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Sweet Potato Sticky Buns

Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Resting time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 8 buns

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk scalded and cooled
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 large eggs

For the goo:

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the sweet potato filling:

  • 24 ounces sweet potatoes
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup butter melted

For the marshmallow fluff:

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large egg whites
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the sweet potato filling:

  • Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place on microwave safe plate and microwave oh high until softened, about 9 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon and into a 2-cup measuring cup until you have 1 ⅓ cup of sweet potato. Discard the rest or save for another use.
  • Add sweet potato to a bowl of a food processor, along with vanilla bean paste, brown sugar, spices, and salt. Pulse until combined. With the processor on, slowly drizzle in melted butter. Stop processor when mixture becomes smooth. Set aside until assembly step.

For the dough:

  • Proof yeast in a small bowl by adding it to warm water. Leave for 10 minutes or until the yeast has foamed up. If it doesn't foam up after 10 minutes, the yeast has died and you'll need to try again.
  • In a bowl fitted for a stand-mixer, add flour, yeast mixture, salt, sugar, scalded milk, and eggs. Attach dough hook and mix ingredients on low for 3-4 minutes until all the ingredients are combined, scrapping down the sides, as needed, to incorporate all the ingredients. Once incorporated, increase speed to medium and knead for about 8 minutes.
  • Put the dough in a large, greased bowl or plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

For the goo:

  • While the dough rises, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and cook to combine. Once it starts to bubble, remove from heat and add honey, cream, water, and salt. Whisk together to combine. Let it cool for 30 minutes while we roll out the dough.

For the assembly:

  • Remove ball of dough from fridge. Place dough floured surface and begin rolling out into a rectangle until it is 12x20 and about 1/4-inch thick. Position the rectangle so that the short side is facing you.
  • Spread sweet potato filling all over the rectangle of dough in one even layer. Begin tightly rolling the rectangle into a log, starting on the short side closest to you and ending on the other short side. The log should be 12 inches long.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut log into 8 even slices. Pour all of the goo into a 9x13 pan so that it coats the bottom evenly. Place all 8 slices of the dough into prepared pan and space them out evenly. Cover with a towel until they almost triple in size. This will take about 45 minutes. When you have about 20 minutes left of rise-time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Bake buns in a preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown.Let the cooked buns cool for 20 minutes so that the molten goo doesn't burn your mouth. Once cooled, use a spatula to invert a bun one at a time onto a serving plate. Spoon marshmallow fluff over the top (recipe below). Torch marshmellow fluf just until the outside gets burned. Serve immediately.

For the marshmallow fluff:

  • Add sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a small sauce pan and whisk together. Bring to a boil and continue boiling until mixture reaches 240 degrees. While the mixture heats up, add egg whites to a clean bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium with beater attachment until egg whites begin to foam. Add cream of tartar and then increase spead to medium until egg whites form soft peaks.
  • Once sugar reaches 240 degrees and soft peaks have formed with the egg whites, slowly drizzle sugar into egg whites, while the mixer is on medium. Add vanilla bean paste with the mixer running. Increase speed to medium high and beat until egg whites turn glossy and form stiff peaks. This should take about 2 minutes. Serve on top of baked sticky buns and then torch to toast up the marshmallow.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine