PXL_20221018_044428019.PORTRAIT.jpg

Greetings beautiful hive people. Some of you might have been wondering what happened to us. It’s been 2 months since my last post on Hive. Well, life just happened. On the first of January, we moved house and then we had a few friends from Europe visiting us for a few weeks. In between all the excitement, we even got to meet up with Hive account@justinparke and Monkey-B after many years.

Next to enjoying our new house, we explored our new environment. We went on waterfall trips, found a lovely secret spot along the river for a cooling swim, went kayaking, and just spent time outside in nature with good friends. And of course work… at the moment it is high season in Cambodia, so our little popup bakery has been crazy busy.

After almost 2 months, today is the first day that we have nothing planned and staying home. Monday and Tuesday are my days off, so I decided today is the day to reconnect with all of you. Though I had a great time, I missed reading your stories and drooling over yummy creations shared in the vegan community.

The first recipe I want to share with all of you: blood orange-infused spelt cinnamon rolls with orange frosting rolls… they are so goooood!

PXL_20221017_075719328.PORTRAIT.jpg

BLOOD ORANGE-INFUSED CINNAMON ROLLS

Spelt is not gluten-free as it is closely related to wheat, barley, and rye. Compared to conventional wheat, spelt contains a weaker gluten structure and is, therefore, better tolerated by people whit a mild wheat allergy.

However, if you have Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, spelt can still cause mild to severe issues. While my husband and I aren’t gluten sensitive, we try to avoid wheat and gluten-containing grains as much as possible to manage his auto-immune disease.

Our friends brought us many gifts from Europe, and you can guess that most of these gifts came in the form of food. One of the things we found in our care packages from the west was a bag of spelt flour.

Even though we try to avoid gluten as much as possible, spelt flour is a whole grain, that is easier to digest. Once in a while, we like to make an exception to our no-gluten rule. As long as the grain is an organic, whole, unprocessed grain we don’t see why we can not enjoy these yummy treats.

PXL_20221017_074226252.PORTRAIT.jpg

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 14-16 ROLLS)

For the frosting

1½ cups raw cashew nuts, soaked
2 tbsp of blood orange juice
1 tbsp blood orange zest
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup

For the dough

½ cup cashew milk
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2.5 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp raw cane sugar
¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
½ cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
3-3½ cups spelt flour

FYI: to make about 1 liter of cashew milk, soak 1 cup of cashew nuts in boiling water for about 30 minutes. Drain the cashews. In a high-speed blender, combine the cashew nuts with 4 cups of water. If you like your cashew milk a little creamier, use 3 cups of water instead of 4. Blend on high speed until smooth. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

For the cinnamon filling

¼ cup extra virgin coconut oil
¼ cup raw cane sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cardamom powder
1-1.5 tbsp blood orange zest

DIRECTIONS

Though I bought the blood oranges from an organic fruit and veggie shop in town, to be sure no residues are on the skin, I soaked the blood oranges for 30 minutes in water and vinegar.

PXL_20221017_072809210.MP.jpg

Soak cashew nuts in boiling water for 30 minutes. Add all frosting ingredients to a blender and process until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and let set in the fridge.

PXL_20221017_083327670.PORTRAIT.jpg

To make the dough, mix the cashew milk, water, yeast, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Then add the sugar, salt, and blood orange juice. Mix well.

PXL_20221017_080720885.MP.jpg

Add the spelt flout to the mixture, ½ cup at a time. Mix/knead well until the dough is elastic and pulls away from the bowl. Oil a bowl and place the dough ball in the middle of the bowl. Cover with a clean towel and proof for about 45 minutes.

PXL_20221017_080824064.PORTRAIT.jpg

PXL_20221017_080925171.PORTRAIT.jpg

Grease a baking pan. Set aside.

Roll out the dough in a big rectangle on a floured surface. Now it is time to add the filling. In a small bowl, combine the cane sugar, cinnamon powder, cardamon powder, and zest. Spread the coconut oil over the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon mix.

PXL_20221017_091849607.MP.jpg

Roll the dough into a big log and cut the log into 14-16 smaller rolls. Add the rolls to the greased baking pan and let them rest for another 45 minutes. They will double in size