Salted Caramel Sticky Buns with Pear and Crème Fraîche

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the 12 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and salt. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine the crème fraîche and the vanilla bean sugar together.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, spread each sheet with half the crème fraîche mixture, and then sprinkle each sheet with half the pears. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice each roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful – they’re hot! Allow to cool for 2 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper [ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon]. Sprinkle the tops with coarse salt and sugar.