Coffee Buns (sticky coffee & date cinnamon buns)
These coffee buns are soft, cinnamon roll-style swirls flavoured with coffee and filled with sticky dates & pecan nuts. They are not Rotiboy-style coffee buns, but an enriched sweet bun perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Servings: 8
Calories: 503kcal
Equipment
- 1 Baking dish/ tin approx 23cm x 33cm
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong
- 150 ml Milk Whole milk or dairy-free alternative
- 30 g Strong Bread Flour
For The Coffee Bun Dough
- 150 ml Milk Whole milk or dairy-free alternative
- 50 g Caster sugar
- 400 g Strong Bread Flour
- 1½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 8 g Fast Action Dried Yeast
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 60 g Butter or vegan block butter (room temperature)
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 2 tablespoon recently boiled water
For The Filling
- 200 g Block Dates
- ½ Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
- 30 g Pecan Nuts
For The Coffee Glaze
- 150 g Icing Sugar
- 20 g Butter or vegan block butter (melted)
- ½ Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 1½ tablespoons recently boiled water
- 15 g pecan Nuts
Instructions
Make The Tangzhong
- Gently heat the milk and flour in a milkpan, stirring/ whisking constantly until a roux forms. Turn down the heat and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.150 ml Milk, 30 g Strong Bread Flour
Make The Dough
- Put the tangzong into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl). Add the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, cinnamon. Cube the butter and drop it in.50 g Caster sugar, 400 g Strong Bread Flour, 1½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, 8 g Fast Action Dried Yeast, 1 Teaspoon Salt, 60 g Butter
- Pour in the milk and the coffee dissolved in water.150 ml Milk, 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules
- Stir briefly then attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and set it to knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough looks smooth and elastic. (If you do not have a stand mixer you can knead it by hand).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove until doubled in size. (On a warm day (24℃/ 75℉) it will take 1-2 hours to rise but on a cooler day it will take longer).
- While the dough is proving prepare the dates: chop them finely and place in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda. Cover with freshly boiled water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.200 g Block Dates, ½ Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- Drain the dates (press lightly to remove excess water) and finely chop the pecan nuts.30 g Pecan Nuts
- Knock the dough back and roll out on a lightly floured worktop until a rectangle approximately 24cm x 35cm can be cut. Spread the dates over the dough, scatter the nuts over and cut into 8 strips, each one approximately 3cm wide.
- Roll each strip up tightly and lay them on baking parchment in a baking tin/ dish. Cover and leave to prove for an hour until doubled in size. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 200℃/ 400℉ and line your baking dish/ tin with baking parchment.
- Brush with milk and bake for 15-18 minutes until just beginning to colour on the top and the internal temperature reads 90℃/ 195℉ on a digital baking thermometer. Taken out of the oven immediately and leave in the baking dish whilst you prepare the glaze.
Make the Glaze
- Chop the pecan nuts.15 g pecan Nuts
- Put the icing sugar, melted butter and the dissolved coffee into a mixing bowl. Stir until smooth.150 g Icing Sugar, 20 g Butter, ½ Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules
- Divide the icing between the warm buns, spread it out and scatter chopped pecan nuts over the top.
Notes
- Use grams and digital kitchen scales to ensure ingredients are measured accurately. Guessing weights or using the cup system leads to inaccuracies and inferior baking results.
- Don't over-bake them: Test the internal temperature after 15 minutes in the oven. If they have reached 90℃/ 195℉ on a digital food thermometer they are done.
- Use a dish/ tin allowing space for the rolls to double in size: Mine is approximately 23cm x 33cm.
- Storage: These buns are best eaten whilst still warm and definitely within 24 hours of baking - store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freeze: Open freeze in a single layer before wrapping them up. Simply defrost (unwrapped) at room temperature for several hours and reheat. For best results freeze without the glaze on the top and add this when defrosted.
- Reheat in the microwave: Cook for 10 seconds on a low setting. Repeat if necessary until warmed through.
- Reheat in the oven: Wrap the sides in foil and heat in a low oven (150℃/ 300℉) for 5-8 minutes.
- Make vegan coffee buns: Simply replace the regular milk with non-dairy alternative (oat milk works well) and the butter for vegan block butter. Also ensure your sugar is vegan.
Prove Overnight, Bake Next Day
Once assembled and ready for the second prove you can either: 1. Prove and bake your coffee & date rolls straight away. 2. Put them in the fridge overnight and bake them fresh the next morning (take them out of the fridge 60-90 minutes before baking). Genius!Nutrition
Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg
