I believe I have a peculiar relationship with baked goods. 
Like everybody else, I love my occasional muffin, or croissant in the morning. A cupcake, or a Madeleine with my afternoon tea, and my buttered bread roll to wash down with a good glass of wine on my dinners out.
But unlike most people I know, I'm known to have uncontrollable, monstrous baked-goods cravings. They feel like a there's a big black hole living inside me, and I call this big black hole of food, my Dark Passenger. 

 

  
Dark Passenger: Hey Rita! long time no see! What'cha doin'?
Me: Oh hey, hi! Well I'm reading this novel, quite interesting really. It's about a- 
Dark Passenger: -Yeah I bet it's fascinating. Say would you like a cookie? I happen to know there are some right there in the box on your kitchen counter.
Me: A cookie? I don't know, I'm kinda in the middle of something here buddy, maybe later, but thanks for reminding me!
Dark Passenger: Alright, if you say so! (count to five) Yeah so I was thinking, it smelled really good at the supermarket's bakery when you were grocery shopping earlier this morning, I wonder what they were baking... Brioches? Donuts? Marbled chocolate cakes? humm.. 
Me: Oh man, I really shouldn't. I've been working my butt off at the gym the whole week! I can't risk blowing it all off with one single bakery binge!

Dark Passenger: You're wrong! This is exactly why you should treat yourself with something from there! You deserve it! You've been working so hard!
Me: Yeah.. yeah you're right! I DO deserve it! Thank you! I'm gonna go buy me a massive load of soft, warm, sweet, comforting goodies.. OH MY GOD WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!
...15 minutes later 
Me: Oh. MY. GOODNESS. dark passenger did you see the mountain of cake I just ate? I'm sooo full! My stomach is kinda hurting. But I deserved it right? Dark passenger? Are you there?.... 
Oh my god what have I done?
Dark passenger: (Suckaaaaa !) 

Oh don't look at me like that! He who is without cravings among you, let him be the first to throw a loaf at me! 
So there you have it! Now that you know the truth, you'll know it's not my fault that I have a weakness towards bakery!
And you'll definitely understand AND forgive me if I told you let's say, that I have baked THREE batches of apple and spice rolls, laced with salted caramel sauce, and ate A WHOLE batch single-mouthedly?
Or that I have stashed some in a secret hideout in case someone (cough-Henri-cough) has eaten the rest while I am away?   

I tell you people, if you ever decide to make those amazing buns, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT half the recipe! For heaven's sake double or triple it! If you fail to do so, things might get ugly. I'm talking about marital disputes, rebellions, civil mutiny, and maybe even a World War Three to say the least! Do you really want to have the demise of the world as we know it on your conscience? I didn't think so.

And I can assure you, this little bad boy here, is a DOUBLE winner. Not only it is outrageously good on itself, it just screams UBER-LICIOUS with the salted caramel sauce on it, you just can't have enough of the stuff! I will never, ever eat my cinnamon rolls plain again.


Apple & Spice Buns with Salted Caramel Sauce:
Makes about 25 buns

For the dough:

• 500ml / 2 cups + 2tbsp warm milk
• 25g / 0.9oz active dry yeast
• 1 large egg + 1 egg for glazing the surface before baking
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 70g / 2.5oz caster sugar
• 150g / 5.3oz  butter, melted ( + extra for greasing the pans)
• 1kg / 2.2 pound all purpose flour

For the filling:

Brown sugar Ground cinnamon Butter, softened 2 large apples Juice of half a lemon For the salted caramel sauce:
This sauce is so good it deserves a post on it's own! Check out the recipe here! 

Butter up deep baking pans and set aside.
Mix 900grams / 2pounds of flour and the rest of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and make a well. Lightly whisk one egg, then add with the warm milk and the melted butter to the center of the well.
With a balloon whisk, start incorporating the flour mixture into the liquid mixture by pulling dry ingredients from the inside walls of the well. When the dough becomes a little more consistent, discard the whisk and continue to knead the dough with your hands. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but not too much. If you feel it is still too sticky, add the remaining flour.
Transfer the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in volume, about 20 to 30 minutes.    
In the meantime, shred the apples on the large holes of a box grater and immediately cover with the lemon juice. Keep aside for later.
Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on a large floured work surface (my dining table). Push down the dough with the palms of your hands to release the gas that has built up inside (this is why it rises) and roll to form a 0.5cm / 0.2inch rectangle.
Brush some softened butter on the surface of the dough then cover with brown sugar and cinnamon. 
Drain the shredded apples and squeeze out all liquids then spread in a line along one of the long sides of the dough rectangle. Start rolling the dough from the apple filled end until you form a log, with the shredded apples being in the center of it.
Cut the log into 2cm / 0.8inch disks and arrange with a little space between each in your baking pans. 
Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise again, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 200C / 400F. 
Whisk the second egg in a bowl with a tablespoon of water and brush it on the surface of the rolls just before putting them in the oven.
Bake the rolls for about 30 minutes, until the surface has turned golden and slightly crisp.
Take the buns out of the oven and out of the pans, let cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, drizzle with the salted caramel sauce and enjoy.