Since it was my first use of active dried yeast, I was seriously worried about the lack of puffing up that I had seen that came so well with instant yeast. I would suggest not to worry, the end result was just so good that it took away all my anxieties. I suppose that active yeast works slow when compared to instant yeast, and that explains the extra time of resting required.
The quantity of butter and sugar used for filling was minimal. You can add more as per your taste buds. You can even use crush nuts or dry fruits as filling.
To make it look prettier, you can dust generously with icing sugar as well.