Lebanese Feasting: Sticky Cardamon Buns

Here's the final recipe from Monday's Lebanese Feasting menu; Sticky Cardamon Buns.

This is my favourite recipe (from Delicious Magazine 2010) of the three in the menu, partly because I have a sweet tooth and partly because the flavours just work so well. As ever, I think making any bread based dish with kneading, rising and resting is a labour of love and 'kneads' (forgive the pun) to be worth the effort. This one certainly pays dividends and offers lots of scope for non-Lebanese variation....

Next time, I'm going to try an apple butter, cinnamon and raisin combination. Closely followed by a Nutella and chopped hazelnut calorie-extravaganza. Yum!

Enjoy cooking,
Helen x


Sticky Cardamon Buns

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter (50g cubed, 50g softened + extra for greasing)
• 450g strong white bread flour (+ extra for dusting)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 7g sachet fast-action yeast
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 225 ml milk (warmed)
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp unsalted pistachios (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds (roughly crushed)
• 50g sultanas
• 50g currants
• 50g light muscavado sugar

Step 1: Grease large, deep square cake tin (suggest 23cm) with butter

Step 2: Rub flour and butter (50g cubed) together to make fine crumbs and stir in dried yeast

Step 3: Whisk sugar and egg and add to flour mix. Gradually add milk (you may not need it all) and pull mixture together into a soft dough

Step 4: Knead dough (by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook attachment) until it feels smooth and elastic (about 15 minutes). Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour (dough should double in size)

Step 6: Give the dough a gentle punch to release the air and roll out on a floured surface. You're aiming for a rectangle about 25cm by 35cm (rough 3/4 cm thickness). Trim the edges if required to get the right shape.

Step 7: Spread to remaining 50g of softened butter over the pastry and then scatter over the muscavado sugar, raisins, currants and crushed cardamom

Step 8: Roll-up lengthways

Step 9: Slice into 9 evenly sized rounds and place in tin. Leave for 45 minutes in a warm place to rise

Step 10: Preheat the oven to 180c/ GM 6 and bake the buns for 30 minutes or until golden (don't overcook though).

Step 11: Remove from oven. Leave in cake tin, spread honey and scatter pistachios over the top and leave to cool for 10 minutes

Step 12: Remove from the tin and serve (great with mint tea!)