sticky bun
Wow! Ooey, gooey, sticky Chelsea buns. This recipe is very close to the classic Chelsea buns you find at beloved bakeries in Cottage county. The recipe includes a versatile sweet dough that requires a couple of risings. You can also prep the dough ahead of time, refrigerate overnight and then let rise for 2 hours in the morning when you are ready to bake.
While prepping the dough, I used a hand mixer with dough hooks and it came out perfectly. I also took the eggs out to ensure they were at room temperature before adding to the dough mixture. I used toasted chopped walnuts for the topping, but you can also use pecans. Either works very well. To finish off the topping I included Glazed chopped cherries that worked as a perfect finish with toasted walnuts/
When prepping the raisins, I suggest placing them in a cup and pouring boiling water over them to plump them up for about 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pat dry before adding to the filling ingredients.
When prepping your bundt pan for baking, I would suggest placing it on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet. This is because as the buns are baking, they expand, and some of the topping mixture can bubble out and drip on the bottom of your oven. This can make for a smokey incident with your oven burning the hot sugar mixture, and the cookie sheet will catch any topping that may bubble up. Lesson learned.
Serve warm from the oven or enjoy the next day. Or really whenever! Definitely a nice morning or afternoon treat.
Sticky Chelsea Buns
Ingredients
Sticky Chelsea Bun Dough
- 2/3 cup milk
- 5 tbsp sugar divided
- 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
Filling
- 1/3 cup Melted butter to brush on chelsea bun dough
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup raisins
Topping
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup glazed chopped cherries
Instructions
Preparing the dough
- Warm milk to lukewarm (110 degrees) and transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes or until slightly foaming.
- In a separate large bowl, combine flour, remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and salt. Mix with dough hook until nicely mixed.
- Add in milk yeast mixture to the flour and mix with dough hooks. It will start to form into a ball.
- Add in eggs and beat after each addition. Continue mixing with dough hooks to ensure dough and egg are evenly mixed.
- Cut in the butter in 3 separate additions and continue mixing until the dough is soft and well blended.
- In a separate bowl, brush with 1 tsp of melted butter.
- Remove dough from mixing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed for a couple of minutes to form into a ball. Place in dough in butter lined bowl and brush with butter. Cover and let sit for 2 hours.
Preparing the topping
- Place butter, brown sugar, honey and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk on medium heat until all ingredients start to melt to a smooth consistency. Once melted set aside.
- Place walnuts or pecans in a small cookie sheet and toast for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Pre-grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan.
- Pour the filling into the bottom of a greased baking pan and sprinkle evenly with toasted nuts. Place this pan on a foil-lined cookie sheet for future baking.
Prepping the sticky buns for baking
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle - about 20 inches by 14 and about 1/4 inch thick
- Gently brush all of the melted butter across the top of the dough.
- Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and prepared raisins. Sprinkle topping evenly across the dough leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges. Roll from the long end of the dough into a log and tightening at both ends. Trim off about 1/2 inch per side.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 9 even sections. Place the 9 buns evenly spaced into the prepared baking pan on top of the topping mixture.
- Cover the prepared buns with a lightly dampened tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise again for about 45 minutes. They will double in size.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Once risen, brush the buns with a light egg wash and place in oven. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on them as you may need to lightly cover with foil if they are browning too quickly.
Finishing up
- Once they have finished baking let them sit for about 10 minutes to cool slightly. Then carefully invert the pan onto a serving dish or cake platter to reveal the topping. Serve warm and enjoy!
