Special cinnamon buns! (Gluten and dairy free!! Shhhhh!!!)
Just because I can't eat gluten or dairy products doesn't mean I don't have the odd hankering for a nice sticky cinnamon bun with pecans!! I do!! Especially with this cold foggy weather we've been having over the past few days. So, I decided to work out how to make what I was yearning for and I was quite pleased with the results!😊 I took inspiration from Claire Ptak's book, The Violet Bakery Cookbook, which is full of delicious recipes.
Preheat oven to 200C and oil a deep muffin tin.
Start by putting 40g lard (or Trex- or butter if you can eat dairy!) in a pan with 35g Extra Virgin olive oil and melt. Put aside, keeping it liquid.
Weigh out 250g light brown sugar and mix with 2tbs ground cinnamon. Lighly chop 60g pecan nuts. Set aside.
Weigh out:
560g gf flour
2tbs baking powder
2tsp fine sea salt
2tsp ground cardamom (this takes a bit of effort, but is well worth it!)
240g cold lard (or Trex - or butter if you are OK with dairy)
Put all these ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it comes together in a sandy texture, then pour in 300g non-dairy milk (I have tried Koko and cashew milk with success), stirring until it comes together nicely into dough.
Tip dough out onto work surface, lightly dusted with gf flour, and gently pull together into a rectangular shape. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Fold gently a couple of times, reshape and allow to rest again for 10 minutes.
Place dough on top of a large sheet of greaseproof paper before rolling out into a large rectangle (approx 18"x12" and approx 1/4" thick all over)
Paint the lard and olive oil mixture all over the surface of the dough, and sprinkle all over with the sugar and cinnamon mixture, followed by the chopped pecans.
Roll up, starting the roll tightly along the LONG side - using the paper to help lift it off the worktop. Steadily roll all the way up, keeping it as tight and even as you can.
Cut the roll into 12 even pieces and put one piece into each cup of the oiled muffin tray.
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack immediately and leave (if you can!) To cool down.
