Feb 20, 2019

Sticky Toffee Morning Buns

Prep Time: 9 hours
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Morning buns are created from croissant dough which makes them different from cinnamon buns.
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Morning buns are created from croissant dough which makes them different from cinnamon buns. They are also baked in jumbo muffin tins so that the bottom keeps the shape of muffins, and the top puffs out and remains in the signature pinwheel like cinnamon buns.

This recipe is inspired by the English favorite, sticky toffee pudding. I took the flavors from the dessert and turned them into a sweet and flakey breakfast treat. The buttery croissant dough is rolled with a mix of brown sugar, butter, orange zest, and chopped dates. Then, after baking, the pastries are drizzled with a sticky glaze made from maple syrup, cream and brown sugar.

Sticky Toffee Morning Buns

morning buns rolled and proofed

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

  • Butter – I recommend using unsalted European butter. European butter has a higher butter fat content than American butter. This creates a richer croissant dough and encourages better layering.
  • Dates – Finely chopped Medjool dates, a signature of sticky toffee pudding. The fruits have a crinkly deep-colored skin and soft, chewy texture. The caramel-like flavor is enhanced by the toffee sauce drizzled over the top of the morning buns. Finely chop the dates so they are evenly distributed in the filling.
Sticky Toffee Morning Buns in large muffin tin

How to Make Sticky Toffee Morning Buns

For the croissant dough:

  1. Mix the dough. Add the warm milk, brown sugar and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and let sit until the yeast becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Add 3½ cups of the flour and the salt. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth and soft, about 7 minutes. Add additional flour if needed.
  2. Knead the dough. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for about 2 minutes so the dough is soft and slightly sticky, adding additional flour a little at a time if needed. Form the dough into a 1½” thick rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  3. Roll out butter. Arrange the sticks of butter horizontally on a clean work surface. Use a rolling pin to pound the butter so that it is pliable. Scrape butter into a block and put on a sheet of plastic wrap. Then, cover with another sheet. Pound and roll out the butter until it forms an 8” x 5” rectangle.
  4. Roll out the dough. Roll the dough out into a 16” x 10” rectangle. Arrange the dough with the short side facing you. Put the butter in the center of the dough then fold the bottom third over the butter then the top third down over the dough, as you would a letter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
  5. Repeat folding the dough and chill. Repeat the previous steps to make 3 more folds, chilling after each fold. Wrap and chill at least 8 hours.

To make the filling:

  1. Prepare the muffin tins. Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Butter and sugar two jumbo (6-cup) muffin tins.
  2. Stir together the filling. In a small bowl stir together the butter, brown sugar, dates, cinnamon and orange zest.
  3. Fill and roll the buns. Roll out the dough into a 16” x 20” rectangle. Spread the sugar mixture over the dough. Start at the longest side away from you and roll the dough towards you into a long tube. Cut the tube into 1” pieces and add each to a cup of the prepared muffin tin. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
  4. Bake the morning buns. Bake until golden brown and flakey, about 35 minutes. Let cool.

For the toffee sauce:

  1. Simmer the toffee sauce. Add the cream, butter, brown sugar and maple syrup to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Simmer the mixture until it becomes thick and syrupy, about 6 minutes then remove from heat.
  2. Blend the sauce. Blend the mixture using an immersion blender or in a stand blender until the mixture is emulsified.
  3. Serve. Drizzle the sauce over the morning buns and serve.
Sticky Toffee Morning Buns recipe from cooking with cocktail rings

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

  • This recipe does take time to make, but it is worth the extra work and the wait. I like to make these on a relaxing weekend – I start the dough on Saturday then after letting it rise overnight I can fill the morning buns and bake them Sunday morning for breakfast.
  • When making the dough, if the yeast doesn’t foam, then start over – either the yeast was too hot and it killed it or it was too cold and it didn’t activate. Check your yeast to make sure it hasn’t expired.
Stacked plate Sticky Toffee Morning Buns recipe

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this sticky toffee morning bun recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:

morning bun recipe inspired by sticky toffee pudding, croissant dough is stuffed with filling with dates baked in muffin tins.

Sticky Toffee Morning Buns

Print Pin
Prep Time 9 hours
Cook Time 35 minutes
Serves 10 morning buns

Ingredients:

For the croissant dough:

  • cups whole milk, warmed (105ºF- 110ºF)
  • ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • cups cold unsalted butter (24 tablespoons butter/ 3 sticks)

For the filling:

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional as needed for greasing the pan
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 6 ounces pitted Medjool dates, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest

For the toffee sauce:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 packed cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup maple syrup

Instructions:

For the croissant dough:

  • Add the warm milk, brown sugar and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and let sit until the yeast becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Add 3½ cups of the flour and the salt. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth and soft, about 7 minutes. Add additional flour if needed.
  • Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for about 2 minutes so the dough is soft and slightly sticky, adding additional flour a little at a time if needed. Form the dough into a 1½” thick rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Arrange the sticks of butter horizontally on a clean work surface. Use a rolling pin to pound the butter so that it is pliable. Scrape butter into a block and put on a sheet of plastic wrap then cover with another sheet. Pound and roll out the butter until it forms an 8” x 5” rectangle.
  • Roll the dough out into a 16” x 10” rectangle. Arrange the dough with the short side facing you. Put the butter in the center of the dough then fold the bottom third over the butter then the top third down over the dough, as you would a letter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
  • Repeat the previous steps to make 3 more folds, chilling after each fold. Wrap and chill at least 8 hours.

For the filling:

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Butter and sugar two jumbo (6-cup) muffin tins. In a small bowl stir together the butter, brown sugar, dates, cinnamon and orange zest.
  • Roll out the dough into a 16” x 20” rectangle. Spread the sugar mixture over the dough. Start at the longest side away from you and roll the dough towards you into a long tube. Cut the tube into 1” pieces and add each to a cup of the prepared muffin tin. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour then bake until golden brown and flakey, about 35 minutes. Let cool.

For the toffee sauce:

  • Add the cream, butter, brown sugar and maple syrup to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Simmer the mixture until it becomes thick and syrupy, about 6 minutes then remove from heat. Blend the mixture using an immersion blender or in a stand blender until the mixture is emulsified.
  • Drizzle the sauce over the morning buns and serve.

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  1. Looks like a nice recipe, but wish the parts about making the dough were clearer.

    1. When you place the rolled out butter in the center of the rolled out dough, which orientation do you place it in (5” butter side aligned with 16” dough side or 10” dough side)?
    2. After initially adding the butter, it says to repeat previous steps, but the butter’s been used now and previous steps involve rolling out the dough and placing the butter in it. Does it just mean to do the folds again? Or does it mean to roll out the dough+butter in 16”x10” and do folds but without adding more butter?
    3. When I’m rolling the dough into cylinders, which side do I roll? The recipe says serving size of 10 buns and to cut into 1” pieces, but has you roll the dough into 16”x20”. So I’ll end up with either 16 or 20 buns. Or is 20” a typo (it’s mentioned in 2 separate places on this page)?

    And some suggestions:
    * Don’t specify butter in cups in 1 place and tablespoons in another. 8 tablespoons of butter is 1/2 cup, or even more easily 1 stick.
    * Active dry yeast usually comes in 1/4 oz or 2.25 teaspoon packages. Using 3.25 teaspoons of active dry yeast is an awkward amount.
    * Would love to see measurements by weight in addition to volume.
    * Most people don’t have 2 jumbo muffin tins. Totally fine if that’s what the recipe prefers, but offering an alternative would be helpful to most. What else can I proof in? What else can I bake in? Even something basic like saying you can pack them into a brownie tin side-by-side would be nice to say.

    Thanks for the recipe, would love to try it someday if I can figure out all these different pieces I’m having trouble with.