Cinnamon Bun Cake

Mmm, these cinnamon buns baking in the oven this week have scented the house with the irresistible sweet spicy warmth. I’ve tried countless cinnamon bun recipes over the years, but this is by far my favourite, giving lovely authentic results from relatively few (and no obscure) ingredients. So many egg-free recipes rely on an egg-substitute of some kind or another, but this recipe uses a yeasted dough, give some oomph with baking powder and then enriched with melted dairy-free spread. I decided to make this version into a cake shape, but it would work just as well as individual buns, and in fact if nervous about this cooking evenly, making individuals would be easier.

Cinnamon Bun Cake (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 8 buns or one cake

• 2 sachets or 3 tsps dried yeast
• 1 cup or 200ml warm water
• 2/3 cup dairy-free spread, melted
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 500g or 4 cups plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-2 tbsps dairy-free spread
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cornflour

– Combine the yeast and water and leave to get foamy

– Stir in the melted spread

– Sift in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Bring together to form a soft but not sticky dough. Add more flour if required.

– Knead to form a smooth ball.

– Cover and leave to double in size.

– Combine the brown sugar, cornflour and 2 tsp cinnamon.

– Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade/Gas mark 6, and grease a loose bottomed cake tin

– Knock back the dough and roll out to a large rectangle.

– Spread the dairy-free spread over the entire rectangle.

– Sprinkle the sugar mix over the dough and roll up from the long side to form a sausage shape.

– Cut into 7 even sized slices

– Place in the cake tin and leave to rise again, so they all join up to form a cake shape

– Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If the cake starts to look too brown on top, cover loosely with tin foil.

– Remove from the cake tin and leave to cool.

– Drizzle with water icing and serve