I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

April 18, 2012

BabyCakes Bakery- Wonder Buns






Have you heard of BabyCakes?







It's an amazing gluten-free vegan bakery in NYC that started off with incredible gluten free cup cakes, but has moved on to oh-so-much-more!

I recently purchased Erin McKenna's book, BabyCakes Covers The Classics, and as with her first book, BabyCakes, fell in love with the recipes at sight. None of the recipes use gluten, dairy, eggs or refined sugar at all, and most of the ingredients seem readily available here at the major supermarkets as well- always one of my first considerations for blogging a recipe.




Littlej and I poured over every page, debating the merits and deliciousness of every photo before finally settling on Wonder Buns because of their amazing description of "subtle sticky chewiness, the spicy pockets intermixed with the sweet streaks of joy"
Now, who could pass that up?



I have to admit, there is always a little lost in translation when making a recipe from elsewhere. The flour mix recommended is not one I can buy here, neither is the coconut fat, but I substituted with a supermarket mix and Copha instead. The texture may have suffered slightly, but the buns certainly tasted wonderful, and I think I know what to tweak next to make them even better.


















160g Bob's Red Mill all-purpose Gluten free baking Flour
(I used Aldi's Plain gluten free flour)
60g Brown Rice Flour
(I used white)
30g Arrowroot
1 3/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 Tab Baking Powder
1 Tab ground Cinnamon
60g melted refined Coconut Oil
(I used Copha)
75ml Agave Nectar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
225 Ml warm water
(I found that 120ml was sufficient)
















60g Rice Flour
(didn't need it)
60ml melted refined Coconut Oil
(again, Copha)
3 Tab Ground Cinnamon
75g Raisins
(I used a mix of my favourite Prunes and Craisons)


Preheat the oven to 170*
Line a baking tray with baking paper

Whisk together the plain flour, rice flour, the arrowroot, xanthan gum baking powder, and cinnamon from the first list until well combined

















Add the coconut oil, agave, vanilla and stir until a very thick dry dough forms

















Gradually add 2/3 of the water (which was pretty much 120ml) until the dough is slightly tacky, adding more water if needed
* Ok, at this stage I thought the mix was very gritty/grainy, so I smushed it up with my hand until smooth. I really overworked the dough, and over thought the recipe. Sometimes I just need to follow instructions, after all, Erin went to all the trouble of constructing a lovely recipe and I'm sure she doesn't need my interference! My buns ended up quite gummy inside, but I'm sure that won't be the case next time.)
Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes


















Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with 40g of the rice flour from the second list, dust the top and a rolling pin with the rest, and roll out dough into a 1cm thick rectangle with the short side facing you

















Brush half of the coconut oil all over the top of the dough

















Mix the last agave nectar and cinnamon together , then spread the mixture completely over the top of the dough as well
















Sprinkle the fruit evenly over the mixture
(oops, lost this photo, so I'll leave it to your imaginations!)

Beginning with the short side closest to you, gently roll the dough onto itself to form a log. I found the spice mix escaped out the sides easily- so be careful! I also think my buns needed to be rolled a little tighter as they didn't puff as much as I had thought they might
















Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 2.5 cm wide pieces to make 12 rolls. Mine didn't quite spread that far though, so I cut half of the log into 6 slices, and half into 4 that were 2.5 cm thick

Place the rolls on the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes

















Remove from the oven, then gently brush the top and sides of each bun with the remaining coconut oil.
















Bake for 5 more minutes, or until the edges are browned and the centres are slightly soft. I found mine needed yet another 5 minutes, but that was due to the gumminess from overworking
















While my buns were cooling, I scooped up all the escaped spiciness and stuffed it all back in the cracks of the buns, it was just too good to lose! The mix firmed up nicely and where it had oozed out of the bottom of the buns it had made a fantastic crust underneath- yummo!
















These buns were certainly much nicer warm from the oven as they got fairly chewy and tough once they cooled down. I know I made mistakes this time, the buns were dense and heavy as well, and not as pretty as the ones in the cookbook- but they did taste pretty wonderful after all.
I will certainly give them another go, and this time I promise to leave well enough alone!


















So Dear Readers, have you ever messed with a recipe that didn't need messing with, and what was the end result?











.

42 comments:

  1. I didn't get a chance to try Babycakes while I was in New York, but it was on the list! Hopefully next time :)
    I think you did pretty well considering you had to sub some ingredients!

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  2. oooh I haven't made scrolls for ages! And I was just wondering what else I could make with sultanas (as bub was mad for hot cross buns on her first tasting!). Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  3. My next door neighbor tends to explode when she gets near wheat and she has a sweet tooth the same size as mine. I'm going to give this recipe to her and then we'll both love you. :)

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    1. Why thankyou Maureen, and share the love I always say!

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  4. amazing! I love baked good particularly when they look like these! Yum

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  5. Ooh my friends raved to me about Baby Cakes when he lives in NY but I didn't realise that it was a gf bakery! These scrolls look amazing :D

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    1. The sign of good gfree bakery means it should have everyone raving whether InTolerant or not :) Next time you trip around you so have to go Lorraine, and say hi from me! You have so many exciting adventures :)

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  6. How interesting and delicious! I didn't know Aldi had gluten free flour! Thanks for sharing this recipe! We must get together at some stage!

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    1. Hi Lizzy, they only have it intermittantly it seems. Anytime, just drop me a line :)

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  7. I dream of one day eating at Baby Cakes! One day...

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  8. Your scrolls look amazing. Great any time of the day (or night) but I would particularly like them for breakfast. I usually don't dabble with a recipe until I've tried it as written a few times and then I let loose xx

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    1. Oh but Charlie, that requires waaay too much common sense :) Breakfast buns are the perfect way to start the day indeed!

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  9. These look wonderful! To make a baked good GF, DF, and sugar free is a challenge indeed! To make it successful is magic!

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    1. So true Ina! Babycakes is a true success story indeed, Erin has put in all the hard yards :)

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  10. They look incredible, its amazing what you can bake!!!! i'm not much of a recipe changer unless i'm forced to because my cupboard is missing ingredients, and the final result usually does suffer....
    thanks for your lovely comments on my blog, they came to my email but somehow have since been swallowed by blogger!

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    1. Thanks so much Muppy!Sorry, I have been having sooo much trouble with commenting lately, it doesn't seem to matter if it's Blogger or Wordpress- but I have no idea how they ended up in email when I was on your blog page!!! Bother!!

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  11. I can smell them from here! They look scrummy.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! The whole house smelt just so fantastic as they were baking :)

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  12. I think you have done an amazing job with these. - I can smell them I am sure!

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    1. Thanks Sherilyn, the smell travels so well over the web doesn't it? :) (at least I wish it would!)

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  13. Oh yum! These remind me of cinnamon scrolls which I used to love! NmMmmm

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    1. They taste just like the bakery ones too (or so I've been told by the kiddies) Thanks MsIhua :)

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  14. I am sooo glad you have found a way to enjoy cinnamon buns. It would be such a shame to miss out on them.

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    1. I know! It's so hard walking past the bakery or doughnut shops sometimes, especially when I weaken and buy one for the kiddies. Now I can have my cake and eat it too :)

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  15. Two trips in a row to NYC without making it to Baby Cakes... kicked myself each time. Back next year and it's top of the list!! You made a treat that I would never dream of tackling myself in the kitchen (my baking skills are limited by my lack of patience....) these certainly look delicious... and inspired my commitment to visiting the bakery on my next voyage across the border.

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    1. Oh No! You just haaaave to go next time!!! I hope you give them a go to get you even more commited to not skipping this amazing bakery when you go there again :)

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  16. I love the way you cook! I mess with stuff all the time and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but I eat it anyway! Thanks for the recipe, I'm anxious to try it. What do you think you would do different next time? xx

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    1. Thanks so much Ali! Next time I'd not work the mixture so much, and roll it tighter as well. Let me know how you go when you make them :)

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    2. I made my gingerbread today so I need to give my hips a break for a bit and then I will enjoy trying your lovely recipe. We have a new Babycakes store at Disneyworld and I haven't been there yet! I need to get up there and see the goodies!

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  17. Deliciious! And no I haven't heard of babycakes but glad you shared them with us. Would love to try out these wonder buns one day. Your method photos really help because I'd be clueless if it were just all text ;p Good stuff! Hope you're recovering well these days, take care!

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    1. Thanks Winston, I always do the step-by-step photos as that way I remember for next time too!
      My recovery is pretty slow, but I'm sure it will get there eventually, and in the meantime I get to play with my blog :)

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  18. Darling, only you could make gluten free scrolls look so good.. :)

    (PS. I thought I'd already left a comment on this post, but it might have been eaten?)

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    1. Oh Celia, you flatterer you! I just wish I had your light touch with bread and buns.
      I have been having soooo much mucking about with comments- it's driving me up the wall!!

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  19. This is spooky. I've just started a blog "intolerantcook.blogspot.co.uk" - mistyped cook as chef and found this. Guess who's pinching your ideas for his wife :D

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    1. Hope she like them! I'm not spooky at all- I promise :)

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  20. I mess with recipes all of the time. Mostly the recipe did turn out great!
    Your wonder buns look so tasty & fabulous even!

    Now, I would love to savour at least 3! Yumy goodness! ;)

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  21. Those buns are killing me! I am trying to lighten my own buns (if you know what I mean) right now and these look way too tempting!

    I mess around with recipes all the time!

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  22. We had these Babycakes NYC Wonder Buns at the Disney Downtown bakery. My 7 yr old son is allergic to wheat, dairy and peanuts- so finding treats when we are out is a challenge. We bought a bunch of stuff at the bakery so we could all have a treat back at our hotel room & celebrate my birthday. My son LOVED the Wonder Buns and he is quite picky! I had to find the recipe so I can try to duplicate at home! THANK YOU!!!!!

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