Vegan Cinnamon Buns

I know I said I would never make cinnamon buns again after my triumphant entrance into the world of babka. However, the arrival of some animal loving guests led to reaching for a tried and tested vegan cinnamon buns. I haven’t tried vegan babka, so please send me recipes if you have one.

Please note this recipe is filed under “breakfast” and “treats”. That is not a mistake.

Ingredients

DOUGH

• 480ml Oat Milk at room temperature
• 115g vegan butter , melted
• 50 g demerara sugar
• 7g active dry yeast
• 690g cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

FILLING

• 170g vegan butter
• 165g brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 120g of pecans, chopped

TOPPING

• Frosting of your choice (coconut Caramel, vanilla and lemon all work)
• 120g of pecans, whole

Instructions

1. Generously rub a wide square pan with vegan butter.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oat milk, melted butter, and sugar. The mixture should be just warm, registering between 100-110˚F
3. Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the warm mixture and let set for 1 minute.
4. Add flour, reserving 95g, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
5. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 180˚C.
7. After 1 hour, the dough should have nearly doubled in size.
8. Remove the towel and add an additional 95g of flour and salt. Stir well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface.
9. Knead the dough lightly, adding additional flour as necessary, until the dough just loses its stickiness and does not stick to the surface.
10. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about ½-inch thick. Fix corners to make sure they are sharp and even.
11. Spread the softened vegan butter evenly over the dough.
12. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar, cinnamon and copped pecans.
13. Roll up the dough, forming a log, and pinch the seam closed. Place seam-side down. Trim off any unevenness on either end.
14. Cut the log in half, then divide each half into 7 evenly sized pieces. About 1½ inches (8 cm) thick each.
15. Place 7 cinnamon rolls in each cake pan, one in the center, six around the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
16. Remove plastic wrap. Bake the cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven at 180˚C for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
17. While still warm, drizzle evenly with frosting. Sprinkle with whole pecans.