'This is how I roll': Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Karen here and this week I have finally got around to making something from my baking wishlist...cinnamon roll muffins! I had one of these for the first time in a vegan cafe years ago and said to myself, one day I'm going to make those! Well, this week, the day finally came and I'm sure it will come again soon. They were amazing!

It's a very similar recipe to the one I used to make Belgium buns during the Bake Off Challenge a few years ago, but the filling is flavoured with just cinnamon, and I've used a clever way of knotting them so they bake just right and look fantastic! I'll share the video I used as a guide for this later.

The ingredients are cupboard staples so you may already have everything you need. If not, they are all available at Village Greens. This recipe should make 12 although I came up short when I made mine!

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

250g strong white bread flour

250g plain flour

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp salt

7g fast action yeast

150ml plant milk

1 tsp egg replacer and 2tbsp water

50g vegan butter at room temperature

FILLING

100g vegan butter at room temperature

70g soft brown sugar

25g flour

2 tbsp cinnamon

METHOD

DOUGH

• Whisk the egg replacer with 2tbsp of tepid water.

• Mix the flours, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl.

• Add 125ml tepid water, the plant milk and the egg replacer mixture.

• Mix everything together with a large wooden spoon.

• Add the butter slowly whilst kneading the dough for 10 mins. The butter should be completely mixed in.

• Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until double in size.

FILLING

• Mix all of the filling ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

ASSEMBLY

• Grease a deep muffin tin, ready to fill.

• When the dough is ready, tip it onto a clean work surface that you have dusted with flour.

• Roll it into a rectangle that is around 40x50cm with the shorter sides on the left and right.

• Spread the filling evenly across the whole rectangle, right up to the edges. (I found this difficult to do evenly but they still worked out great, don't worry of they're messy!)

• Imagine the dough in three thirds from left to right. Fold over the left hand third to cover the middle third, then fold the right hand third to cover the other two thirds. Cut the shorts edges off so that they are neat. (If that didn't make any sense, here is the video I used as a guide by Savor Easy. Watch from 2mins 50secs)
  

• Then cut the dough into short strips around 5cm wide, and then cut two long slits into these that almost reach the top. To make the muffins, plait each of the strands of each strip. When you get to the bottom, pinch the ends together and then roll the plait over itself so that the ends are underneath. Then place in one of the muffin tin holes.

• When you have done this with all of the strips, leave the muffin tin somewhere warm and preheat the oven to 220C and wait for 30 mins for the muffins to rise a little.

• Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 15 - 20 mins or until golden. I found that they baked in 10 mins.
  

• Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins before removing them carefully and leaving to cool on a wire rack.

• Then enjoy with a nice cup of your favourite hot drink!

This has been one of my favourite baking recipes to make as they were simple and fun to make, using basic ingredients, they look stunning, even when you are messy like me and they were absolutely delicious.

If you make these I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Thank you for reading and happy baking!

Karen

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