Sticky, gooey and deliciously not healthy

Many people think that being a vegan inherently means eating only healthy food. Well, they’re wrong. In many cases, going vegan means making your diet healthier, sure, but that does not mean that you can’t splurge. You can make just as good ooey gooey pastries as a vegan, which is just what I did for my roommates and me for breakfast a while back. I made sticky buns, completely vegan, not the least healthy and oh so delicious.

You can use this recipe to make regular cinnamon buns too, simply omit the sticky part and proof them on a baking sheet the second time. The recipe makes about 12 buns, and if you feel that is too much for breakfast, you can freeze half of the rolls before the second proofing. Simply put them on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer. Once they’re frozen you can keep them in a sealed bag. To use them, thaw them out in the fridge over night and then put them in a pan with the sticky topping in the morning, proof and bake. In that case, make half the amount of topping each time

Makes about 12 sticky buns

The dough

3 dl vegan milk

¾ dl vegetable oil, such as canola

½ dl sugar

1 chia egg (1 tsp chia seeds/ground chia + 2 ½ tsp water)

25 g fresh yeast or 1 ½ tsp dry yeast

8 dl all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2-3 tsp cardamom (2 if ground, 3 if your crushing the seeds yourself)

The filling

2 tbsp. coconut oil

¾ - 1 dl brown sugar

Cinnamon

1 apple, cut into small pieces

The sticky topping

3 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tbsp. maple syrup

3 tbsp. water

3 tbsp. coconut oil

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 – 2 dl chopped nuts

Carefully heat the milk, sugar and oil in a saucepan until lukewarm (about 37 C for fresh yeast and up to 45 C for dry). If it’s any hotter you’ll kill the yeast. Whisk in the chia egg. Place the yeast, salt and cardamom in a bowl. Pour over the liquid and stir to dissolve the yeast. Gradually add the flour and knead until you have a soft and elastic dough. It should still be quite sticky, as it will become firmer while proofing. If you have a bread mixer, do use it as it will improve the quality of the dough. In that case, wait to add the salt and first knead the dough for a good 10 minutes on medium speed. Increase the speed, add the salt and knead for another 2 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let proof until it’s doubled in size. This can take 1-2 hours.

Place the dough on a floured surface. Knead it into a firm ball and let it relax for 10 minutes. Roll it out into a rectangle, about 1 cm thick. Spread the coconut oil over the dough and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Leave about 2 cm at the far longer side of your rectangle unsprinkled, that way it will hold together better when rolled up. Distribute the chopped apple on top and roll it up from the longer side closest to you. Cut the roll into 12 pieces.

Bring all the ingredients for the sticky topping but the nuts to a boil. Stir to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. The oil and water might be a bit separated, but never mind that. Pour the topping into a 24 cm spring pan and sprinkle the nuts on top. Place the rolls in the pan, evenly distributed.

Proof for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the dough feels soft and fluffy to the touch and the rolls have about doubled in size.

Turn the oven on to 200°C/400°F. When the buns are done proofing, pop them in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until they have browned nicely on top. Take out the pan, loosen the sides and turn the whole thing onto a plate while the sticky topping is still warm. Serve warm.