I don’t think there’s a single person out there who doesn’t love cinnamon buns. And the smell that fills the kitchen as they bake is almost reason enough to make these by itself! I have created many different types of cinnamon buns throughout the years but these are by far my favourite. There’s just something about the combination of fresh bread, cinnamon and tahini that wins my heart.
These buns are even more special since they include an edible souvenir I brought back from my recent food trip to Israel with Vibe Israel . You can read from my previous blog posts about all the amazing vegan restaurants we went to and the street food we ate, but on top of this we also visited the Al Arz tahini factory, which has some of the best tahini in the world (in my humble opinion :)).
It was a dream come true on so many levels - getting to taste hot tahini straight from the machine is something I’ll never forget. We got to see how tahini is made and bottled, taste different tahinis as well as pistachio and coffee halwa. And even though their tahini is SO GOOD that you can just eat it with a spoon, drizzle on veggies or mix with date syrup for a caramely sweet sauce, I had to create a recipe with it too as soon as I got home.
This recipe combines my love for cinnamon buns and tahini in a lip-smacking baked treat. I hope you love them as much as I do!
I am forever grateful for Vibe Israel for this eye-opening trip. You can follow their Instagram to see what else they’ve got going on - they organize exciting tours showing the best of Israel throughout the year!
To make the dough, place the lukewarm milk, sugar, salt and coconut oil in a large bowl and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add the yeast, then start adding the flour bit by bit until the mixture comes together. You may not need all the flour.
Dust a working surface and knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until uniform and springy. You can also do this with a mixer and dough attachment. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place, until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, make the filling by mixing together the vegan butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and cardamom. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375F/180C. Roll out the dough into a rectangle on a floured surface, the spread the cinnamon mixture on top. Roll the dough up, creating a cylinder, then slice crosswise into rolls.
Place parchment paper in a small baking tin and arrange the buns. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Let cool.
Make the icing by mixing together tahini and icing sugar. Drizzle on top of the buns.
Best served when still warm. Enjoy!
Dough:
1 cup lukewarm unsweetened plant milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted refined coconut oil or vegan butter
1 tbsp fast action (instant) yeast
2 1/2 cups plain flour
Filling:
3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
Glaze:
2 tbsp runny tahini
1/2 cup - 1 cup powdered sugar