Vegan Yeast Buns with Nut Filling
Usually, easter cakes and pastries rarely knock me off my socks. But there are a few that do the trick: German cream-filled chocolate eggs, for example. Carrot cake or a vegan peaches and cream pie aren't too bad either. The classics, however, like yeast braids or an Easter lamb (traditional German cake in the form of a lamb), are not my thing: too boring and too dry. Luckily, I know how to turn the most boring pastry into something special. The two magic words are "filling" and "frosting".
So instead of serving you a dry and old-fashioned yeast bun, we will show you how to make the most delicious yeast buns with nut filling AND frosting. These are everything but dry and dull. The filling made of ground and chopped hazelnuts comes together in no time, and so does the frosting. The result is a couple of the most wonderful, moist yeast buns that come out of the oven fluffy and warm, with a juicy filling and a sweet and creamy frosting. If you are intolerant to hazelnuts or don't like them, you can replace them with almonds, pecans or walnuts – no problem there!
In the end, you will have four delicious, filled yeast buns, which will keep easily for a week. You can halve or quarter the ingredients if you do not need as much pastry. After cooling, store the yeast buns in an airtight container so they remain fluffy and don't get hard.
Vegan Yeast Buns with Nut Filling
Ingredients
For the yeast dough:
- 250 ml (1 cup) plant-based milk
- 500 g (4 cups) wheat flour (type 405)
- 60 g (0.25 cup) sugar
- 20 g (2.33 tbsp) fresh yeast
- 75 g (0.66 stick) vegan butter
- 1 pinch of salt
For the nut filling:
- 75 ml (0.33) plant-based milk
- 100 g (0.5 cup) brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 200 g (0.5 lb) chopped hazelnuts
- 50 g (1.75 oz) ground hazelnuts
- 0.5 lemon
Also:
- 4 tbsp plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
For the frosting:
- 100 g (0.75 cup) icing sugar
- 2 tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
Heat the plant-based milk until it is lukewarm. Put the flour in a large bowl and add sugar, lukewarm milk and crumbled yeast. Mix a little and let sit.
In the meantime, melt the vegan butter then let it cool down until it's lukewarm.
Next, add the melted vegan butter and a pinch of salt to the large bowl and knead until a dough forms. Let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour.
For the filling, heat plant-based milk in a small saucepan and stir in sugar and cinnamon. Remove from heat and also stir in the chopped and ground hazelnuts and the zest of half a lemon.
Divide the yeast dough into four pieces. Roll out each piece into a large oval shape. Spread the filling evenly on the four ovals. Now roll up each oval from the long end, forming a long roll.
Cut each roll in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Divide both halves and place them on the surface with the cut facing upwards. Fold the two strands of dough around each other, then form a circle and tie the ends together well. Repeat with the other three rolls and let the yeast buns rise again for 30 minutes before baking them.
Preheat oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (convection heat). Mix plant-based milk and agave syrup and brush the yeast plaits with it. Bake the yeast plaits at 180 °C / 350 °C (convection heat) on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
For the frosting, mix plant-based milk with powdered sugar. Spread on the cooled yeast braids.
