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?
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