Cinnamon rolls rank among my favourite pastry desserts, and I spent a lot of time perfecting this gluten-free interpretation. (I didn’t mind doing all the taste-testing myself!) This delicious pull-apart pastry, topped with a cashew cream icing, is best enjoyed with your favourite elixir on a cold day.
Yields: 7 rolls
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Dough
- 3 tbsp whole psyllium husks
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1⅓ cups tapioca starch
- 1 cup millet flour, plus extra for flouring work surface
- ¼ cup sorghum flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp warm almond milk
- 1 egg
- 2½ tbsp melted coconut oil
Cinnamon Filling
- ⅓ cup softened coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Cashew Cream Icing
- ½ cup cashew cream
- 1 tbsp softened coconut oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Dough
- In a small bowl, mix psyllium husks with warm water. Let sit for 1 minute to form a gel.
- In a large bowl, whisk together tapioca starch, millet and sorghum flours, sugar, yeast, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder.
- Add psyllium gel, almond milk, egg, and coconut oil to the dry ingredients. Mix and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add a little more millet flour if dough is too sticky, but don’t overdo it.
Filling
- Mix coconut oil, coconut sugar, and cinnamon until a smooth paste forms.
Assembly
- Oil a 10-inch cast-iron pan and set aside.
- On a floured surface, shape dough into a ball, then roll into an 11- by 15-inch rectangle.
- Spread cinnamon filling evenly across dough.
- Slice rectangle into 7 long strips about 1½ inches wide. Roll up each strip and place in the oiled pan, leaving space between each.
Proofing and Baking
- Cover rolls with a damp tea towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake rolls for 35 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
Icing
- Blend all the icing ingredients until smooth.
- Spread over warm rolls and enjoy!
Liked this recipe? Check out our previous blog post where we tried Chocolate Almond-Butter Squares from Jessica’s Some Good: Sweet Treats. Or check out our Test Kitchen where we tried some of Jessica’s savoury dishes from Some Good: Nutritious Newfoundland.
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Jessica O’Leary is an award-winning nutritional consultant and author of the hit cookbooks Some Good and Some Good: Sweet Treats. She has been featured across many publications and media channels, including the Academy of Culinary Nutrition’s From Scratch cookbooks, CBC Radio, CTV News Atlantic, Rogers TV, and the national magazine, Optimyz. In October 2019, Jessica’s first cookbook, Some Good, was a Taste Canada Award finalist in the “Health and Special Diet Cookbooks” category. For her second cookbook, Some Good: Sweet Treats, Jessica received Gold in the Reader Views Awards in 2020–2021 and was runner up for the 2021 Eric Hoffman Award. In her time working in the nutrition industry, Jessica was the winner of the 2018 Danielle Perrault Trailblazer Award, presented at the Annual Canadian Holistic Nutrition Conference.
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Thanks so much to Breakwater Books for sharing Jessica’s cinnamon roll recipe with us! Find a copy of Some Good: Healthy Comforts here on All Lit Up, or from your local indie bookseller.
