Sticky Toffee Buns (no nuts!)

These delicious sticky toffee buns are like the best soft pillowy cinnamon rolls you've ever had topped with a thick layer of caramel and crunchy toffee bits. My family always makes cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, but these sticky toffee rolls just might take over!

Those huge bakery-style sticky buns always look SO GOOD to me, but I usually find them a little too nutty. Plus, a few very important people in my life have nut allergies. So I wanted to create a sticky toffee buns recipe with all that caramel-y goodness on top, but without the nuts!

To keep the crunch factor, I decided to replace the pecans with toffee bits. If you have a nut allergy, make sure the toffee bits are nut free. Tessa from Handle the Heat has a great simple recipe to make your own toffee bits with just butter, sugar, and a pinch of salt– no nuts!

Oh, and if you love cinnamon desserts, you should try my recipe for Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal treats too ◡̈ My Grandma's Easy Apple Snack Cake is another fan-favorite!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make Sticky Toffee Buns
• How to Serve Sticky Toffee Buns
• Substitutions & Variations
• Equipment
• Make-Ahead Instructions
• Storing & Reheating
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these ooey gooey sticky toffee buns:

• Milk - I use whole, but you can substitute any milk.
• Active dry yeast - or you can substitute instant yeast by using about 25% less (see recipe card notes for details)
• Unsalted butter
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Salt
• Potato flour - potato starch or instant mashed potatoes also work just as well. This is like the secret ingredient to get the perfect texture! Just think of how soft and pillowy potato rolls are.
• Flour - some people use bread flour for sticky buns, which you can do. I prefer all-purpose flour for the right balance between soft and chewy.
• Brown sugar - you can use light or dark (I used light because that's what I usually have).
• Cinnamon
• Toffee bits - make your own nut free toffee or use Heath English Toffee bits. I think the plain toffee bits without chocolate are a little harder to find though, so you might want to order online.
• Vanilla extract
• Corn syrup or honey
• Heavy cream - adding cream to the sticky caramel mixture helps it stay soft even after cooling.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Sticky Toffee Buns

Start by making the dough:

How to Roll & Assemble Sticky Buns

If you've ever made cinnamon buns, the process is nearly identical! The only difference is adding a sticky caramel to the bottom of the pan that will be inverted to become the top layer.

The best way to cut the cinnamon sticky buns is actually with dental floss! NOT the mint-flavored stuff. Unflavored dental floss works perfectly to cut the rolls without squishing them.

If you don't have unflavored dental floss to cut the cinnamon buns, you can use a wire cutter or a sharp knife instead.

After you've cut them, transfer the rolls to the prepared pan. Nestle them right in on top of the sticky caramel mixture and cover with plastic wrap. They'll need to complete a second rise (about 1 hour) before baking.

How to Serve Sticky Toffee Buns

After baking the sticky buns, first you'll need to invert the pan so the sticky caramel layer is on top. Here are a few helpful tips:

• Let them sit for about 5 minutes before flipping.
• Use oven mitts- the pan will still be hot!
• Place a large plate or platter on top of the pan, then holding both the pan and the plate together, quickly flip them over.
• Leave the lid on inverted for a minute before removing to let all the extra caramel sauce drip from the pan onto the sticky buns.

Now, top the sticky buns with toffee bits! The reason you add the toffee bits after and not before baking (like you would with nuts) is because they would melt and lose their shape/ texture in the oven. You can also sprinkle with a little bit of flaky sea salt if you'd like!

You can eat these with your hands, but they'll definitely be gooey and messy, so you might want to go with a fork and knife. How you serve them is up to you!

Substitutions & Variations

• For more traditional sticky buns, you can add nuts and/or leave out the toffee bits.
• If you don’t love cinnamon, you can leave that out of the filling and do a simple butter-sugar mixture instead.
• If you don’t have potato starch, you can substitute with an additional ⅓ cup flour. 

This also makes a great cinnamon roll recipe! The dough and the filling would be exactly the same. But instead of making the caramel topping, just place them into an empty lightly greased pan and bake. Then top with a simple vanilla icing after baking. 

Equipment

Here's a list of everything you'll need to make these sticky toffee buns:

• Small pot or microwave - to warm the milk.
• Instant read thermometer - you'll need a thermometer to test the temperature of the milk AND see when the sticky buns are done (not necessary, but nice to have!)
• Stand mixer - while you can still make this recipe without one, a stand mixer really helps. I use both the paddle and dough hook attachments to make the dough (paddle to cream the butter and sugar, and the hook to knead the dough)
• Mixing bowls
• Spoon or spatula
• Plastic wrap
• Rolling pin
• Offset spatula - to spread the cinnamon filling.
• Unflavored dental floss - or sharp slicing knife.
• Rectangular cake pan - I recommend a nonstick 13x9 metal pan. Glass will also work, but you'll want to grease the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent sticking. As long as your nonstick is relatively new and in good condition, you don't have to grease it.
• Large plate or serving platter

If you want to try to make homemade toffee, you'll need a small heavy-bottomed pot and a candy thermometer (you can also use an instant read thermometer but it will be a little more difficult). The first time I tried making toffee, it kept separating because my cheaply made pot heated really unevenly, so the heavy-bottom part is really important.

Make-Ahead Instructions

These sticky toffee buns are best eaten warm, the same day that they're baked. Luckily, you can easily make them the night before and bake them the next morning.

Make-ahead method: make the sticky toffee buns through step 5, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator. The next morning, take the sticky buns out of the fridge and let sit (covered) at room temperature for about 2 hours or until nearly doubled in size. Once that final proof is complete, bake them as you normally would.

Storing & Reheating

If you have extra sticky toffee buns, keep them in a ziptop bag or airtight container at room temp for up to 2-3 days. You don't need to reheat them, but I think they taste better quickly reheated in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

If you anticipate not eating all of the sticky toffee buns right away, store the sticky buns and the toffee topping separately. Unfortunately, the toffee bits will soften when they're reheated and lose their crunch. They'll mostly retain their shape though, and they'll still taste great! If you store the toffee separately, it will keep for 1-2 weeks.

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📖 Recipe