As always I
was surfing around the internet for cool food blogs and discovered some new
favourites; This Rawsome Vegan Life and My New Roots.
My New Roots
had an amazing idea for making cinnamon rolls without all the sugar and fat
that’s normally in them by using dates for the filling! And I loved
the idea of a cashew frosting from This Rawsome Vegan Life.
My regular go-to cinnamon roll recipe is from Vegan Yum Yum, so I changed it around a bit to make these sugar-free,
wholegrain cinnamon rolls! They were SO yum.
I was just playing around with these, but they turned out pretty well so I thought I'd share the recipe. But for perfect cinnabuns and more detailed instructions, check out Vegan Yum Yum!
Ingredients [makes 10-12 rolls]
2 tsp active
dry yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp
coconut sugar
or raw sugar
1/2 cup
warm (not too hot) water
1/2 cup soy
milk
1/3 cup
maple syrup
1/3 cup
sunflower oil
1 tsp salt
1 flax egg
(mix a tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water and let it sit
in the freezer for 10 minutes)
Yeast
mixture from above
4 cups spelt flour, plus more for kneading
Filling
1 ½ cups
dates, soaked in ¾ cup boiling water for 15 minutes to soften
1
tablespoons maple syrup
2
tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon
cinnamon
pinch salt
Cashew icing
1 cup
cashews, soaked for a few hours
1 tablespoon
lemon juice
1 tablespoon
melted coconut oil
1/3 cup maple
syrup
Water
Combine yeast
mixture and set aside to proof (until it's nice and foamy).
Whisk together
the soymilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and flax egg in a small bowl.
Combine the
yeast mixture with the liquid ingredients.
Add the 4 cups
of flour to a large bowl, make a well in the centre. Add the liquid and mix
until a dough forms. You may need to add more flour if it's too sticky. Knead
for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as you need to, until the dough is
smooth and elastic.
Once the dough is done place it in an oiled bowl, covered with
plastic wrap and let it rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot.
Now make the date caramel filling - add the soaked dates (with
the water) to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients, and blend
until a smooth caramel paste is formed.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and
roll it out into a rectangle about 15 x 20 inch.
Spread a thick layer (about half the date mixture) over the
dough. Then roll up the dough and cut into 10 - 12 rolls.
With the remaining date mixture, you can make a caramel
sauce to put in the bottom of the pan. Blend the date paste with water until
you get a thinner sauce-like consistency, then pour a layer into the bottom of the
baking pan before putting the cinnamon rolls on top.
[here's the caramel paste compared to the sauce after adding a bit of water]
Once the buns are in the pan, cover and let rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180ยบ C.
Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let
cool for a few minutes.
For the cashew
icing:
Blend or process all the ingredients together until very smooth,
and gradually add water until you get the desired consistency. I wanted a thin
icing/glaze, but for a thicker frosting you can just add less water.
Pour some cashew icing over the cinnamon buns and enjoy! And since there's no refined sugar or butter you can eat as many as you want! haha, that's what I told myself anyway ;)
