Honey Buns Recipes

Steps:

• Make the dough: Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk milk, butter, eggs, honey, salt, and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed. Add yeast mixture, and whisk for 1 minute. Switch to dough hook, reduce speed to low, and add 4 cups flour. After flour is incorporated, raise speed to medium, and continue kneading.
• Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Raise speed to medium-high, and knead for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, knead by hand until smooth, 15 to 20 minutes.)
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Make the filling and topping: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in honey, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from heat. Let cool. Combine mascarpone and creme fraiche in a bowl.
• Punch down dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 3 portions. Roll each into a ball. Freeze 2 for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using). Roll remaining dough into a 10-by-13 1/2-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with honey, spread mascarpone mixture evenly on top, leaving a 1-inch border, and sprinkle with pecans. Starting on 1 long side, roll dough into a log. Pinch along seam to seal. Cut into nine 1 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Pour honey mixture into an 8-inch square baking pan. Place buns, cut sides down, in pan, 3 to a row. Let buns rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place oven rack in lower third. Bake buns, rotating halfway through, until brown and bubbling, about 1 hour. (If buns darken too quickly, cover with foil.) Set a wire rack on a baking sheet. Immediately invert buns onto rack. Drizzle with honey, and serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Combine cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and oil in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan.
• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over batter in the pan. Carefully pour the remainder of the batter over the cinnamon-sugar layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Mix confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla together in a bowl. Poke holes in the hot cake with a fork and pour sugar mixture over the top of the cake. Let cake cool completely before serving, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Whisk ⅓ cup (40 g) bread flour and ¾ cup water in a small saucepan until combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to a runny paste, 1-2 minutes. Transfer tangzhong to a small bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Whisk 2 Tbsp. whole or nonfat dry milk powder, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 tsp. instant yeast, and remaining 4¾ cups (570 g) bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Whisk 1 large egg, room temperature, 1 cup whole milk, room temperature, and 2 Tbsp. honey in a medium bowl until combined; add to dry ingredients along with tangzhong and 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 4 pieces.
• Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment and mix on low speed, stopping motor and scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until a shaggy dough comes together around hook, 12-14 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium-low and mix until dough springs back when you poke it, 7-9 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky but should slap and clean the sides of bowl.) Remove bowl from mixer and scrape dough from hook into bowl.
• Lightly coat a large bowl with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Transfer dough to bowl and lightly coat top of dough with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. (Dough should double in size; the longer it ferments, the more flavor it will develop.)
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (packed; 100 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla extract, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon filling into a pastry bag or a 1-qt. resealable plastic bag. Set aside at room temperature.
• Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 day ahead; chill in pastry bag. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; dust top with flour. Using your hands, gently press and stretch dough to an 11x9" rectangle, then slice dough into nine 1" strips (alternatively, weigh out nine 135 g pieces). Using moderate pressure, roll each piece into a 30" rope, dusting surface with more flour (as little as possible) to prevent sticking if needed. Let rest 5 minutes.
• Pat down each rope with your palms to flatten until about ¾" wide. Make sure filling is soft and pliable but not melted; if using a resealable plastic bag, snip off one corner to make a ¼-½" opening. Pipe a thin strip of filling down the center of each flattened dough rope. Working one at a time, roll up each rope to create a spiral, then lay down on surface and tuck end underneath bun to finish. The buns should be a slightly domed, but gently push centers in to keep in line with the rest of the bun (if it sticks out too far, it can burn).
• Arrange buns on a large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, spacing ½" apart. (You should be able to fit all 9 buns on the baking sheet; you want to give them just enough space so they proof into one another slightly.) Cover buns loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 75-90 minutes.
• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°. Bake buns 10 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and continue to bake until buns are golden brown on top, 6-8 minutes (Some filling will seep out onto baking sheet-that's okay). Let cool 5 minutes.
• While the buns are cooling, vigorously whisk 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, ¼ cup honey, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla extract, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine. Sift in ¼ cup (28 g) powdered sugar and whisk to incorporate.
• Generously brush buns with icing (it will melt when it hits the warm buns), then sprinkle lightly with 1 Tbsp. bee pollen, crushed to a powder, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and 3 tablespoons of the cinnamon and set aside. In another small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the coconut oil and the 1/4 cup agave nectar and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose gluten-free flour and 1/2 cup rice flour, the arrowroot, baking powder, remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and the xanthan gum. Add 1/4 cup of the coconut oil, the 1/3 cup agave nectar, and the vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until a very thick dry dough forms. Gradually add the warm water until the dough is slightly tacky. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto the center of a surface dusted with 1/3 cup rice flour. Dust the top of the dough and a rolling pin with the remaining rice flour and roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle with the short side facing you.
• Using a pastry brush, apply a thick coat of coconut oil all over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture onto the dough, covering it entirely.
• Beginning with the short side closest to you, gently roll the dough onto itself to form a log. Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 1-inch-wide pieces to make 12 rolls. Place 6 rolls on each of the prepared baking sheets. Gently brush each bun with half of the coconut oil-agave nectar mixture, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and gently brush the top and sides of each bun with the remaining coconut oil-agave nectar mixture. Bake for 10 minutes more, or until the edges are browned and the center is slightly soft. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
• Replace the agave, cinnamon, and raisin mixture that the Wonder Buns call for with 3/4 cup of your favorite jam and spread it over the dough before rolling it. Here, in descending order, are my preferred jam flavors for this: raspberry, blackberry, strawberry.
• What's that you say? Is this the delightfully insubordinate cousin-in-law of the Madeleine (page 61)? Yep! The BabyCakes NYC pain au chocolat works best using the Honey Bun recipe: All you do is sprinkle 2/3 cup of chocolate chips generously over the surface of the pastry dough before you roll it up. Sprinkle the top of your dough with a bit of vegan sugar and bake as usual.
• This one's a tad more complicated, but do not be frightened. Take your Wonder Bun pastry dough and cut it into as many equal-width strips as you prefer (I generally go for 24). Twist and/or braid your pieces together and pinch on the ends. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and vegan sugar and bake until golden brown. If you have kids, put them to work on this one.

Steps:

• Heat a skillet on medium heat.
• When skillet is hot; add 1 tbsp butter and let melt.
• When butter bubbles; add a honey bun and fry until lightly brown on both sides.
• Add other tbsp of butter if needed.
• Enjoy!