TWD Pecan Sticky Buns

Caveat comedentis: this week's TWD recipe, Pecan Sticky Buns, should probably be saved for special occasions.  Regular consumption of this much butter and sugar will have your doctor prescribing Lipitor and insulin to you in a heart beat, trust me. 

The sticky buns start with a rich, egg-y brioche dough that is laminated with butter.  (Laminate - just a fancy schmancy pastry term for creating layers in the dough with butter.) The dough was a dream to work with and super easy to roll out.  But with its 15 minutes of non-stop kneading I have to tell you it really did test the strength of my Kitchen-Aid professional stand mixer.  I'm happy to report that in the battle of dough versus machine, the machine prevailed.  A true workhorse, I tell you!

Rather than baking the buns on the same day I ended up freezing the cinnamon and nut filled brioche logs to finish at a later time.  Unfortunately I found that postponing the baking inhibited the dough's ability to proof and rise in a timely manner.   It took over 24 hours for the buns to expand enough to fill the entire 9-inch cake pan.

Once baked all was right with the world - the buns puffed and browned beautifully.  Sadly, I found the topping disappointing.  The butter and brown sugar separated and didn't meld in to the thick and gooey caramel that I was expecting.  Next time I think I'll reduce the butter used from 8 tablespoons to 6 tablespoons (per cake pan), substitute dark brown sugar for light and pre-cook it before pouring in the the cake pan.  This recipe wasn't necessarily a home run for me, more like a work in progress.

Head on over to Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Cookies on Friday if you'd like to try the recipe for yourself.