Cosy af chocolate studded, hazelnut + pear sweet cinnamon-y buns topped with a maple + coffee glaze. Made with a fluffy and buttery vegan pumpkin brioche that I plan to use for everything and anything briochey in the future!
So yeah, that’s a lot of things all packed into one little sweet bun I know, but it works. They all meld together in this lovely way that makes me so cosy and content. All the flavours of Autumn and Winter wrapped up into a little fluffy bit of dough.
I want to use that dough for everythang in the future. Just as a loaf to slice into big thick slices for breakfast toast or french toast. Or vegan bread and butter pudding! Or as a dough for other sweet bun type things. Or maybe as a cinnamon pull apart loaf (I’m trying that asaaaaap). Doughnuts? Would that work? I don’t know. My imagination is running.
I’m a little busy at the moment though working on another project! Meet RAWISH bakery, my new cake making adventure. It’s starting off as just a little side project because it’s fun, I love making raw(ish) cakes and I’ve had friends asking me to make them for a while so I figured I may as well open it up to the rest of the Newcastle area 🙂 I’m still in the set up stages only offering a few cake flavours and one size, but I’m hoping to get it properly off the ground and running asap.
Chocolate Hazelnut + Pear Sweet Buns with Coffee Glaze {vegan}
vegan, soy-free Cosy af chocolate studded, hazelnut + pear sweet cinnamon‐y buns topped with a maple + coffee glaze. Made with a fluffy and buttery vegan pumpkin brioche that I plan to use for everything and anything briochey in the future! Filling adapted from Ottolenghi.
Ingredients
for the dough
- 220 ml / 2/3 c + 3 Tbsp full‐fat coconut milk or soy/almond etc.
- 1/2 cup cooled pumpkin purée
- 375 g / 3 cups all‐purpose flour
- 1 tbsp chickpea flour
- 50 g / 1/4 cup raw granulated sugar or maple sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 70 g / 5 Tbsp coconut oil or vegan butter cut into small pieces chocolate paste
- 75 g / heaped 1/2 cup roughly chopped good quality dark vegan chocolate 60–70% cacao
- 60 g / 1/4 cup vegan butter or coconut oil*
- 25 g / 1/4 cup icing sugar i used coconut icing sugar
- 15 g / 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder filling
filling
- 25 g / 2 tbsp maple/coconut sugar or raw granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 70 g / 1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted and skins scrubbed off, roughly chopped (reserve a little sprinkle for the top.
- 1 cup medium diced pear from approx 1 – 2 beurre bosc pears
coffee maple glaze
- 1 1/2 cup icing sugar i used coconut icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp vegan butter/coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp hot strong black coffee i used a dark roast with lots of chocolatey nutty flavour
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds
- little pinch sea salt
- enough hazelnut/almond milk to make a thick but runny icing about 1–2 tsp.
Instructions
make the dough
- In a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk until it's just barely simmering over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the pumpkin purée until smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, combine the flours, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the milk‐pumpkin mixture and mix just until combined.
- Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed until it begins to come together, then increase the speed to medium‐high and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 5–8 minutes (if you are kneading by hand it will take a little longer). Then slowly add the butter by the tablespoon, letting each tablespoon fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next.
- Once the butter has been fully incorporated, test the dough. If you press a floured finger lightly onto it, it should spring back slowly (if not, continue kneading and re‐test in a few more minutes). The dough should be tacky but not crazy sticky, if it feels way too wet & sticky, add another tbsp or 2 of flour until it is a little drier.
- With lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and leave it in a warm, draft‐free spot until it has doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours (depending on the temperature of the room and activity of the yeast).
fill + shape
- While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt the chocolate and vegan butter or coconut oil together, stirring often. Once melted, remove from the heat and sieve the icing sugar and cocoa powder over the mixture, whisk to combine. Pour into a bowl, cover and place in the fridge to cool and thicken. Remove from the fridge 10 – 15 minutes before spreading onto the dough, to allow it to soften.
- Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a little bowl until combined. Set aside.
- Lightly oil a 30cm / 12‐inch cast iron pan or baking dish (or line a large baking tray with baking paper). Tip the risen dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 30 cm / 12 inch x 28 cm / 11 inch rectangle. Spread the chocolate paste evenly over the surface leaving a 2cm border at the end, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, then scatter over the chopped hazelnuts and pear cubes.
- With the long side of the dough facing you, tightly roll up the dough (I use a bench scraper to help me here) and pinch the seam closed (make sure to pinch it well, or the roll will unravel whilst proofing/baking). With a serrated knife, cut the roll crosswise into 8 equal pieces (cut the roll in half, then cut those 2 pieces in half and then cut all 4 of the pieces in half = 8 even pieces!) . Gently set them in the oiled pan with the spirals facing upward. Cover loosely with a tea towel, and let them rest until the dough has almost doubled again, about 1 hour to 90 minutes.
bake
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius / 350 fahrenheit. Uncover the rolls and bake until golden‐brown and puffed and a skewer inserted into the middle roll, in the thick middle part of the dough comes out without any raw dough attached. About 25 to 35 minutes (mine took 35). You may need to rotate the pan as the rolls cook if you have an uneven oven.
- Let the buns cool for 15 – 20 minutes before frosting and eating! I actually prefer these buns served only very slightly warm, rather than hot out of the oven. Best eaten on the day of baking. However, to re‐warm them the next day, just place them in the microwave for about 30 seconds until they have softened up again.
frosting
- While the buns cook, make the frosting. Whisk together the icing sugar, maple, butter or coconut oil, vanilla and salt then slowly add the milk by the tablespoon until you have a thick but runny icing.
