Blackberry Rolls (vegan)
If you’ve known our family for any amount of time you will know that the love of cinnamon rolls runs deep. In fact, if the rest of the family gets back from their Sunday morning run and I haven’t made them for brunch whatever is on offer is never really wanted.
I got the recipe idea for this combination from one of our favourite books; Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. In the book Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail head off to collect blackberries while Mrs. Rabbit goes to buy some buns from the bakers. There is a wonderful image at the end (they are all wonderful illustrations obviously) of the bunnies all sitting around the bowl eating the food with some milk to drink. So I decided to combine this seasonal favourite with the buns Mrs. Rabbit bought to create one dish and we are all really pleased with how well it turned out.
Just as a warning, these buns are not for people who don’t like a bit of mess and chaos in their lives. They are messy to make and messy to eat, but they are completely delicious and worth every mouthful (I ate three to make sure I could assure you of this, you’re welcome).
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE YEAST:
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) warm water
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) sugar
- 1 packet / ½ tablespoon (8 g) quick-rise instant dry yeast
FOR THE DOUGH:
- 2 1/2 cups (380 g) all-purpose white flour, plus more for kneading
- 1/3 cup (67 g) vegan butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened oat milk
- 1/3 cup (73 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
FOR THE BLACKBERRY FILLING:
- 1 cup (144 g) blackberries
- 1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons/ 1/2 lemon (20 g) lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (50 g) vegan butter, melted
You will also need a 12cm by 15cm dish greased
Method
- Start by mixing the yeast and sugar into the hot water and leave it to stand for 5-10 minutes until it gets frothy.
- While it’s frothing (is that a word? It should be!) melt your butter and then mix in the milk, sugar, and salt. Then add your yeast mixture and stir well.
- Pour the wet mixture over the flour (I do this in a food processor as it’s a sticky dough but it can be done by hand) and mix/knead it, until it is smooth and shiny.
- Then place your dough in an oiled bowl and leave it, covered with a damp tea towel, in a warm spot for an hour to double in size.
- I only use half of the dough for this recipe and I knock back the second half and put in a bag and freeze it for cinnamon rolls next weekend.
- Once your dough has doubled in size you need to get your filling ingredients ready. In a saucepan heat up the blackberries, brown sugar, and lemon juice, and in another melt your vegan butter
- Roll your dough out into roughly a 15cm by 25cm (it doesn’t need to be a perfect rectangle, it’s a very forgiving recipe) rectangle and brush your melted butter over it, leaving an inch border at the bottom.
- Sprinkle your blackberry mixture and then start to roll! You want to roll from the top down, as tightly as you can, and then use the bottom inch of unbuttered dough to seal your cinnamon log.
- Then you need to grab your dish (I would recommend a 12cm by 15cm one) and grease it with some vegan butter
- Cut your log into 8 rolls and place them in your dish. This bit will be wonderfully messy due to all the blackberry juice.
- Cover the dish with the wet tea towel again and leave in your warm place for another 30 minutes or until the rolls have doubled in size. While they are rising preheat your oven to 180C.
- Once they are ready place them in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until they are lightly golden. Remove them from the oven and enjoy with cream cheese frosting!
I really hope that you enjoy these buns as much as we did! Everyone needs the joys of a sticky purple-blackberry bun, straight out of the oven to let them know that Autumn is on the way.
Livvy
