Ingredients
Cinnamon Buns:
· 1Tbsp- Instant Yeast· ½ cup- Vegan Butter (i.e. Nuttelex)
· 2cups- Wholegrain Flour (Or any flour of your choice)
· 1cup- Unsweetened Almond Milk (i.e. Australia’s Own Organic, or any milk alternative of your choice.)
· ¼ tsp- Salt
· 1Tbsp- Cinnamon (Or as much as you like)
· 1cup- Raw Sugar
· 1Tbsp- Rice Malt Syrup (i.e. Pure Harvest)
· 1cup- Walnuts
Frosting:
· 2cups- Icing Sugar· 3Tbsp- Unsweetened Almond Milk
· ¼ tsp- Vanilla Extract
· 1tsp- Vegan Butter (i.e. Nuttelex)
Instructions
1. Either on the stove or in the microwave; heat 1 cup of almond milk and roughly 3Tbsp of vegan butter without reaching boiling point. Once the vegan butter is melted remove from heat and let cool. Note: the temp has to be that of hot tap water or below 44ºC, or you will kill the active yeast.2. Once the liquid has cooled, sprinkle 1Tbsp of yeast onto the surface of the liquid, and without stirring allow it to activate for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in 1Tbsp of rice malt syrup and ¼ tsp of salt.
3. Transfer mixture into a large mixing bowl and begin to add your wholegrain flour, ½ a cup at a time. The mixture will slowly become more and more doughy. Once the mixture becomes too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured bench/surface or rolling sheet and begin to knead (for about 1-2 minutes) and form it into a ball. With your mixing bowl, rinse it clean of any remaining mixture, and lightly coat it in a layer of oil. Place the doughy ball into the bowl, cover with cling wrap and allow the dough to rise/expand until it is about twice its original size.
4. Grab your rolling pin and rolling sheet, and lightly dust with some flour. Begin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 5mm to 1cm thick. (Make sure you roll it out wide enough and long enough to slice into narrow strips.)
5. Cut your strips, aim for at least 3-5 centimeters wide, and make them as long as you’d like.
6. Melt 3Tbsp of vegan butter and lightly brush onto your strips. Take 1 cup of raw sugar and add 1Tbsp of cinnamon together into a container or jar (as long as it has a lid) and shake together, this will create cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the now cinnamon sugar onto the strips. Optional: Take 1 cup of walnuts and roughly shop (as big or small as you’d like). Sprinkle your chopped walnuts onto the strips.
7. Now it’s time to roll. Starting at one end of your strip, tightly roll from one end to the other. Once you have rolled all your strips, carefully arrange them onto a baking tray. (Make sure to coat the tray in a generous amount of non-stick spray). Lightly brush the remaining melted vegan butter onto your rolls and let sit for 10 minutes in a warm place whilst your oven is heating.
8. Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC. Before placing the cinnamon buns in the oven, lightly brush them with your almond milk.
9. Place your milk washed cinnamon buns in the oven and let bake for 25-30 minutes.
10. Frosting: In a small mixing bowl with your 2cups of icing sugar, add 1tsp of melted vegan butter, 3Tbsp of almond milk and ¼ tsp of vanilla extract together and mix until smooth. If the mix is too runny add more icing sugar.
11. Once the 25 minutes is up, or until the cinnamon buns are nice and golden brown, remove from the oven and plate up. Lightly drizzle your frosting over the buns. To make it that much more enjoyable, give it one last addition, and sprinkle a hand full of chopped walnuts over the icing and serve.