Ever since the days got colder, I've been craving for the smell of warm spices. I remembered that Abby really liked the Cinnamon Buns from Costco, which we couldn't buy because there is just too many in a box, so I thought, why not make our own fresh ones? Surely it can't be that hard, especially when we have a bread maker that hasn't been in use for quite some time. It'll be the perfect weather for them!
I found a recipe through Google Images, belonging to LondonEats blog (link to the recipe), which yield really good Cinnamon Buns, although I did make a tiny few changes:
- I used Vanilla Essence for the dough instead of ground Cardamom, and it worked out fine (I kneaded a bit of the worktop flour into the dough before rolling it out because it was a touch on the wet side, which could be because of this)
- I used ground Mixed Spice instead of Cinnamon for the filling because I ran out. I always have Mixed (for sweets) and All (for savoury) Spice in store though. Again, it worked out fantastically and the whole kitchen smelled amazing!
- I didn't add water to the egg wash. I can see from his pictures why he diluted the egg wash (his Cinnamon Buns have a more even shine, while mine are patchy) but I love the rustic golden look.
- I didn't sprinkle them with pearl sugar because we didn't have any, and Cinnamon Buns are sweet enough so you don't really need any further glazes or sprinkles, even though it is the traditional way of eating them.
- I made 17 instead of 12 with the ingredients, but buns are smaller.
- Each oven's temperature is different. I baked mine using 190C for 5 minutes, then removed them when they are golden enough (about a further 2 to 3 minutes).
Verdict:
The Cinnamon Buns came out perfect (although some split during proofing), and the smell of butter and mixed spice is really welcoming in this cold weather! If you have a sweet tooth, you might want to make a glaze, or sprinkle them with pearl sugar (or even icing sugar), but this is perfect for us. They went really well with a glass of milk, and the kids loved dunking them in their cups!
If you want to give LondonEats recipe a try as well, don't forget to prepare the filling ingredients when you are proofing your dough. The ingredients are listed further down so I forgot about them until I needed them (I had to give the butter a quick few seconds blast in the microwave to get it to the right consistency hehe).
