Apple Brioche Buns
A cinnamon brioche bun filled with frangipane, a lightly spiced apple compote, brushed with a honey syrup, and topped with toasted sliced almonds, these buns perfect for breakfast, a mid-day coffee or tea break, or dessert. With a soft and buttery crumb, these are impossible to resist! Yields 12-13 buns Yields: 12-13 buns
Servings Prep Time
12-13buns 1.5hours
Cook Time Passive Time
17-20minutes 9-10hours
Servings Prep Time
12-13buns 1.5hours
Cook Time Passive Time
17-20minutes 9-10hours
Ingredients
Cinnamon Brioche Dough
Apple Compote Filling
Frangipane
Honey Syrup & Almond Topping
Instructions
Cinnamon Brioche Dough
  1. In a small saucepan, heat 125 mL milk to 110°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can stick a clean finger in to feel when it is just a bit warm.
  2. Transfer milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the active dry yeast on top of the milk and stir in. Allow to sit and bubble for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Once the yeast has activated, use a spoon to stir in 100 grams of bread flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Allow the sponge to rise about 90 minutes or until double in size.
  4. After the sponge has doubled in size, knock the air out of it and add in the other 400 grams of bread flour, granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Place the bowl on the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix until the flour is moistened. Slowly add in the eggs and mix until combined.
  5. You may need to switch to a dough hook depending on how hard your paddle has to work, or you may be able to keep the paddle attachment on (I usually switch to the dough hook while adding the butter, then switch back to paddle attachment to finish incorporating it all). Add the softened butter about 1 Tbsp at a time. Occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure nothing gets stuck on the side. Mix after each addition until the butter is fully incorporated into the dough.
  6. If you were using the dough hook, switch back to the paddle attachment. Sprinkle the dough with the additional 4 Tbsp of bread flour and allow to rest ten minutes. Then mix on medium to medium-high until the dough is smooth and shiny. You’ll see it begin to pull away from the bowl in places, but the dough is so soft that it won’t pull away completely.
  7. Lightly grease a large bowl. Using the rubber spatula, help push the dough out of the mixing bowl and into this greased bowl. It should stretch a bit but plop straight out. You may need to use the spatula to scrape the last bit of the dough off the sides of the mixing bowl.
  8. Cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap and a clean towel. Allow to rest in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. The dough won’t quite double in size, but if will rise a little bit. If you press a finger int it, you should be able to feel the air that’s developed as it rested.
  9. Refrigerate the dough for 6-8 hours, or overnight. It should slowly continue to rise in the fridge and it’ll firm up the dough so that it’ll be easier to roll and shape later on.
Apple Compote
  1. In a large saucepan, stir together the diced/chopped pieces of apple, honey, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, water, light brown sugar, salt, and 2 Tbsp butter. Stir occasionally over medium heat until the butter melts.
  2. Continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes until the juices begin to come out and the apples soften. Set aside and allow to cool in the fridge.
Frangipane
  1. In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the 6 Tbsp softened butter, granulated sugar, almond flour, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, and egg until fully combined. Set aside. I usually make this before shaping the buns and allow it to sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so.
Honey Syrup
  1. In a small saucepan, mix together the honey and water. Warm until the honey is just dissolved into the water.
Apple Brioche Buns
  1. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Knock the air out of the dough. Cut the dough into 12-13 even pieces, 100 grams each. Roll each piece of dough between your hands into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheets (5 per sheet), making sure to leave plenty of space in between for shaping later. The dough may still be a little bit sticky even after chilling. Cover the baking sheets with a greased piece of clingfilm and a clean towel. Allow to rest for 40-60 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F, making sure a rack is placed at the center of the oven. Remove the apple compote and the frangipane from the fridge.
  4. Using clean fingertips, gently flatten each ball of dough until you have a circle that is 4 inches across in diameter. Spread 1 Tbsp of frangipane in the center, making sure to leave just about an inch of dough around it. Top with 1 Tbsp of apple compote (scoop the compote agains the edge of whatever bowl or container you have it in so that the juices drain). Brush the exposed edges of the buns with the honey syrup.
  5. Bake one baking sheet at a time for 17-20 minutes, until golden brown. The outside of the bun feels soft and springy if you press it down (you should be able to feel if it’s still raw!).
  6. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately top with the toasted almond slices. Transfer buns to a wire rack to cool a bit then glaze with the honey syrup. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes

These are best enjoyed while warm.  If you’re not eating them straight away, pop the bun into the toaster oven/oven for a few minutes to heat it back up.

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