Friday 11 November 2011

Cinnamon buns, cornbread and plum cake, oh my!

I've been quite up front about my love of a good breakfast. I have never denied my passion for bacon and eggs, eggs benedict, omelettes and the gamut of savoury dishes that can be eaten with piles of buttered toast and copious coffee.

But from time to time I have an itch that bacon can't scratch. I want something sweet and if at all possible sticky and a bit, well, cake-y, for my breakfast. Something more like these:

I have a spreadsheet of recipes that I intend to try, ideas that I am working on and themes or events for blog posts. It currently contains 182 dishes that I haven't yet written about, and 8 of those are variations on cinnamon buns. Every time I see someone blog about a cinnamon bun I am helpless before it and add it to the sheet. This, actually, doesn't follow any of those recipes. It's Paul Hollywood's iced fingers dough with some vanilla bean paste kneaded in, spread liberally with freshly ground cinnamon, butter and dark muscovado sugar & sprinkled with the zest of a lemon before rolling and slicing into 12. The glaze is a variation on Peter's cream cheese glaze, using the juice of half a lemon instead of vanilla.

They were delicious.

They were also surprisingly well-behaved and kept very well. We ate the last buns 5 days after baking and they were still soft and tempting.


This buttermilk-blueberry breakfast cake recipe has also been sitting in my spreadsheet for ages, waiting for a good moment. My only variation for this recipe was to use some lovely little plums (I think they were Marjorie's Seedling) cut into quarters, instead of the blueberries. The usual tossing-them-in-flour trick didn't work, so the fruit was all down at the bottom but the flavour was excellent.

This not-very-promising-looking bowlful is a classic example of not judging a book by its cover. This is Marion Cunningham's custard filled cornbread, as written about by Orangette. I can't find that recipe on her site, so you'll have to buy the book. Anyway, it's one of those magic things, where you pour cream into the middle of a batter, and it all floats into the middle while it bakes, creating a thick, rich, custard layer. It begs for maple syrup. It's divine, but next time I think I will add a good grating of nutmeg to the batter, to really play up the glorious custardyness.

24 comments:

alexandra said...

Oh my is right! I have about a million recipes for cinnamon buns saved as well, and every time I make one recipe successfully, I still feed the need to save more cinnabun recipes... it's a real problem! These look heavenly!

Caroline said...

Wow. As a not-savoury-for-breakfast person, these are right up my street. I love the look of those cinnamon buns and the plum cake. I'll take your word that the cornbread is delicious - it must be one of those things that it is difficult to photograph in a way to display its deliciousness...

Suelle said...

A lovely set of recipes - I really must venture into yeast doughs!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Ali - thanks for the buttermilk cake!

C - Doesn't it look atrocious? But sweet, sandy cornbread with a rich, creamy custard layer in the middle. Heaven.

Suelle - watch the Great British Bake Off masterclass episodes and dive in. Those iced fingers are excellent!

mscrankypants said...

I don't have any cinnamon bun recipes saved, but they look scrumptious.

I haven't had cornbread since I was younger and waas friends with an American family; must get off my lazy backside and cook!

Joanne said...

I kind of always want sweet things for breakfast...but I kind of always want sweet things all the time! Between these three goodies I'll be set for a while!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Cranky - I really like cornbread, but Paul isn't a fan. This one is really good!

Joanne - you should give them a try! They are all good recipes.

Bettina Douglas said...

Excellent! I was wondering what to do with the left over buttermilk from the buttermilk dessert I made the other week. There is a timely glut of blueberries here as well. The result is perfect, thank you.

Barbara said...

A trifecta of great recipes! I've made (and posted) Marion Cunningham's custard filled cornbread and it was delicious. This is the time of year to try all sorts of new things!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Mother - what an excellent use for leftover buttermilk!

Barbara - it really is a lovely dish, isn't it?

hungryandfrozen said...

Breakfast cake! Those two words make total sense to me when put together.

I love cinnamon buns, so satisfying to make, sniff, and eat.

Gemma said...

I have so many breakfast recipes bookmarked to try (including that custardy cornbread) but being the only one in our flat who eats breakfast makes things a little tricky. I might need to start inviting people round for brunch...

Alicia Foodycat said...

Laura - they really are. I just can't let myself make them too often!

Gemma - I like brunch entertaining. You have an excuse for champagne with your breakfast.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Although I tend to be a more savory fan, I would love any of these for breakfast or just because. ;-)

Mary Bergfeld said...

These look delicious and I am a good judge of cinnamon buns :-) Lord knows I've had enough of them in my lifetime. Your other treats look wonderful as well. Any of them would be perfect with my morning coffee. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Angie's Recipes said...

Those cinnamon buns look out of this world tempting! Love how you describe that magic custard thing....thick and rich ;-)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Deb - the occasional sweet treat is good for you!

Mary - you should definitely try these buns. The dough is excellent!

Angie - the custard cornbread is so clever!

Anonymous said...

Can't go wrong with anything Orangette recommends. Cheers!

tori said...

I am having such sincere breakfast envy that it is causing pangs. I've been stuck in a smoothie rut. It has to end. Tomorrow.

~~louise~~ said...

My friend Katie just surprised me last week with Cinnamon Buns. It was so sweet of her. Of course, I should attempt my own one day:)

There's so much goodness here, Foodycat, I may just need to taste a bit of everything!!! My coffee sits next to me, very lonely.

Thank you so much for sharing...

Heather S-G said...

Oh, I'm stuck on the thought of vanilla bean paste. I've never had it, but it sounds so sexy! Everything looks super good...and that cornbread is something I've been meaning to try ever since I read A Homemade Life. I'm going to try to remember to make it come Easter...

Anne said...

I sooo want to make cinnamon buns and have spotted a few recipes for them lately - am sure its fate telling me to eat them! They look very droolworthy!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Steve - she's good isn't she? New discovery for me!

Tori - smoothies are a rather healthier breakfast than this!

Louise - wow, your friend Katie sounds awesome!

Heather - vanilla bean paste is one of my favourite ingredients!

Anne - make them! You won't be sorry!

grace said...

all good-looking grub, if you ask me! for the record, a 5-day-old cinnamon bun is better than no bun at all! :)

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