Raw Cinnamon Buns
I have come across a couple of raw cinnamon bun recipes on the web but none seemed close enough to traditional cinnamon buns. What a great challenge. Almond flour, flaked spelt (yup, you heard me right) and ground flax were the perfect medium for these. A bit of time in the dehydrator provided the perfect consistency. Wanting to get away from only using cashews for cream fillings, I also added almonds and raisins. The crowning glory is the maple cashew icing! I wouldn’t suggest having these for breakfast every morning, but for a Sunday brunch, or a weekend treat, they are perfect.
Spelt is a grain that is related to wheat but contains much more protein and less carbohydrates than wheat. It is high in B vitamins, iron and potassium. I got this raw, flaked spelt from Sunrise Flour Mills. You can read more about them here. You can replace it with raw, flaked oats if you wish. But you know me, I like to mix it up a bit!
Raw Cinnamon Buns
MAKES 12
Buns
- 5 dates
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 cup Ground Flax
- 1 1/4 cups Almond Flour
- 1 cup Spelt Flakes
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans (chopped fine)
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Agave
- 1 cup Water
- Soak dates. Blend with 1/4 cup water to make a smooth date paste. Set aside.
- Combine flax, almond flour (I use the dehydrated almond pulp left over from making almond milk), finely chopped pecans, and Spelt flakes.
- In a separate bowl, combine date paste, olive oil, 1/4 cup agave and 1 cup water. Mix wet ingredients into dry.
- Spread in a rectangle on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. You want this to be a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes. Flip onto screen, peel off dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 for another 20 minutes. While the bun is dehydrating, you will want to prepare the filling.
Filling
- 1 Young Thai Coconut (the white part)
- 1 cup Cashews
- 1/2 cup Almonds
- 1/4 cup Raw Agave
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla (not raw)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- Soak Almonds and Cashews for at least 3 hours to soften.
- Place in food processor with remaining ingredients except raisins, process until smooth. Stir in raisins.
Icing
- 1 cup Raw Cashew Butter
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup (not raw)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3-4 tablespoons Water
- Mix all ingredients except water.
- Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to desired consistency.
Assembly
- Place “bun” on parchment paper.
- Spread filling on bun. You can spread to the edges on the long sides but leave an inch or two on the short sides.
- Gently roll up the roll.
- Slice and top with icing.
natasha wrote on October 11, 2011
hello, i dont have a dehydrator, do you know if this would work in an over, and at what temperature/ for how long?
LOOKS amazing!!!!!
Susan wrote on October 11, 2011
Unfortunately, because this is a raw blog, I do not try the recipes in the oven. You could experiment, though. Just note that it is difficult to keep the temp low enough in the oven to keep the food raw.
Monika wrote on June 30, 2011
This looks so yummy! But I don’t have the dehydrator… Is it possible to make this without the dehydrator? What if I would try to put this in the oven with 115? 😀 Thank you for your opinion.. 🙂
Susan wrote on June 30, 2011
If you have an oven that will stay as low as 115 I would think it could work. Dehydrators have a convection action. You will just have to watch the time. 🙂
Joelle wrote on April 28, 2011
I made this today. It was a pretty yummy treat. The kids gobbled it up. I had spelt, but nothing to make it into flakes so I used quinoa flakes – seemed to work fine to me! I read the post just a few ahead of mine, and someone was worried about being wet, mine didn’t seem wet; it wasn’t sticky, it rolled fine. I was wondering if you are suppose to be able to feel different textures when you eat it or is it just a total soft bite. I kept thinking that my bun should have been dryer, but then I was worried it wouldn’t roll right and crack. Any further input?
Susan wrote on March 2, 2011
I would think raw oat flakes could work…Dehydrate at 145 to start, then drop the temp to finish.
Sonya Swan wrote on March 2, 2011
What temp do you dehydrate these on? :0)
Sonya Swan wrote on March 2, 2011
Could one use a substitute for spelt flakes? Maybe oat bran?
Foo Fighter wrote on February 19, 2011
This looks like a great recipe. Should they be stored in the fridge? Also, any idea how long they keep and/or if they can be frozen?
Susan wrote on February 20, 2011
Yes, in the fridge, they will keep a couple of days, and I am not sure how they will freeze.
Susan wrote on February 19, 2011
Different dehydrators dehydrate differently. If yours is still too wet, then leave it in longer. 🙂
katie wrote on February 18, 2011
Hi, I’m in the middle of making the cinnamon buns. And I’m wondering why the texture of my actual ‘bun’ is so wet. What temperature do you have your dehydrator set to? And what should the texture feel like?
Thanks!