These super-soft, easy-to-make vegan cinnamon buns have a spicy spin with the addition of vanilla and chai. Whip these up for dessert or just make them as a sweet snack that your whole family will love.
Serves 12-14
INGREDIENTS
Dough
- 2 packets of fast-rising or active yeast (8 g each)
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + some until you reach a non-sticky consistency
- 11/2 cups almond milk
- 1 chai tea bag
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg replacement
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
Dusting
- 1/2 cup brown or white sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
Sticky Sugar Syrup
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 tsp. organic vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, cold or room temperature
Cinnamon Icing
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. organic vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup flour and yeast. Stir and set aside.
- To a small pot, add almond milk and teabag. Heat for 5 or so minutes or until warm.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the warm milk tea infusion, brown sugar, egg replacement, salt and melted butter until well combined.
- Into the large bowl, add the flour and yeast mixture. Whisk for around 2-3 minutes or until everything is well combined and lots of bubbles have developed. Then stir in the remainder of the flour, slowly, and add more as you need. You want it to be pliable but not too sticky. Knead for 5-10 minutes and add flour to the surface area to make the process easy.
- Grease the sides of a large bowl and add in your dough. Add oil to the top of your dough and place a damp cloth over the top of the bowl. Leave in a warm place for around 15-30 minutes.
- While your dough recipe prepares, make your sticky sauce by adding all of your ingredients into a pot and simmering on low heat until completely melted. Whisk/stir constantly to avoid burning. Once ready, remove from heat and let cool. This should only take a few minutes.
- You can now preheat your oven to 350 F and grab a baking dish – I used a 16″ L x 9″ W x 2.5″ H.
- Once your sticky sauce has cooled, add it to the base of this baking dish and make sure it’s spread around evenly.
- Once your dough has risen, punch a hole into the middle of the dough (this is very satisfying) and let it rise by double once again.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, around 20 x 14 x 1, but use whichever dimensions work best for you and your baking dish!
- Once you have flattened the dough, sprinkle with some brown sugar and cinnamon (add as much or as little as you’d like). Roll the dough width-wise, keeping it tight, and cut into around 12-14 rolls. Place them onto the sticky sauce and set them aside to rise till doubled in size.
- Once ready, bake for 25-35 minutes.
- To make your icing: simply add your ingredients to a deep bowl and blend using hand mixer for around 1-2 minutes.
- Once your cinnamon buns are ready, spread the icing over top and enjoy these babies hot!
- They last for one week in a tightly sealed container, kept at room temperature.
Nutrition facts per serving: Calories 454 protein 5 g; fat 17 g; carbs 68 g.
IMPACT Magazine’s December 2020 Edition
Read about our top Canadian Olympic snowboarder who returned from injury and is chasing that elusive Olympic Gold! Learn how not to lose your momentum running through the cold and snow, work out with Canada’s Top Fitness Trainers, avoid back pain with one of the world’s most renowned experts and try out our delicious Holiday-themed recipes.
