In celebration of one of the world’s greatest combos thanks to our friend’s across the pond, I bring you a little twist on the traditional Cinnamon bun.

Something I should probably mention quite early on is like any bread based bake, you’re going to need some time (a lot of time) set aside for this. The kneading, proving, rolling, all play a big part in this recipe so I often use the whole of my Sunday morning for pastry making. I mean, someone’s got to do it and I’d say the rewards are pretty sweet.

Soft, sticky and oozing with sugar, these little poppets are so delicious and the candied bacon (yes, CANDIED BACON) paired with the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar and maple glaze will satisfy your tummies beyond belief. If you’d rather stick to tradition, see the serving tip below for an equally satisfying cream cheese drizzle.

Serving: Now whilst I may rave about the maple/bacon duo, I have of course made a batch of these with cream cheese icing. Just simply mix together 50g full-fat cream cheese, 25g unsalted butter and 125g icing sugar to form a thick frosting.

Preparation time: 4 hours

Cooking time: 12-20 mins for the buns, 20-25 mins for the candied bacon

Ingredients makes 8 individual buns or one 23cm round tear-and-share loaf:

For the dough 

• 180ml milk
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 7g fast action dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 500g Homepride Bread Flour
• 2 medium eggs

For the cinnamon filling

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 200g light soft brown sugar
• 50g unsalted butter, softened

For the maple drizzle

• 40g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• Splash of water

For the candied bacon 

• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 3-4 rashers of smoked bacon

Method:

1. First, place the butter and milk into a small saucepan, heating gently until all the butter has melted. Leave to cool until lukewarm. Add the flour, sugar and ground cardamom into a large mixing bowl then place the yeast on one side, and the salt on another – this is crucial as the salt can damage the yeast, preventing a good rise
2. Beat the two eggs into your cooled milk/butter liquid then add to your dry ingredients (mixing as you pour) until you have a sticky dough. Place the dough onto a slightly greased work surface (to avoid sticking) then knead for around 10 minutes until you have a soft, smooth, elasticated dough. Place into a greased bowl and pop into a warm place to prove for 1 -2 hours. You can increase the proving slightly by popping a damp tea towel on top of the bowl, or just use cling film
3. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn out and knead a couple of times to rid of any air bubbles and roll out to a 40/50cm long and 20/30cm wide rectangle – now it’s time for the filling!  Mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon into a bowl and spread your softened butter onto the flattened dough, covering the entire surface. Sprinkle all of the cinnamon sugar on top of the butter and flatten slightly with the palms of your hand or a flat plastic spatula so it sticks to the butter
4. Once the filling is in place, roll the dough tightly towards you (so starting length ways) and you will end up with a long sausage shape. Trim the edges and if serving individually, cut 8 5cm wide rolls or 10-12 4cm rolls if packing into a round tin. Place the rolls onto a lined baking tray with room to spread or tightly into a round 23cm wide tin and cover with cling film so they can prove for 45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C/gas mark 6
5. Once doubled in size, brush with a beaten egg and pop into the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown in colour and the cinnamon sugar is bubbling and oozing out of the pastries. Leave to cool and make the maple icing by mixing together the syrup, icing sugar and a splash of water – it should be quite runny so it is easy to drizzle over the tops of the buns
6. For a finishing touch, mix together soft brown sugar and maple syrup to create a brown sticky glaze and coat one side of the bacon rashers. Place the rashers onto a metal rack (glazed side up) and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Once the time is up, rotate the bacon and coat the other side with the maple glaze. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes, then continue to rotate and glaze on and off for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven when the bacon looks glassy and the sugar has crystallised around the edges. Leave to cool
7. Drizzle the cooled buns with the maple icing before sprinkling with candied bacon for a delicious and alternative morning treat. Ideally, they will be gobbled in one day but if you’re not up to the challenge the pastries can be consumed the next day but I would recommend reheating slightly or blasting in the microwave for 10 seconds

Enjoy those buns, huns. Nic x