Vegan Cinnamon Bun Tiramisu
When you think of fusion cuisine, you probably have lots of savory dishes in mind. But why should fusion cuisine stop at desserts? Our vegan cinnamon bun tiramisu is the answer to this question and shows how well Swedish cinnamon buns go together with the sweet Italian classic. It's a match made in heaven that we discovered far too late!
At Christmas time, classics are often in the spotlight: speculoos, panna cotta, German stollen cake – we all know them. But this year we're trying something new. You know tiramisu from Italian cuisine, traditionally made with ladyfingers, mascarpone, and coffee. Cinnamon buns, on the other hand, are a Nordic dessert that fits perfectly into the cold season with its warm spices. So why not combine the best of both worlds? Instead of ladyfingers, fluffy cinnamon buns provide the „base“, which is flavored with an aromatic coffee and amaretto mixture.
There’s also the alcohol-free Familien-Punsch by Voelkel. It’s made from crisp apples, elderberries, and sour cherries, refined with star anise and cinnamon. But the Winter Apple Punch also works wonderfully with this recipe – simply choose your favorite punch variety from the wide selection. These punches are a great alternative to the classic tiramisu soak of amaretto and coffee. In this recipe, we soak the cinnamon rolls with the punch to incorporate even more wintery flavors and create a moist base. And it works beautifully! You can also try a mix of punch and coffee or punch and amaretto. We’ve tested all the variations and loved them all. And one more thing we think is particularly wonderful: for every bottle sold, 5 cents are donated to Deutsche Kältehilfe (German Cold Relief). This helps provide, for example, cold buses, food distribution, and warm clothing for those in need.
If you're still having doubts and are wondering whether this isn't far too time-consuming, don't worry! We've designed the recipe so that it allows you to bake it step by step in a relaxed manner. It's also easy to prepare ahead of time, so you can make it 1–2 days in advance and just wrap it up for the next Christmas party.
Vegan Cinnamon Bun Tiramisu
Ingredients
For the cinnamon bun dough:
- 300 g (2.5 cups) wheat flour (type 405) or spelt flour (type 603)
- 50 g (0.25 cup) sugar
- 75 g (0.66 stick) plant-based butter
- 150 ml (0.66 cup) plant-based milk
- 8 g (0.25 oz) fresh yeast
- 0.5 tsp salt
For the cinnamon bun filling:
- 100 g (1 stick) plant-based butter (room temperature)
- 50 g (0.25 cup) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
For the cream:
- 400 ml (1.66 cups) plant-based whipping cream
- 200 g (1.66 cups) confectioner’s sugar
- 16 g (2.5 tbsp) cream stiffener
- 600 g (21 oz) vegan mascarpone
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For brushing:
- 60 ml (0.25 cup) espesso
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) vegan punch (e.g. from Voelkel)
- 2 tbsp amaretto
Also:
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
Instructions
Remove the plant-based butter for the filling from the fridge and leave to soften at room temperature.
For the yeast dough, sieve flour into a large bowl. Add sugar and plant-based butter. Heat plant-based milk in a small pan until it's lukewarm, then dissolve fresh yeast in it and add to the other ingredients in the bowl. Knead everything for about 8 minutes until you get a smooth dough, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Afterward, briefly knead in the salt and let the dough rest again for 1 more hour until it has doubled in volume.
Mix sugar and cinnamon for the filling, add the mix to the plant-based butter, and stir to combine.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 355° F (convection heat). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the yeast dough into a large rectangle on a floured work surface. Spread the sugar-cinnamon butter evenly on the dough. Roll up the dough tightly from the long side to form a roll. Cut the roll into thick slices (approximately 0.5–1 cm / 0.2–0.4 inches) and arrange them next to each other on the lined baking tray. Leave the cinnamon rolls to rise for another 15 minutes before baking them for 15-20 minutes. Once baked, leave the cinnamon buns to cool.
In the meantime, prepare the cream. Whip plant-based cream with powdered sugar and cream stiffener. Then gradually add the plant-based mascarpone and season the cream with vanilla extract. Refrigerate the cream until it's needed.
Mix espresso, cinnamon bun punch, and amaretto for the brushing. If you don't want to use alcohol or coffee, replace these with more punch.
Arrange the proofed cinnamon buns in a baking dish (20 x 30 cm / 8 x 12 inches), then pour 3–4 tablespoons of the punch mixture over the bun base. Now spread the cream over the cinnamon buns and repeat these steps until all ingredients have been used up. If there are a few cinnamon buns left at the end, they make great decorations.
Combine unsweetened cocoa with cinnamon and dust the tiramisu with it – you can use a fine sieve to do so. Decorate with the remaining cinnamon buns.
