Scrumptious Rhubarb Buns
These sweet, tart, rhubarb sticky buns are an absolute delight. A twist on the classic cinnamon buns, they are a perfect snack for you and your friends.
We absolutely love cinnamon sticky buns and this is a variation of the delicious gooey buns. These rhubarb buns are just as delicious, but with a scrumptious tartness that comes from the stalks. They are sticky, gooey, and delicious, and are guaranteed to become your favorite go-to buns during the rhubarb season.
The Ingredients for Scrumptious Rhubarb Buns
The same ingredients as my gooey cinnamon buns, but with the addition of rhubarb.
Ingredients List for this Rhubarb Recipe
- For the dough
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water (100 degrees F)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs beaten
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- For the rhubarb filling
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 orange
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
- 3 tablespoons butter (for spreading on top of the buns before baking)
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The Buns
This recipe uses the same basic dough recipe as the cinnamon buns (recipe here). Use the same dough recipe and once we get to the point of rolling the dough, we will fill it with rhubarb.
Preparing the Rhubarb for the Dessert
While the dough is rising, let’s prepare the rhubarb.
- Wash, dry, and chop two cups of rhubarb into 1 cm cubes.
- Place the rhubarb into a mixing bowl and squeeze the juice of 1 orange over it.
- Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of sugar into the bowl and mix everything, ensuring that the rhubarb gets well coated.
- Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and set it aside while the dough is rising.
- Just before you start working with the dough, drain out the juice from the bowl and ensure that there is no liquid left in the bowl.
- We do not want the dough to get soggy when we fill it.
- NOTE: Do not discard the dough. We can use it to make a glaze.
Rolling the Buns for the Dessert Recipes
Let’s get rolling the buns.
- Once the dough has risen, place it on the counter.
- Punch it a couple of times to remove the air bubbles. The dough will be soft and smooth.
- Roll the dough into a squarish shape – about 1/2 cm thick. It doesn’t have to be a square. Even a circular shape will work.
- Melt 1/4 cup of butter so it is easy to spread.
- Spread the melted butter onto the rolled dough.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mix on top of the butter.
- Now we can evenly distribute the rhubarb on top of the cinnamon sugar.
- Again, make sure not to pour any liquid onto the dough.
Rolling the Scrumptious Rhubarb Buns
Once everything is well spread onto the dough, we can roll it.
- Tightly roll the dough to form a log.
- It should be about 18 inches long when rolled.
- Try to keep the rolling tight. That’s what helps the buns stay soft.
- Once the log is rolled, cut it into 16 equal pieces.
The Second Rise
The buns will need to rise a second time.
- Butter two 9×15 inch baking dishes liberally and arrange the cut buns into the dishes with the cut sides facing down so that the rhubarb is visible.
- Now we need to let them rise again.
- Cover the baking dishes with clean tea towels and allow the buns to rise for up to 1 hour.
- Once they have risen, they will be clinging to each other. That’s perfectly ok.
Baking the Buns
Let’s get baking, so we can finally enjoy the fruits of our labour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using a baking brush, spread the 3 tablespoons of melted butter onto the buns.
- Bake the rhubarb sticky buns for about 30 minutes or until they are browned.
- The juices will run from the rhubarb as it cooks and that’s ok. That’s what will make the buns sticky, gooey and delicious.
- Once the buns have been baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Turn them over onto a baking tray and make sure all the juices from the baking dishes cover the buns.
- Enjoy them warm with a cup of coffee or tea.
NOTE: To make the glaze, place the reserved orange juice into a pan. Add 1/2 cup of icing sugar, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of butter into the pot and cook the mixture for about 5 minutes or until it bubbles. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool completely before using.
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Rhubarb Sticky Buns
Course: Dessert, SnackCuisine: CanadianDifficulty: Medium16
servings20
minutes30
minutes215
kcal120
minutes2
hours50
minutesThese sweet, tart, rhubarb sticky buns are an absolute delight. A twist on the classic cinnamon buns, they are a perfect snack for you and your friends.
Ingredients
- For the dough
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water (100 degrees F)
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
- For the filling
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 orange
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons butter (for spreading on top of the buns before baking)
Directions
- The dough
- Warm the milk in the microwave for about 2 minutes on high (or in a pan so it’s hot) and add 4 tablespoons of butter to the bowl (or pan). Mix well to blend and set aside. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until the yeast blooms and doubles.
- Beat the eggs and set them aside. In a large bowl, add the flour. Add the salt and the yeast mix to the bowl. At the same time add the milk, and the eggs to the bowl. Mix everything well to form a dough.
- Move the dough to the counter and knead the dough for about 7-8 mins. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cover with a dishcloth and place in a warm place. Allow it to rise for about 1 hour.
- The filling
- Chop the rhubarb into 1 cm cubes. Place the rhubarb into a mixing bowl and squeeze the orange juice over the rhubarb. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup sugar onto the rhubarb and mix everything together and set aside while the dough rises.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon powder.
- Once the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and place it on the counter. Punch it a couple of times to remove the air bubbles. Roll the dough into a squarish shape – about 1/2 cm thick.
- Spread the melted. butter onto the rolled dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mix on top of the butter.
- Drain out the juice from the rhubarb and make sure there is no liquid left in the bowl.
- Evenly distribute the rhubarb on top of the cinnamon sugar.
- Tightly roll the dough to form a log. It should be around 18 inches long.
Cut the roll into 16 equal pieces. - Liberally spread butter onto two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes. Lay the buns onto the baking dishes so the cut sides are facing up – you should be able to see the rhubarb. Spread them apart because they need to rise.
- Cover with a dishcloth, and set them aside for a second rise for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spread the 3 tablespoons of butter on top of the rhubarb buns. Bake the buns for about 30 minutes or until they are browned. Let rest for about 5 minutes in the baking dish, then turn them over. The bottom will be gooey. Make sure to pour all the gooey goodness onto the buns.
- Enjoy them warm with a cup of coffee or tea.
Cinnamon buns are made with a cinnamon and sugar mixture that is placed on top of the dough and then rolled and baked.
My rhubarb buns are made with the same dough, cinnamon sugar mixture, AND fresh rhubarb.
Rhubarb buns are made with the same butter, cinnamon, and sugar mixture like cinnamon buns. To make the rhubarb buns sticky and gooey, add a liberal amount of butter and sugar to the dough before rolling them. This makes the caramel-like mixture as the buns bake and allows them to get gooey and delicious.
The secret to getting gooey, sticky buns that do not dry out after baking is the amount of butter that goes into them. Before rolling the rhubarb buns, add liberal amounts of butter onto the dough. This keeps the dough from drying out when baked.
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Excellent 👌👍
Thank you Linda! Glad you liked them 🙂
My dough is a little stiff
Hi Linda,
Your dough can be stiff for a couple of reasons:
– if you haven’t kneaded it enough.
– or if you have over kneaded it.
If it’s under kneaded, you can use your hands and knead it until it becomes smooth.
Unfortunately, if it’s over kneaded, it’s hard to salvage. You will know if it’s over kneaded if it’s hard to form a ball with the dough.
I hope it was under kneaded, so you can easily salvage it and enjoy the buns 🙂