So we’re a big fan of easy, quick meals because firstly when hunger kicks in, it’s really hard to think of anything other than “I’m hungry I’m hungry” and secondly we don’t always have the time. However, the greatest thing about weekends is being able to take the time over a cooked breakfast and be a bit more creative! And well, we couldn’t think of anything more time-consuming but delicious than sticky buns. Now, let us just tell you that making bread or bread-like products makes us kind of nervous, probably because working with yeast (and waiting for it to work) means there are more opportunities to go wrong than with cakes.

However, this recipe (using a combination of an adapted Peyton & Byrne dough recipe and our lovely frangipane recipe) is relatively straightforward. We finished them off with a simple (but EFFECTIVE) coffee glaze – which probably has enough sugar and caffeine to wake you up in the morning.

And hey, you could make these on the weekend, freeze them individually so that you can heat one up and get a warm comforting breakfast whenever you want! (You might want to take up spinning though)

Makes 12 scrummy sticky buns

Sweet dough

40ml milk
1 tbsp yoghurt
150ml hot water
1 tbsp dried yeast
500g strong bread flour
20g salted butter (plus 50g and 20g melted)
50g golden caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp cinnamon

70ml water
60g caster sugar

Frangipane

40g golden caster sugar
40g softened salted butter
1 egg
40g ground almonds
1/2 tsp almond essence

Glaze

300g icing sugar
150 ml water
6 tsp instant coffee (to taste)

1. To make the sweet dough: Mix the milk, yoghurt and hot water, add the yeast, stir and set aside.
2. Mix 20g butter with the flour until fully incorporated. Add the sugar, eggs, salt, yeast/milk mixture and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.
3. Using your dough hook on your food processor (or just using your hands), knead the dough for 1 minute. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is silky smooth.
5. Cover with a cheesecloth and leave for 1 hour in a warm place.
6. Roll the dough into a rectangle (about 1 inch thick). Cube the 50g butter and place in the centre of the dough.
7. Fold into thirds and seal the seams (careful about any escaping butter!).
8. Roll the dough out and fold into thirds again. Cover with a cheesecloth and leave to rest for 1 hour.
9. Roll the dough out and fold into thirds again. Cover with a cheesecloth and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
10. Meanwhile make the frangipane: mix all ingredients together so that they are incorporated.
11. Refrigerate the frangipane.
12. Preheat the oven to 200C (fan-assisted).
13. Roll out the sweet dough until 1 inch thick. Spread the frangipane onto the rolled out sweet dough.
14. Roll the dough horizontally (as tightly as you can) and brush with the 20g melted butter. Slice using a serrated knife into 12 equal pieces. Don’t worry if these aren’t perfect, they’ll come together when they bake!
15. Place the pieces onto greased baking sheet or roasting tin sitting next to each other and bake for 15 minutes until golden.
16. Heat the 70ml water and 60g sugar together. Brush the buns with this syrup as soon as they come out of the oven.
17. To make the glaze: mix all ingredients together to make a smooth paste. Drizzle on the buns while still warm.
18. Serve immediately or freeze for later!

So what do you think? Feel free to share your questions and comments below! We’d love to hear what you have to say.