Pecan Sticky Buns with Ginger Creme Anglaise

For the creme anglaise:
Whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Set it aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the ginger, milk, and cream and heat over high heat and heat it just before boiling (a few small bubbles will form but do not let it come to a full boil). Once the mixture is scalded, pour a little bit into the eggs, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.

Then pour the eggs back into the rest of the milk mixture, whisking constantly, to combine. Heat over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. This can take a while, but it’s worth it. When it’s done, the mixture should be just a little bit thicker than heavy cream.

Pour the mixture into a bowl through a strainer. Discard any solids, and pour the creme anglaise into sterilized jars or containers. Let it cool before placing in the refrigerator. This can be made in advance.

For the dough:
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, 3 cups of the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, butter and salt until they form a very wet dough. Stir in another cup of flour with a rubber spatula. Then mix in the final half cup of flour by hand. Knead the flour into the dough and continue to knead until the dough is nice and smooth. Throughout the whole dough making process you can keep the dough in the bowl. It makes for less cleanup, and, well, who doesn’t like that?

Cover the dough, still in the the bowl, with a towel and let it rise for about an hour and a half (this is the time it took in the bread proof setting of my oven, with the heat off) or until it is puffy and has risen. It doesn’t need to have doubled.

For the caramel glaze:
Prepare a round, 9 3/4-inch, deep-dish pizza pan by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom. Set aside.

Once the dough has risen, prepare the glaze. Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat until the mixture is golden and honey-colored, about 5 minutes. Then remove it from heat and stir in the cream (the mixture will bubble and steam), butter and honey. Pour it into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with the pecans.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into about an 18-inch by 9-inch rectangle with one long side facing towards you.

In a small bowl combine the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the tablespoon cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the rectangle, leaving an empty border around the edges about 1 1/2 inches around. Starting with the long side farther away from you, roll the dough into a log towards you. Cut the log into 12 even pieces and place in the pizza pan on top of the caramel and pecans. You will need to give everybody a little shove so they mix and mingle with each other and everyone fits.

Let the buns rise (I used the bread proof setting of my oven) for about another 45 minutes, covered with a towel, or until they are puffy. Remove from the oven and preheat the oven to 375 F. Once it’s preheated, remove the towel from the pan and put the pan of buns into the oven. Bake the buns for 35 minutes or until dark, fragrant, and cooked through.

When done, remove them from the oven and immediately turn them out onto a cake stand, flipping the buns so the caramel is on top.

Serve the buns warm, as they are best fresh, with a drizzle of the creme anglaise.