Vegan Carrot Cake Sticky Buns

Okay, kidding kidding. There is more below, but if you can’t wait, you can jump to the sticky bun recipe here: Jump to Recipe

So seriously, these carrot cake sticky buns are officially my pride and joy. Vegan baking is always a really exciting challenge for me, so when I finalized the recipe for these buns I was so excited to share them with you! The dough in these buns is not only really soft and chewy, but also drenched in a creamy brown sugar syrup. Now just to be totally transparent with all of you- these are NOT healthy. That being said, I am a firm believer in the occasional weekend splurge especially when homemade. Believe me, these buns are worth the splurge!

To make these buns even better, I partnered with Imperfect Produce and used their carrots for a fun orange twist on the typical sticky bun. I knew I wanted to bake something creative with all the carrots I’ve received over the past few weeks rather than just roasting them with potatoes. I got to thinking about all the cinnamon buns I’ve been super into eating this winter and thought- YES, CARROT CAKE BUNS! Carrot added an additional challenge to bake with as the fresh carrots added in a lot of moisture, but it was a challenge I was more than happy to take on. What I really loved most about the addition of carrots was the surprising subtle sweetness I experienced when baking them . It truly added another flavor dimension I’ve never experienced in buns!

S,o before you all run to the grocery store and grab the ingredients you need to make these, I wanted to share a few tips I discovered through my bun-making adventures. These might be some well-known tips and tricks to the more seasoned baker, but for those of you who want to know the “why” behind the steps in my recipe, I added more detail below:

Tip #1: Yeast and Milk Mixed First

• Why? You want to make sure your yeast is actually activated! One time, I added all my dough ingredients without this step and my bun dough failed to rise and double in size. In the interest of no waste, I baked the dough anyways, but it was super dense and the texture was off. This is a really simple way to make sure you have good working yeast that will rise!

Tip #2: Coconut Milk & Honey vs. Corn Syrup

• I had previously thought corn syrup would be the only way to make a sticky syrup, so I tried baking with it. While it definitely worked, it actually made the buns really hard as soon as they were at room temperature. I found that using honey, brown sugar, vegan butter, and coconut milk led to a super creamy and even tastier sticky syrup.

Tip #3: A Little Butter Goes a Long Way

• Seriously, using too much butter led to some buns that were mushy and fell apart. I like to keep the butter for the filling cold and mash it with the brown sugar and spices vs. melting the butter. It’s a little harder to spread out than melted butter, but it helped my dough maintain it’s shape when rolling.

Tip #4: Generously Flour When Rolling Dough

• This includes the surface you are rolling the dough on and the rolling pin! This really helped the dough to not stick and also led to more tightly rolled buns without big air pockets.

Tip #5: Let The Dough Rise Overnight

• You know, there is probably science behind why this works best. All I know is that my buns turned out ten times better when I let them rise overnight vs. just an hour in the fridge before baking. Bonus: You’ll wake up to warm, freshly-baked buns and your house will smell like cinnamon all morning. Win-Win if you ask me!

I really hope you enjoy these beautiful buns! In honor of  Sir Mix A Lot I even made you all some song lyrics to sing while baking these. “My Brunch Table Don’t Want None Unless You Got Buns Hun!”. Enjoy!

-TSG

In case you are looking for some of the tools & ingredients used in this recipe, I’ve put a few of my favorites for you here:

1. One of the most important parts of this recipe is really good yeast! I love baking with Red Star Dry Yeast for my bun making recipes.
2. In order to make sure these buns form correctly you’ll need to use pastry flour vs. all-purpose flour because of it’s protein (gluten) percent. I am a HUGE Bob’s Red mill fan and can’t recommend their White Pastry Flour and Whole Wheat Pastry Flour enough! If you don’t have access to pastry flour, this article from The Kitchn should help you out!
3.  Wondering where to get in season produce that is also helping to reduce food waste? You’ve heard me mention them before, and now I officially have partnered with Imperfect Produce to offer you their best discount yet. Use code “SGTO” at checkout for 50% off your first order. Get your carrots from them for this recipe!

Print Recipe

Vegan Carrot Cake Sticky Buns Yum

These buns have an extra sweet kick with carrots mixed into the dough and filling. Make the night before and cook first thing in the morning to enjoy for a brunch treat!

Course

Desserts, Sweet Brunch, Vegan Desserts

Cuisine

Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, Vegan Desserts

Servings

sticky buns

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Dough

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour *pastry flour has different protein consistency than bread or cake flour so please use this flour specifically!
• 1 1/4 cups white pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extra/ vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup grated carrots about 1 medium carrot peeled and grated
• 1 cup almond milk or other nut milk
• 1 packet dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp yeast)

Bun Filling

• 1/4 cup grated carrots about 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter best if cold vs. melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Sticky Syrup

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 1/4 cup honey (agave syrup, corn syrup, or maple syrup can be used in place if you do not eat honey)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Course Desserts, Sweet Brunch, Vegan Desserts Cuisine Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, Vegan Desserts Servings sticky buns Ingredients Carrot Cake Dough 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour *pastry flour has different protein consistency than bread or cake flour so please use this flour specifically! 1 1/4 cups white pastry flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp vegan butter 1 tsp vanilla extra/ vanilla bean paste 1/2 cup grated carrots about 1 medium carrot peeled and grated 1 cup almond milk or other nut milk 1 packet dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp yeast) Bun Filling 1/4 cup grated carrots about 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp vegan butter best if cold vs. melted 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg Sticky Syrup 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup coconut milk 2 Tbsp vegan butter 1/4 cup honey (agave syrup, corn syrup, or maple syrup can be used in place if you do not eat honey) 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Making the Dough

1. Begin by warming your milk and butter and add to your mixing bowl. Add in your dry yeast packet and let sit about 10 minutes. You will know the yeast is working if the mixture begins to form bubbles.
2. While waiting to see if the yeast is active, peel and grate your carrots and set aside.
3. Next, add your sugar and vanilla bean paste/extract to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Once mixed, add the whole wheat flour along with 1 cup of the white flour. Knead for 10 minutes.
4. At the 10 minute mark, add in 1/2 cup of the grated carrot along with the 1/4 cup white flour not yet used. The carrot will add more moisture to the dough, so it is important to add the extra flour at this time. Kneed an additional 5 minutes or until the dough is elastic and stretchy.
5. Lightly spray a large bowl with oil, form your dough into a ball, and add to the bowl. Cover and let rise 1-1.5 hours until the dough has doubled in size. You will know the dough is done by pushing your finger into the dough and the dough will not spring back.

Making the Sticky Syrup

1. While the dough is rising make the syrup by adding all ingredients to a pan and mixing on low heat until combined. Add the syrup and chopped pecans to the pan you plan to bake the buns in (I recommend a cake pan or 9*9 baking pan).
2. Store the syrup-filled pan in the fridge until the buns are ready.

Rolling the buns

1. Once your dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. You will need to flour the rolling pin too or else the dough will stick. Roll the dough into a rectangle so that the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.
2. In a small bowl mash together the bun filling ingredients. Spread the filling evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2 inch border without any filling.
3. Beginning with a shorter side of the rectangle, tightly roll up the dough. Lightly flour the dough as you go to help if it gets a bit sticky. Make sure to seal the roll by pinching the edges together.
4. Once the dough is rolled, trim the ends and discard. Cut the remaining dough into 8 evenly sized rolls. Remove the pan containing the syrup from the fridge and arrange all 8 rolls in the pan so the swirl is facing upwards. Cover the pan and leave in the fridge overnight for a final rise.

Baking the rolls

1. In the morning, remove your rolls from the fridge and preheat your oven to 350F. Once the oven is preheated, add in the buns and bake for 30 minutes or until the dough in lightly browned on top. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately invert onto a serving platter. Let cool and serve!

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