Almond buns (small batch)...with an almond paste filling

Calling all almond lovers - this one's for us!

Soft almond buns/rolls - filled with almond paste, toasted slivered almonds & a little dark chocolate

Ever since I had that atypical craving for cinnamon rolls early last year and made some from scratch, I've been hooked!  I've made those chocolate and orange cinnamon rolls several times and now, I have some amazing almond buns (or call them "almond rolls" or "almond cinnamon rolls") to share with you! 

I've now discovered yet another great use for almond paste, and I'm so excited because I'll jump on any excuse to eat more almond paste and almond-based pastries!  The idea for these almond buns came from Sweet Paul's Eat and Make.  In the book, he has a recipe for almond buns that featured grated marzipan and slivered almonds as part of the filling.  That got my attention!

Main ingredients for filling: toasted slivered almonds, grated almond paste, and finely chopped chocolate

I took that amazing-sounding idea and adapted it to suit me.  I used the small batch cinnamon roll recipe I've been using, which makes 4 beautifully soft and pillowy rolls, and instead of marzipan, I used almond paste.  Marzipan is sweeter than almond paste.  I've never used marzipan for baking, and knowing what I do about almond paste (it is sweet enough for me), I was pretty confident it would work just as well - if not better - for this purpose.  I was intrigued at the idea of how the almond paste (or marzipan if you go that route) would melt into the dough while baking to create this gooey almond filling for the buns.  After eating it, I can tell you it is divine!    

I also added a bit of chocolate.  Honestly, I showed restraint here.  I added a mere 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate in total to these 4 rolls.  I wanted the look and taste of some chocolate without overpowering the almond flavor.  And almond is most definitely the headliner here.

To amp up the almond flavor even more, there are crunchy almonds in the form of toasted slivered almonds in the filling.  Other than that, I have a little bit of butter, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon to pull it all together.  It's hard to describe properly in words but...fresh from the oven, it's basically biting into a warm pillowy mound of gooey almond bun.  It's literally oozing with almond flavor and especially tasty with a drizzle or two of the super simple almond glaze I made for them.  

I tasted the buns without a glaze and they are good even without it because there's enough sweetness and moisture from the almond filling.  But in the end, I'm glad I whipped up a quick glaze.  I simply whisked some powdered sugar together with milk (or use almond milk if you have it) and a few drops of almond extract - heavenly!  I think I'll stick with the glaze going forward because it just makes for a more tactile, more memorable experience.  And if you're going to have a sweet bun or roll like this, you might as well go all out and fully immerse yourself in it!


For my small-batch recipe that makes 4 almond buns/rolls, I used 3 ounces of almond paste.  I freeze the almond paste for about half an hour (to make it a little easier to grate) and then grate it finely using a box grater.  The grated almond paste looks like a fluffy mound of mashed potatoes and you want it in fine pieces because it helps with even distribution and allows the paste to melt while baking in a short amount of time. All in, it looks like quite a lot of filling to lay on top of the dough, but it works.

So the finely grated almond paste essentially breaks down, softens, "melts" during baking and becomes the centerpiece - making a gloriously melty, almond filling for your buns.  The crunch from the toasted almonds, a bit of dark chocolate and taste of cinnamon spice in the background makes for a very delicious mouthful, in my opinion!

I prep these buns the night before to have them fresh for breakfast (you just gotta eat them fresh from the oven if you're going to the trouble of making them!).  They need a final rise in the morning that takes about an hour, before baking.  They are done in under 15 minutes and as you can see from the baked buns above, they don't brown very much after baking.  If you forego a glaze, you could brush a little egg wash over them before baking so they brown a bit more for visual appeal.

I snuck one of the buns onto my plate to try sans glaze but ended up drizzling (more and more) glaze on mine as I went along.  

I usually prefer savory for breakfast with a few exceptions; this is one of them!

Recipe:

Almond Buns
Filling idea adapted from this recipe in Eat and Make by Paul Lowe; small batch dough recipe based on Oh, Ladycakes (see this post)

- Makes a small-batch of 4 cinnamon rolls - 

For dough:
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water, between 105-108 degrees Fahrenheit
1 tablespoon butter, melted (and warm)
2 tablespoons milk
4 teaspoon sugar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

For filling:
4 teaspoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ounces almond paste, finely grated (freeze almond paste for about half hour before grating using a box grater)
Scant 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 ounce dark chocolate (I use 60% cacao), finely chopped
Ground cinnamon, to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon)

For glaze:
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon or so, milk (or almond milk)
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Lightly oil a medium size mixing bowl and butter a 6-inch cake pan; set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, lightly stir yeast into the warm water.  Add a pinch of sugar, cover, and set aside until foamy, about 10-15 minutes.  If the mixture does not foam after that time, you will need to start over.

In another small bowl, stir the warm melted butter together with the sugar until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.  Mix in milk and set aside.  

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.  Make a well in the center and add both the yeast and butter mixtures.  Stir with a wood spoon until dough comes together, then remove from the bowl and knead with your hands for 4-5 minutes. Transfer the kneaded dough to the prepared mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot until doubled, about 45 minutes (or more).

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll or pat/press the dough into a 5x10 inch rectangle (I rolled the soft, pliable dough out between parchment paper and plastic wrap).  Spread the softened butter over the dough, top with grated almond paste, sugar, almonds, dark chocolate, and cinnamon.

Starting at the short end, tightly roll the dough, trim off the ends, and slice into 4 even pieces.  Place rolls into the prepared cake pan and place in a warm spot to rise again until doubled in size, about 30-60 minutes (60 minutes being optimal).  [Do ahead: Once the rolls have been sliced and placed in the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator, set it in a warm place to rise again - this may take a bit more than an hour - and bake.] Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-14 minutes.  The rolls will look fairly pale even after baking - for a more golden color, you can lightly brush the tops with egg wash before baking.   

Let rolls cool for 10 minutes in the pan.  In the meantime, whisk 1 tablespoon of milk and the almond extract into the confectioners' sugar.  Add additional milk (or confectioners' sugar), as needed, to reach a thick yet spreadable consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve immediately, while it's still warm.