Happy Easter everyone! I hope all of you are enjoying some family time, a little chocolate and a bunch of food.
This time last year I remember doing the exact same thing – scrambling to make something to bring to Easter dinner, l took photos whilst baking, praying that the rolls I was making would turn out and that my in-laws (for lack of a better descriptor) would not come too early otherwise the rolls would be under-cooked, or at least too hot to handle.
This year, I had it in my head I needed to make hot crossed buns and after going grocery shopping yesterday morning, I was ready to get them made and photographed and published on time, no stress. One huge problem, I forgot oranges and lemons.
My boyfriend always being the calm in the storm, reminded me that as we were going to the movies later that night we could grab some from the boutique market downtown before hitting up the theater Half my problem was solved but this morning I’m back into the Holiday baking rampage with a side of I need to make stuff for my lunches for the week, and a pinch of blog…blog, I can’t forget the blog.
To make this recipe vegan as I’ve written it you need to use an egg replacer. If you would like to use a powdered one you can, although I haven’t had much luck with them. I used an egg-replacer made from chia seeds. This of course will change the way the hot cross buns look, but I’m ok with that if you are.
To make a chia egg-replacer the ratio is 1:3 chia seeds to liquid. I used the remaining coconut milk which was about 7 tablespoon and added 2+1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds to make up the difference of 2 eggs plus one egg yolk. Water is generally recommended for this, but I figured it might need additional fat to produce a soft and airy sweet bun.
These buns are perfectly soft, just sweet enough, very moist and airy and would be great for a sweet breakfast with tea or as part of an Easter Brunch. Better late than never I guess.
Hot Glazed Buns with Chia Seeds and Coconut Milk
adapted from a recipe found on Epicurious.com
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, warmed
- 5 tsp of yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp of allspice
- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs of vegetable oil
- 1 recipe of chia egg replacer (enough for 2+1/2 eggs eggs)
- 1 cup of raisins (or currants)
- 1 tbs of each orange and lemon zest
basting
- 1/4 cup coconut/almond or soy milk from a tetra pack
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
icing
- any left over coconut milk basting liquid
- juice from 1/2 of an orange
- 1 tbs orange zest
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 3/4-1 cup of icing sugar
Method
Make your chia seed egg replacement by mixing the coconut milk or water and chia seeds in the ratio described above and set aside.
Measure out 1 cup of coconut milk and put in a microwave safe dish and heat for about 30 seconds until slightly warmer than room temperature.
In a medium-sized bowl add milk, yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir well and leave for 5 minutes to froth.
In a separate large mixing bowl, sift flour, and add the sugar salt, allspice, and cinnamon and stir to combine.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in all the vegetable oil, the chia seed egg and the yeast/milk mixture. Mix with a spoon first but I switched to my hand about half way through. It may feel slight dry, almost like a pastry and that is fine but if it’s too dry you may add a few tablespoons of water or milk. Add raisins/currants and work into the dough by kneading. Once the dough has come together, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm space for one and a half hours. You could also leave it to rise overnight.
Once the dough has doubled in size, split it in half and shape each half into a long log. You want to get twelve buns out of each log so I suggest cutting each log in half first then making your divisions so you get six rolls for each half log. It will also give you a change to even out the log again before cutting it.
Prepare two baking tins with cooking spray or margarine Using your hands shape each dough section into a smooth ball and place in the pan and repeat. Make sure there is a bit of space between each as once they rise and cook again they will crowd the dish. Cover and let rise for forty-five minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degree and make the basting liquid by combing coconut/almond/soy milk, cinnamon and sugar and brush on the tops of the tops of the rolls. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the side and tops become brown. If you are baking both at a time make sure to rotate (top to bottom and side to side) the pans at the half way mark.
Remove from the oven and let rest while you make the icing/glaze.
In a small bowl combine any left over basting liquid, half of an oranges juice, almond extract, orange zest and icing sugar. Use a basting brush to generously coat the warm rolls, leave to cool.
If that is too much work for you I understand, while the caramels take about 25 minutes of stove-top work, cutting and wrapping them can added extra minutes to what you already might not have time for. So my second suggestion is to make some bark. Nothing can be easier than melting some chocolate, added crushed cookies, candy canes, dried fruit and nuts or cereal and topping off with more chocolate, letting cool breaking it up and voila! Beautiful quick treats for friends and family. I made some as well, I started with 300g of dark chocolate, topped with pretzel sticks, drizzled with melted peanut-butter, topped with 300g milk chocolate and then broken pretzel pieces. It couldn’t have been easier or more delicious.
Finally if you are gifting, the wrapping really makes your already awesome treats stand out. I recently bought the book Vegan Food Gifts, which has a ton of beautiful and easy packaging suggestions, complete with tags and embellishments. The ones below I created by making a tube with cellophane, folding in half and adding the bark to one side and the caramels on the other and then tying with a string. Easy-peasy!
I hope the holiday season brings you much joy and time with family and friends. See you all in the New Year with more recipes and anecdotes!
V-Spot 