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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This looks too orgasmic for words…
I’m speechless… I’m hungry and so tempted to lick my screen right now!
This are definitely “rawmazing!” Very creative and mouthwatering.
Wow! You continue to amaze – delicious and creative
mouth watering… im just wondering what spelt flakes are and where to get them? iv never heard of them before. as for almond flour – that would just be left over alomd pulp, dried and ground after making nut milk yeh? thanks in advance
Your sight is so rawmazing. I am truly in rAWE when I see you postings. Bravo to you Susan!
Wow this looks incredible. I don’t do a lot of raw recipes yet as I’m in a learning phase. I am debating on whether to get a dehydrator. I am also not sure where I would get a young thai coconut this time of year.
I explain what spelt is in the post…and also provide a link for you if you wish to order it. It is a grain, like wheat but with much higher protein.
Amazing Susan! Would love to sink my teeth into one of those
These look so cool!! I made baked cinnamon buns using whole spelt just the other day! But the raw version seems just as good-if not better
Amazing! The cashew cream looks so good
Look amazing! Will have to make these.
I was just recently starting to feel sorry for myself about not being able to have any yeasted goodies. It came on when I saw pictures of cinnamon rolls. And then you came to my rescue. Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness. Yum! One day when I’m feeling fancy, I am TOTALLY making these
Oh wow! This looks insanley good, the photos are gorgeous. I just cant stop staring…
I get my coconuts at whole foods. There is an article on the site about coconuts that also has a mail order source that is reasonable. You can find that here: http://www.rawmazing.com/articles/raw-food-all-about-young-coconuts/.
Those look absolutely awesome!! I haven’t had a cinnamon bun in a long, long time. Can’t wait to try these!
Wow that’s genius! Great alternative to the sugar laden regular ones.
This is absolutely fabulous! You’re brilliant!
Um, HELLO!!!! Yum!
yummmmm…..looks very tasty!
Wowsers, I am salivating. This looks so decadent but GUILTFREE. Oh yeah baby. This has to go onto the todo list
These look great, but it would be incorrect to tag them as gluten-free. Spelt is a type of wheat and contains gluten.
You are correct, that was not intended.
This look really good. I am planning on making it on Sunday.
I have a question:
For your icing.. Can i make the Cashew butter in the food processor? Similar to your Almond butter receipe?
I’ve made three raw receipes this week. Pretty good!
Jessie
Yes, you can. It is really good and takes less time than the almond butter.
Hi, isn’t there sub for spelt? Due to celiac sprue disease. Hope there other sub for spelt flakes. will work with extra almond flour?
You could substitute oat.
Is there a substitute for the spelt so that I could make it gluten free? They look sooo yummy!
I also try to avoid oats…seems to be a bit difficult to find oats listed as gluten free.
Thanks
You can find certified gluten free oats online.
I am just astounded at your creativity with food!! I second the licking the screen comment! So incredible.
Thank you for the inspiring idea which led me to reseaching and creating my own little recipe for cinnamon buns – Thank you for the great idea, they turned out perfectly!
If anyone wants bigger rolls, flatten into a square instead, mind filled up almost the whole Teflon sheet, and came out perfect!
I’m curious how long Almond Flour is good for. I have to do prep on the spur of the moment with my two young children and school. One day I’ll be able to plan everything out in advance, but until that day comes I’m going to do prep in advance so I can eventually make a meal : )
My goodness! I forgot to say thank you!
Thanks for all the great recipes, pictures and input!
I have been waiting all year to make these! I made the raw pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving for my family get-together, and now I am excited to substitute those refrigerated peel-and-bake traditions we have for breakfast every Christmas morning with these amazing-looking treats!
Hi, I’m in the middle of making the cinnamon buns. And I’m wondering why the texture of my actual ‘bun’ is so wet. What temperature do you have your dehydrator set to? And what should the texture feel like?
Thanks!
Different dehydrators dehydrate differently. If yours is still too wet, then leave it in longer.
This looks like a great recipe. Should they be stored in the fridge? Also, any idea how long they keep and/or if they can be frozen?
Yes, in the fridge, they will keep a couple of days, and I am not sure how they will freeze.
Could one use a substitute for spelt flakes? Maybe oat bran?
What temp do you dehydrate these on? :0)
I would think raw oat flakes could work…Dehydrate at 145 to start, then drop the temp to finish.
I made this today. It was a pretty yummy treat. The kids gobbled it up. I had spelt, but nothing to make it into flakes so I used quinoa flakes – seemed to work fine to me! I read the post just a few ahead of mine, and someone was worried about being wet, mine didn’t seem wet; it wasn’t sticky, it rolled fine. I was wondering if you are suppose to be able to feel different textures when you eat it or is it just a total soft bite. I kept thinking that my bun should have been dryer, but then I was worried it wouldn’t roll right and crack. Any further input?
This looks so yummy! But I don’t have the dehydrator… Is it possible to make this without the dehydrator? What if I would try to put this in the oven with 115?
Thank you for your opinion.. 
If you have an oven that will stay as low as 115 I would think it could work. Dehydrators have a convection action. You will just have to watch the time.
hello, i dont have a dehydrator, do you know if this would work in an over, and at what temperature/ for how long?
LOOKS amazing!!!!!
Unfortunately, because this is a raw blog, I do not try the recipes in the oven. You could experiment, though. Just note that it is difficult to keep the temp low enough in the oven to keep the food raw.
Wow! That looks absolutely amazing!! Too bad I don’t have a food processor or a dehydrator
these look fantastic! i might make them for thanksgiving this year.
This truly looks amazing — all except for the agave. Seriously — we used to think it was cool. But now, we know that this product is usually never organic, is processed, and spikes the glycemic over the top… Need to use something else — even honey is not the answer — too sweet….. maybe grapes, but wrong consistancy…. hummmmm
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