PUMPKIN RECIPE KLAXON. Since I made my pumpkin loaf last year I haven’t done anything pumpkin-y on the blog. Well over the last couple of weeks I’ve made a few different pumpkin things. And I mean pumpkin here, not “pumpkin spice” which actually has nothing to do with pumpkin and is just a combination of spices used in pumpkin pie, so stop it. With Halloween coming up next weekend (I still don’t know what I’m doing for it…) I felt this was the best time to be putting these recipes up. I’ve got 2 different ones lined up as well as some ghoulishly green (matcha) cookies that’d be great at any Halloween party! Having had that rant about pumpkin spice, one of the main ingredients is cinnamon, so Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns are a very logical step.
The dough for this particular bake is an exceedingly soft one, making it quite tricky to work with, but it makes a wonderfully soft textured cinnamon bun. I went for the overnight option and let them rise in the fridge during the second proving stage, which meant we could have a large batch of fresh cinnamon buns ready for us on the Sunday morning and a trip to Whitstable. Unfortunately I came down with a vicious head cold during the trip and had to go straight home to bed, but that didn’t make these any less tasty.
The cream cheese maple glaze blends with the flavours and keeps it rich and creamy while enhancing the cinnamon and autumn spice flavours. If you can’t find pre-mixed all spice just make your own from a bunch of spices you’ve probably already got, especially if you’re into autumn and spiced flavoured things as much as I am.
- **PUMPKIN DOUGH**
- 80 ml Full fat milk (do NOT sub for less)
- 30g unsalted butter
- 120g 100% pure pumpkin, I used tinned as most shop bought pumpkin in the UK isn’t great for cooking with
- 30g packed dark brown sugar (light is fine)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2¼ tsp (1 standard package) instant active dry yeast
- 340g Strong White Bread Flour
- **FILLING**
- 100g packed dark or light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 45g unsalted butter, melted
- **MAPLE CREAM CHEESE GLAZE**
- 85g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 80g pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp milk
- 120g confectioners' sugar, sifted
- **Make the dough**
- Heat the milk and butter together over a low heat until the butter has just melted. You don’t want this to be much past luke warm, not hot. If there are still a few specks of butter in the mixture it’ll be ok. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the pumpkin puree with the brown sugar, a little nutmeg and a pinch of salt on a medium speed.
- Add the warmed butter and milk and keep beating until it has combined.
- Add one of the egg and the yeast and beat for a further 30 seconds on medium before dropping to a low speed. While it’s on low, add in just under half of the flour.
- Beat for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides frequently.
- Add the rest of the flour and beat for a further minute. It’ll form a very soft dough (very being an understatement).
- Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to this. Make sure each side has been coated with oil and cover the top of the bowl tightly with cling film.
- Place in a warm place and leave to rise for 60-75 minutes, until it’s doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times until it forms a smooth dough. You’ll likely need to add up to 40g more flour to make it easier to handle. Make sure you flour your hands before you start. Be careful though as you want the dough to stay as soft as possible.
- **Make the filling**
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle that’s about 16x10 inches. I rolled it out much thinner and larger, which while it was great made much smaller buns.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl until they’re well mixed together.
- Spread the top of the dough generously with melted butter and spread the filling evenly out across the rectangle, right to the edges.
- Roll it up tightly from the long edge.
- Using a very sharp knife slice into 10-13 pieces after cutting the ends off to neaten it up.
- Arrange into a greased pan/tin. 11x7 inches should be plenty big enough.
- Allow to raise in a warm place for about an hour, or at this point you could cover tightly with cling film and put in a fridge for 12-14 hours (you’ll need to remove from the fridge around an hour before baking if you do this to return them to room temperature). You’re looking for them to double in size again.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C(155°C fan assisted).
- Place in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for 22-24 minutes. I’d cover with foil after about 15 to stop the top browning too much.
- **Make the Glaze**
- Using either a stand mixer or electric whisk, beat the softened cream cheese on a medium speed until smooth.
- Add the maple syrup and milk and beat on high until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and beat on a medium speed until it turns creamy. If you need to add more sugar to thicken at this point then do, I did.
- Pour over the warm cinnamon rolls and serve. They taste best fresh but last covered for a day or two.
This looks amazing! Where can I locate tinned pumpkin??
Got the stuff for this in Waitrose, but most Tescos that have a “world foods” section should have it, especially at this time of year.
cheers!