GBBO 2019 Week 3 - Bread - Tear & Share Cinnamon, Apricot and Apple Rolls (Vegan)

I know...I'm quite late with this post. My defence is that I attempted the first batch of cinnamon rolls, which were a bit of a disaster, and then episode 4 of GBBO was on, and I got very annoyed with the theme (Dairy week for a vegan is NOT much fun!).
However, I picked myself up yesterday and had another go at some vegan cinnamon rolls. To the filling I added, as weird as it sounds, a small jar of apricot and apple puree (like that found in the baby food aisle). This gave the rolls a wonderful fruity flavour. Before placing the rolls in the tray I also poured in a simple vegan caramel. After baking, this leaves a gorgeous caramel stickiness to the bottom of each bun.

This is the jar of apricot and apple puree (125g) I used. It has no weird ingredients in it, just 60% apricot and 40% apple, so seemed perfect for this bake.

The dough was really easy, lightly spiced with cardamom, and I kneaded the dough using the dough hook in a stand mixer - you could knead by hand, but the dough is a sticky one, so if you can, I'd recommend following my method.

Makes 9 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 475g strong white bread flour, plus an extra handful for dusting
• 25g cornflour
• 7g dried fast-action yeast
• 50g light soft brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 300ml soy milk
• 75g dairy-free (I used a soy-based) margarine

For the caramel:

• 45g golden syrup
• 45g light soft brown sugar
• 75g dairy-free margarine

For the filling:

• 2-3 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 30g light soft brown sugar
• 125g apricot and apple puree (you could blitz your own apricots and cooked down apples if needed)

Method:

1. Tip the bread flour and cornflour into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook. To one side of the bowl add the yeast, and to the other side add the sugar, cardamom and salt.

2. Heat the soy milk in the microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute, until warm but not hot to the touch. Pour over the flour and add the margarine.

3. Turn on the stand mixer and leave to knead for around 8 minutes, until it is very soft.

4. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough has at least doubled in size.

5. Meanwhile, make the caramel by pouring the syrup, sugar and margarine into a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir whilst boiling for around a minute, then take off the heat.

6. Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin with baking parchment, then pour caramel into the base of this tin.

7. To make the filling, simply stir together the cinnamon, sugar and puree, and set aside.

8. Once the dough has at least doubled in size, tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to knock the air out. Roll to about 50 x 40 cm rectangle. Spread over the filling evenly. From a long end, roll the dough tightly.

9. Evenly slice into nine rolls, and then carefully place in the prepared tin, cut side facing up.

10. Cover the tin with clingfilm and then leave for around another 45 minutes, until well risen.

11. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180c (160c fan)/355f/gas mark 4.

12. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes, until golden on top and firm to the touch. Check after around 20 minutes, and if they are browning too much, cover with foil.

13. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!