before Ed drunk it all. It’s so quick and easy to make now that he has even been having a sneaky cup while he brews our morning tea.
You may recognise this concept as a close relative of my cinnamon buns. It could also be described as a caffeine fuelled chelsea bun, but with tasty dark chocolate instead of evil pip-ridden currants.
It’s been a gentle way of initiating the boy into the joys of coffee. He loves them, he says they remind him of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I even caught him dipping his fingers in the leftover espresso syrup. (I used decaffeinated for that so he didn’t get *too* buzzy)
With one of these spirally delights you get a hit of smooth coffee flavour, the toothsome bite of fresh-baked dough plus a sweet sticky mess of icing that gets all over your fingers.
I’m posh though, me. I eat mine with a fork*
Espresso Buns: Good for desserts, elevenses or breakfast-zes.
*not always true
The Recipe
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 7g sachets of yeast
- 25oml luke warm milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 50g melted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 200g plain flour
- 200g bread flour
Knead for 5 minutes, I do this in my mixer with a dough hook, then cover and leave to rise for an hour or so until doubled in size. Meanwhile make the espresso syrup* by mixing
- 1 cup of strong espresso (an espresso cup = around 50ml or 2-3 tbsp)
- 50g of brown sugar
Heat these gently in a pan, stirring until it goes glossy and slightly thicker. Pour into a small cup or jug and allow to cool.
*you could skip this and just use a ready made coffee or chocolate syrup – or even just a handful of brown sugar.
Roll out the bread dough to the size of a large rectangular baking tray and spread with:
- 150g of very soft butter
- 2 handfuls of plain chocolate chips
Then drizzle on the coffee syrup and roll it all up like a swiss roll. Slice into 2″ chunks, turn spirals on their side and spread them out in a tin. I use a 26cm non stick springform tin, with the bottom lined with a circle of parchment or non-stick foil. Don’t worry – there will be gaps between them until they rise again.
Cover the tin and leave it to rise for another 30-40 minutes until bulging.
Place the tin on a baking tray as butter WILL dribble out. Loosely cover it with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 200c then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Pour the Coffee Maple Glaze all over your buns as soon after they come out of the oven. I now go for a ‘cover it all over’ policy, it keeps the buns nice and soft.
Coffee Maple Glaze
- 200g icing sugar
- 1 tblsp melted butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 3 tsp of maple syrup
- enough strong espresso to mix this into a runny icing
There may be some icing left…to drizzle on your tongue.
Here it is in printable form
Yvonne
May 29, 2012
These sound totally amazing – I had to share on my FB page (hope that’s OK). Do you have a FB page to support your blog, so I can direct people to you?
thingswemake.co.uk
May 29, 2012
Hi Yvonne, I’ll email you.
Anastasia
May 29, 2012
Gorgeous!
Savory Simple
May 29, 2012
These look heavenly!
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
May 30, 2012
I don’t need no stinking fork. This looks incredible!
Sally
May 30, 2012
You do have a way with buns!
SarahJ
May 30, 2012
Espresso laced cinnamon buns, this is such a genius idea.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
May 30, 2012
They look fantastic! Lovely colour icing 🙂
ovenloven
May 30, 2012
Wow these those amazing! Definitely going to give them a go those this summer, thanks for the idea!
wendy@chezchloe
May 31, 2012
Sweet baby jesus. Am wondering who I’ll bless with these as soon as I make them.
Glad I waited 2 days for the perfect moment to read every word here and savor it. You had me at instagram last week.
What a lovely post.
wendy@chezchloe
May 31, 2012
PS – I tweeted, pinned and stumbled… what more can I say.
thingswemake.co.uk
June 2, 2012
Thanks Wendy – you are a star!
lemonylovesbaking
May 31, 2012
Nice buns…*titter* lovely pictures!
thingswemake.co.uk
June 2, 2012
Everybody likes nice buns 😉
Sabrina
June 3, 2012
These look to die for! I can’t skip my coffee in the morning, and I bet I wouldn’t be able to skip these once I tried them either! I can’t wait to make these 🙂
I love your blog, so glad I came across it! I will be following and looking forward to your next creation. I recently started a cooking/baking blog and would for you to stop by and subscribe! I love making new blog friends!
Shannon
June 4, 2012
Yer killin’ me! I don’t think you need a fork, though! Just throw a couple in a
trough for me 😉
Laura (@BlogOverThyme)
June 5, 2012
I’m such a sucker for breakfast buns and I feel like I’ve never walked past a Cinnabon store without having smelled it from more than a mile away 🙂
These sound AMAZING, thanks for sharing the recipe!
Russell at Chasing Delicious
June 5, 2012
These buns look fantastic! You’ve got me craving a few.
sara
June 6, 2012
This looks incredible!! Wow-great flavors for a totally decadent breakfast!
Aidan Tout
June 24, 2012
Just made these so only have the strainght-from-the-oven tasting to work on, really good though.
I found the coffee syrup was way too runny, even after boiling down for a good few minutes when I went to roll the dough up, most of the syrup went over the counter, probably need to just work with a single measure of espresso to make the syrup, maybe two tablespoons? Though I have just realised I missed out the butter before rolling it up, maybe that’s why…
The glaze was easily enough for two batches so I’ve frozen half of it for next time. More work than a Kringle but worth a repeat in the future.
Aidan
thingswemake.co.uk
June 24, 2012
Hi Aidan, I have just realised that you must think I meant an American ‘Cup’ of espresso (we don’t use cup measures) whereas I meant an Espresso Cupful (so yes – only around 50ml) sorry if this messed up your worktop! Missing the butter might make the buns a bit dry. Hope they were ok. I will amend the recipe to make sure it’s clearer.