Cassia to be blunt is cinnamon’s coarse cousin, though its flavour, while reminiscent of cinnamon is more headstrong and highly aromatic with an intensity that can often overpower.
Ingredients
- 2 tblsp Surebake yeast or 2 ¼ tsp dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups warm water
- 5 1/2 cups flour (bread making quality)
- 2 tsp salt
- 225 grams butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown or dark brown sugar
- 2-3 tsp ground cassia
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 6 tblsp caster sugar
- 1/4 cup mixed peel
- grated rind one lemon or orange
Method
- Stir the yeast into 1 ¼ cups of warm water and allow to stand for 5 minutes until the yeast begins to froth.
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeasty liquid, remaining warm water and 75 grams of the softened butter. Bring together with a spoon to make a sticky dough. Use a spatula to scrap the dough into the centre and then cover with a warm clean towel and leave for 20 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto well- floured board and knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Do not knead as if it is bread dough, as you do not want to over work the gluten here. Turn the dough over in a cleaned greased bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap and then a warm towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour or until double in bulk.
- Melt 100 grams of butter in a saucepan with the sugar and cook stirring over a moderate heat until the mixture forms a thick syrupy mixture where the butter does not separate out from the sugar. Spread over the base of a 23-25cm baking paper-lined square cake tin.
- Turn the dough out and gently deflate and knead gently for one minute only. Roll out to about a 30 x 40cm rectangle. Beat the remaining butter until it is soft and spread gently over the dough, leaving a 1cm strip unbuttered at one 30cm edge. Mix the cassia with the walnuts, sugar, mixed peel and citrus rind and sprinkle evenly over the top of the dough.
- Beginning at the unbuttered edge, roll the dough up into a tight log, pinching the ends together. Cut into 9 equal pieces and place these close together in the cake tin. Cover with greased plastic wrap, wrap in a warmed towel and set aside again for about 40 minutes or until double in bulk.
- Bake in the centre of the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes and then lower the temperature to 180 degrees Celsius for a further 35-40 minutes or until the buns are well cooked through in the centre. Turn out while warm and serve hot with extra butter if wished and steaming hot coffee.
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