Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns - Autumn is here!

I think I must be feeling Autumnal this week and as the weather gets a little colder and the heating goes on for the first time in months I thought do you know what I'm gonna get my Autumnal bake on and make something that epitomises this time of year - think pumpkins, think cinnamon spice, think sweet brown sugar. There really is nothing nicer than the smell of cinnamon buns baking in the oven; the ultimate comfort food! Never having made these before I was pretty impressed with how they came out - I was fretting that the dough was all wrong because it was so wet and sticky, making it difficult to roll out and cut up - but I think this must be how it is supposed to be as they seemed to turn out ok in the end. Many of the recipes you read on these blogs or in recipe books don't reassure you that you're doing it right; that it might look a total mess when it goes into the oven and you'll think about throwing it in the bin but this is actually what it should look like. Recipes need this I feel so just to assure you, mine looked a total mess and I thought it was a disaster but once you put them in the oven they do their thang and everything turns out fine. Better than fine in fact (and yes I did just write thang).

I think they're supposed to look a little rustic right?

Ingredients

(makes about 8-10)

For the dough:

40g unsalted butter

60ml whole milk, warmed a little

1½ tsp instant yeast

220g self raising flour

40g brown sugar or half brown half white

¼ tsp cinnamon

pinch of ginger

pinch of nutmeg

80g pumpkin puree

1 egg beaten

For the filling:

70g brown sugar

pinch of salt

1-1½ tsp cinnamon

For the icing:

3 heaped tsp icing sugar

lemon juice

First to make your dough, melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat and brown a little for extra flavour. Once melted leave on heat for a few minutes more - it should be sizzling. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Mix together the yeast and warm milk and set aside - after about 5 minutes it should look a bit foamy.

In the bowl of an electric mixer or if doing it by hand a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and spices. Add 2/3rds of the melted butter and mix in. Now add the yeast/milk mixture, the pumpkin puree and about 2/3rds of the egg and mix until combined. Knead with the dough hook on low for about 5 minutes or 10 if kneading by hand. Scrape the mixture into an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warmish place for an hour to rise.

Meanwhile grease and line a 9inch round cake tin with greaseproof paper and butter the sides. 

This bit is probably the trickiest bit; rolling out the dough and making the spirals. I found the trick is to have quite a lot of flour handy. So generously flour your work surface then tip out the dough and sprinkle the top with flour as well. Carefully roll out the dough into a large rectangle, maybe the size of a Mac Book, a bit bigger than A4. The dough will try its best to stick to the rolling pin but just add flour to prevent this.

Brush the dough with the remaining butter and sprinkle over the sugar, cinnamon and a tiny bit of salt. Try to get as close to the edges as you can. On the longest side start to roll the dough up towards you (a dough cutter is quite handy for scraping the dough up that wants to stick to the surface) so you get a long roll, like a swiss roll. To cut this into spirals its best to use a cerrated knife and very little pressure to prevent all the filling squishing out. You need to cut them about an inch thick. Then arrange them flat in the prepared baking tin, sprinkle over any left over sugar and spices then cover again with cling film and leave to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour.

15 minutes before the time is up preheat your oven to 175°C. Remove clingfilm and bake for about 25 minutes or until risen and golden.

Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes then add the lemon icing (you don't have to use lemon juice you can just use water and a little vanilla essence but I like the slight sharpness to contrast the sweet). To make the frosting simply add a tsp of the lemon juice at a time, mixing thoroughly until smooth, adding a little more until you get the consistency you like. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea!