Fluffy brioche cinnamon buns are topped with an apricot compote and a brown sugar streusel, and baked into perfect round buns. These are fun to make and have layers upon layers of flavour! Apricot Crumb Buns make the perfect breakfast.
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Apricot Crumb Buns
Hi! Happy Thursday! I just wanted to pop in with this recipe for apricot crumb buns while we are still holding onto the last wee bit of summer. These are inspired by my friend Chelsea, and also by Goldenrod’s new book which came out earlier this year and is AMAZING.
These Apricot Crumb buns are so, so good. There’s a few components to them, but they can all be made ahead and these can be assembled for a perfect breakfast or morning tea. They are a step up from the traditional cinnamon bun - cinnamon buns are assembled and left to rise ( I use my regular brioche recipe which I use for everything), and then the middles are pressed in and filled with an apricot compote made from fresh fruit, sugar, and a wee bit of vanilla.
They are then topped with a crunchy streusel, and are baked either in rings or a jumbo muffin pan, for perfectly round buns. These are a wee bit fancy but super easy to make, and a really nice variation on the standard cinnamon bun! I hope you give these Apricot Crumb Buns a try! x
How to Make Apricot Crumb Buns
These apricot crumb buns are made up of a few components. You can switch these out if you like, but combined they make a delicious apricot crumb bun.
- Brioche Cinnamon Bun - This brioche is the one I use for the majority of my recipes. It comes together super easily and can be made ahead. It is formed into a cinnamon bun and left to rise before the toppings are added
- Apricot Compote - I made a compote from some fresh apricots that I had hanging around in my fridge. Apricots, brown sugar, vanilla and a wee bit of salt get cooked down into a compote, which is perfect for adding to the tops of these buns.
- Streusel topping - I love all things streusel. This one comes from a coffee cake that I made, and has a mix of raw sugar and brown sugar, combined with flour and melted butter to form a streusel topping that gets loaded on top of these buns.
A few wee tips for Apricot Crumb Buns
- Prep things ahead - You can make all the components except for the filling the day before you make these. Prep the dough and do an overnight rise, make the apricot compote and leave it to chill, and make the streusel and store in the fridge. Otherwise you can also make the streusel while the buns are rising, it comes together quickly!
- A cold rise is your friend - I have been cold rising almost all my bread dough, as I find it gives me so much more control over the process. Putting the dough in the fridge slows down the rising process, so you’re not trying to work around the dough and can make it work around you. You can either rise it overnight, or I have been doing a 2-3 hour cold rise and having great results.
- Cold dough is easier to work with - Not only does rising the dough in the fridge give you more flexibility, it makes it easier to roll out, too. Cold dough rolls out and then rolls up nicely into your cinnamon buns, giving you that nice spiral.
- If you want to do the first rise at room temperature - You can chill down the log of dough once you’ve rolled it up. Cut it in half and place both halves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover lightly with plastic wrap and either freeze for about 10-15 minutes or chill for 20-25 minutes. This will just help give you a neater cut when you are cutting them into rolls - from this point cut each half of the dough log into 6 for a total of 12 rolls.
Can I use different / frozen fruit?
You sure can! This would work super well with a cooked apple filling, a peach compote, or a fruit preserve or quick jam, or a store bought filling of your choice! You can use frozen fruit to make the compote too if you like. Thaw it out but throw the juices in too to reduce down. You can also mix up what you put in the middle - add some cardamom, add more cinnamon, you can do whatever you like here.
Do I need to use the rings?
Nope! To make these Apricot Crumb Buns I use these rings which are made by my friend Campbell in the UK and can be used for English muffins, crumpets, all kinds of things. I love them because they help keep everything in one spot and make the buns nice and round. You can either put them all together cinnamon roll style in a quarter sheet pan or a 9”x13”, or they would probably work great in a texas jumbo muffin pan too, or you can tuck the end of each bun underneath and space out on a baking sheet. The rings just help keep all the preserve and streusel contained!
How do I know my buns are baked?
The easiest way to make sure that your Apricot Crumb buns are baked through is to take their temperature! An enriched dough such as brioche usually measures 190°f / 90°c when it is baked inside. I have an instant read thermometer and use it almost every day. Otherwise you can look for other signs of them being done - they will be deeply golden brown and will bounce back a wee bit when pressed.
For more brioche recipes, pop over to:
- Laminated Brioche Buns
- Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Doughnuts
- Earl Grey Chocolate Buns
- Chocolate, Espresso, and Rye Babka
- Mini Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Doughnuts
Made this recipe and love it?
If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
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Apricot Crumb Buns
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes plus chilling and rising time
- Yield: 12 buns 1x
Description
Fluffy brioche cinnamon buns are topped with an apricot compote and a brown sugar streusel, and baked into perfect round buns. These are fun to make and have layers upon layers of flavour!
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 280g whole milk, lukewarm
- 4 Tbsp (50g) sugar
- 565g (3 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Apricot Compote
- 500g diced fresh apricots
- 120g brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Streusel
- 75g raw / turbinado sugar
- 75g brown sugar
- 190g all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Cinnamon Bun Filling
- 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 190g brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
BRIOCHE DOUGH
- Place the lukewarm milk, 1 Tbsp of the sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl, and stir to combine. Leave for 10-15 minutes, or until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, and remaining sugar, and mix briefly to combine.
- Add the milk mixture, egg and vanilla to the dry ingredients, and mix on low for 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium, and mix for a further 5 minutes. Add the butter a little at a time, waiting until it is incorporated until adding the next piece. Mix for a further 7-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, until doubled in size. Alternatively you can place it in a warm spot until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
APRICOT COMPOTE
- Place the apricots, sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a light boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until the apricots are soft and the liquid has reduced slightly. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to chill completely
STREUSEL
- In a medium bowl, whisk together turbinado sugar, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir with a spatula until clumps form. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use (store in an airtight container if you are making ahead)
ASSEMBLY AND BAKING
- Grease twelve 3.5” (9cm) rings and place on a baking sheet, or grease a 12 cup jumbo muffin pan, or line two baking sheets with parchment paper (see notes). Combine all cinnamon filling ingredients in a small bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle 11'“x 22” (28x55cm).
- Spread the dough with the cinnamon bun filling.
- Starting from the long edge, roll up the dough into a tight spiral. Cut into 12 equal buns. Take the end of the strip of dough and tuck underneath the bun, and place each within a ring or on the baking sheet.
- Lightly cover the buns with plastic wrap and leave to sit for 30 to 45 minutes in a warm spot, or until puffy, and a small indentation is left when poked gently with your finger.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c.
- Using your fingers or the bottom of a lightly greased measuring cup, press an indentation into the centre of each bun (this will feel very counter intuitive). Fill each indentation with about 1 Tbsp of the cooled apricot compote, then top each bun with a heaped tablespoon of streusel.
- Bake the buns for 30 to 35 minutes, or until deeply golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the dough reads at about 190°f / 90°c (make sure you are poking it into the dough rather than the apricot fillling).
- Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before removing from the rings. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Bun style inspired by Goldenrod and The Bakery Lady
Keywords: apricot, buns, crumb buns, compote, streusel
Comments
This is beautiful! I love doing crumbles because of the, well, crumble topping! 😂 Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe 💖
Tiffany
Phlanx's Marketing Specialist
★★★★★
Hi Tiffany,
Ahhh thank you so much! You are so welcome!
Made it and it was fantastic! Such incredible taste! By any chance you're interested in doing collabs, you can check out the offers in our Collaboration section at Phlanx! https://phlanx.com/collaborations You can also check us out at Instagram @phlanxglobal
★★★★★
Just a beautiful recipe, love it! Will be making this again!
★★★★★