I have come across a couple of raw cinnamon bun recipes on the web but none seemed close enough to traditional cinnamon buns. What a great challenge. Almond flour, flaked spelt (yup, you heard me right) and ground flax were the perfect medium for these. A bit of time in the dehydrator provided the perfect consistency. Wanting to get away from only using cashews for cream fillings, I also added almonds and raisins. The crowning glory is the maple cashew icing! I wouldn’t suggest having these for breakfast every morning, but for a Sunday brunch, or a weekend treat, they are perfect.
Spelt is a grain that is related to wheat but contains much more protein and less carbohydrates than wheat. It is high in B vitamins, iron and potassium. I got this raw, flaked spelt from Sunrise Flour Mills. You can read more about them here. You can replace it with raw, flaked oats if you wish. But you know me, I like to mix it up a bit!
Raw Cinnamon Buns
Buns:
- 5 dates
- 1/4 C Water
- 1 C Ground Flax
- 1 1/4 C Almond Flour
- 1 C Spelt Flakes
- 1 C Chopped Pecans (chopped fine)
- 2 t. Cinnamon
- 3 T. Olive Oil
- 1/4 C Agave
- 1 C Water
Soak dates. Blend with 1/4 C water to make a smooth date paste. Set aside.
Combine flax, almond flour (I use the dehydrated almond pulp left over from making almond milk), finely chopped pecans, and Spelt flakes. In a separate bowl, combine date paste, olive oil, 1/4 C agave and 1 C water. Mix wet ingredients into dry. Spread in a rectangle on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. You want this to be a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes. Flip onto screen, peel off dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 for another 20 minutes. While the bun is dehydrating, you will want to prepare the filling.
Filling:
- 1 Young Thai Coconut (the white part)
- 1 C Cashews
- 1/2 C Almonds
- 1/4 C Raw Agave
- 1 T Vanilla (not raw)
- 1/2 C raisins
Soak Almonds and Cashews for at least 3 hours to soften. Place in food processor with remaining ingredients except raisins, process until smooth. Stir in raisins.
Assembly:
Place “bun” on parchment paper. Spread filling on bun. You can spread to the edges on the long sides but leave an inch or two on the short sides. Gentley roll up the roll. Slice and top with icing. Makes 12.
Icing:
- 1 C Raw Cashew Butter
- 3 T Maple Syrup (not raw)
- 1 t. Cinnamon
- 3-4 T Water
Mix all ingredients except water. Add water 1 T at a time to desired consistency.
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Patti, there are very high quality, raw, organic agave nectars available.
If i don’t have a young thai coconut. What can i use, instead of it?
I’m a beginer for rawfood, so I have a lot of things to know.
Hi this recipient sounds amazing! But I’m allergic to gluten and my research says that spelt flakes are not gluten free. So I was wondering if you might have any suggestions for a substitute. I’m new to raw foods and so I’m not sure I know enough about the different textures and flavors of things to make find a substitution. Oh and thank you much for your website, it has helped me immensely!
If you are gluten intolerant…try some sprouted buckwheat flower….there is no wheat or gluten in buckwheat.
I want to try to many of these recipes but I can’t use almond flour due to food allery. Any other suggestions? I can’t stand the overwhelming taste of coconut when using coconut flour. I’f be curious if anyone noticed allergies disappearing when going raw.
Agave is high in fructose. Coconut Secret coconut nectar is low in fructose and has minerals, and they say it’s raw. As for using something instead of the spelt, how about walnuts or pecans or buckwheat or chia seeds?
Kerstin: You could try cashew flour (cashews ground really fine) instead of the almonds. They have a pretty suttle flavour. My gluten intolerance went away after a while on a high-raw diet (not sure how long, but less than a year for sure). I don’t know if it would have been considered an “allergy”, but it was definitely a very significant intolerance. Even a small amount of soy sauce containing wheat would give me stomach pains… Not anymore though!
Lyndee Reese: Susan says you can replace the spelt for oats. They are naturally gluten-free, but the way alot of them are manufactured contaminates them with gluten. You just have to find a good source that confirms they are gluten-free.
this recipe is amazing – thanks!
Are Spelt flakes the same as Spelt flour, or is it different, I have never heard of this before. Would other flours be a suitable substitute?
I was just wondering if there is anyway to make these without a food dehydrator? Could I bake in the oven? I have most kitchen gadgets, just not a juicer or food dehydrator. I have a feeling I will be asking for them from Santa before too long though!
SInce this is a raw food site, these recipes have been specifically formulated to be made in a dehydrator to preserve their raw status. I do not have instructions for using an oven. Please feel free to experiment on your own.
Making these for the first time right now! bought the book Saturday and I’ve made these and the mushroom burgers and sweet potato “fries”- all have been wins in my household! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
You can still “dehydrate” in your oven – just use the warm function to set the temperature to 115-145 degrees; it’ll function the same as a dehydrator would.
I wish it would function as a dehydrator does, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. First of all, you can’t control the temp so you could really destroy the raw status. Second, a dehydrator functions by using very low heat and A LOT of air to dehydrate food. An oven just can’t do that. You may be able to dry/bake them but it isn’t the same.
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