Our vegan cinnamon rolls are easy to make, lightly toasted on the outside, soft and moist on the inside, and with a tad of caramelized sugar underneath. Then the frosting goes between all the layers of the roll, all the way down to the bottom. When you taste them, they are super fluffy, slightly gooey, and then melt in your mouth.
To a bowl, add lukewarmplantmilk, meltedvegan butter, sugar, and instant yeast. Mix with a whisk and let the yeast bloom for 1 minute. The mixture must be lukewarm before adding the yeast. If it's too hot, let cool down for a minute.
Combine with a whisk, then add flour and salt, and mix with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula till you get a dough.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead with your hands for 5 minutes.
When the dough is smooth and elastic, shape it into a ball and put into a large, oiled bowl.Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or with an upside down plate and let proof in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
TIP: I like to proof the dough in a slightly warm oven. Turn the oven on for 30 seconds, then off, and put the dough in it to proof. If your oven allows it, keep the light on. This will keep the oven slightly warm.
FILL and SHAPE
To a small bowl add softened vegan butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix with a fork till your have a thick paste. This is your filling.
When the dough has doubled in size, transfer it back onto the worktop and fold it of itself 6 times, pulling the edges and bringing them back to the centre of the dough.
Shape into a ball, then with the help of a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle shape that is about 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm).
Spread the filling to cover the whole surface of the dough, leaving only ¼ of an inch (½ cm) around the edge without filling.
Roll up the dough starting form the short side of the rectangle, forming a log. Trim the uneven ends, then cut the log into at least 9 and max 12 rolls.Each piece should be around 3 cm (1½ inches) thick. Cut the dough with dental floss, like if you were trying to tie a knot around each roll, then pulling the ends of the knot cutting through the dough. Alternatively, use a sharp bread knife.
BAKE
Arrange 9 cinnamon rolls into a well buttered cake pan. You can use either a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan or a 10x10 inch (25x25 cm) squared one. Personally, I think the rolls look better if baked into a squared pan.
Let the rolls proof a second time for about 30 to 45 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven at 350F (180C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool down for 10 minutes before drizzling with the icing.To make the icing, mix together the powdered sugar, plantmilk, and vanilla extract.
Video
Notes
No-added sugar version
To make a sugar free version of this recipe you can use date paste instead of sugar. Date paste is made with blended pitted dates that have previously been softened in hot water. For the dough you can simply substitute date paste for the sugar in the same quantities. For the filling you can substitute date paste for vegan butter and sugar, so in this recipe you'll need 160 grams (5.6 oz)of date paste to mix with the cinnamon.