Forget about lemon sticky buns! Convert to mandarin sticky buns!

Do you see these guys? Aren’t they cute?

I know, right? Cute and delicious! We love mandarins. Our home is a mandarins refuge. You will always find many of them filling our life and bellies. We usually eat them just like that. But for once, I wanted to make something more out of them. I got inspired by a lot of lemon sticky buns recipes that I have seen around the blogsphere lately and I made mandarin sticky buns.

We were very happy about the result. I know, a little time consuming. But boy, it was worth it! And I got some kneading exercise J

Sticky Mandarin Rolls with Mandarin Cream Cheese Glaze


Ingredients

Makes 8-10 small rolls or 6 big rolls

Mandarin Roll Dough


6 gr (1 ¼ tsp) yeast

90 ml (3 fl oz) warm milk

57 gr (1/2 stick or 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, soft

25 gr (2 scant tbsp) sugar

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract


250 gr (9 oz or 2 cups) all-purpose flour

one pinch of salt

2 gr (1/4 tsp) nutmeg

2 mandarins zest (I could possibly use more next time)

1 egg

Mandarin Filling


100 gr (3.55 oz or 1/2 cup) sugar

2 gr (1/4 tsp) nutmeg

2 gr (1/4 tsp) powdered ginger

2 mandarins, zest and juice

15 gr (1 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

Mandarin Cream Cheese Glaze


60 gr (2 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 mandarins, juice and zest

130 gr (4.5 oz or 1 cup) confectioners’ sugar

Method

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and let it sit for a couple minutes.

Add the butter, the sugar, the vanilla and 65 gr (½ cup) of flour and stir together. Then add the salt, the nutmeg, and the mandarin zest.

Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, yet sticky, dough.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is very smooth. Next, put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the nutmeg and the ginger and then work in the mandarin zest with the tips of your fingers until the sugar gets a bit wet. Stir in the juice of 2 mandarins.

Lightly grease a baking dish with butter.

On a floured surface pat the dough out into a rectangle. Spread the dough with the melted butter and then with the mandarin-sugar mixture.

Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Cut the long dough roll into 6 big (or 8-10 small) rolls and place them in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. With a mixer beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the mandarin juice and blend until well combined and finally add the confectioners’ sugar.

When the rolls are done, spread the cream cheese icing on top of them, and sprinkle the zest of 2 mandarins to garnish.

Serve while warm.

Have a sweet day!

Source: adapted from The Kitchn