Perfect Cinnamon Swirl Buns

Who doesn’t love cinnamon buns? Not only are they light, fluffy and sweetly spicy, but they also make your house smell heavenly as you make them. I’ve tried many versions over the years, but never been totally happy with the results until now. As I’ve said before, I often shy away from egg-replacers and prefer to use standard store cupboard essentials. I don’t know why really, it’s just how I like to cook. This is a totally reliable recipe I’ve developed which only uses ingredients you would find in any household store cupboard and can easily be pronounced!

This recipe gave the most perfect results, and they’ve been thoroughly tested with plenty of batches  – the dough is soft and silky without a hint of stickiness and an absolute joy to work with. The filling packs the right kind of cinnamon punch. I do recommend the double whammy of glaze and then icing. The buns themselves are not overly sweet and the glaze gives a wonderful stickiness and everyone likes a drizzle of icing on top!

The addition of sprinkles is totally optional, but does add a little fiesta of summer colour which I find rather appealing in these sweltering hot days.

Cinnamon Buns 

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

makes about 20

250-300ml dairy-free milk, I used Oatly

3 tbsp dairy-free margarine, such as Pure

400g plain flour

2 tsp dried yeast

50g or 1/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cornflour

For the filling:

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

1 tbsp hundreds and thousands sprinkles

For the glaze:

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp pearl sugar/sugar crystals

And/or:

1/4 cup icing sugar

Water to make into a runny paste

sprinkles

1. Melt the margarine and milk together – you want it to be warm and melted but not hot
2. In a bowl mx together the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, cornflour and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk mix
3. Bring together to a soft dough and knead until its smooth and bounces back when poked
4. Cover and let double in size
5. Knock back and roll out to a large rectangle
6. Smear on the dairy-free margarine. Sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon (and sprinkles if using), then roll up tightly into a long sausage
7. Cut into even slices – I managed to get 25 small slices from mine
8. Place on lined and greased baking pans and leave to rise again for another half an hour
9. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4/375 degrees F
10. Bake for 17-20 minutes until risen, golden and cooked through
11. Melt the brown sugar with the water and brush over the top and sprinkle with the pearl sugar (if using)
12. Remove from the pans and peel off the paper
13. Drizzle with the water icing and add sprinkles if desired