Vegan Orange Rolls with Pistachio

Vegan orange rolls with pistachios and a super zesty glaze. Perfect for a morning treat or an afternoon “fika” with a cup of coffee!

Zesty, nutty, beautifully soft, glazed vegan orange rolls! Yeah, quite a mouthful – there’s a lot going on here! These guys are like an upgraded, jazzed up cinnamon roll with a super fruity vibe. The orange zest flips this dessert into something totally different!

This is one in a series of vegan rolls recipes. You’ll notice, in the pictures of these vegan orange rolls, there are also some little pink fellas in there too. These ones are my Lime and Hibiscus Rolls, which also make me VERY HAPPY!

What’s a vegan orange roll?

These guys are an example of where my mind went as soon as I realised I could make vegan cinnamon rolls! The enriched dough recipe I developed is super versatile and I got VERY excited when I realised I could switch up the glaze and the filling to produce a totally different dessert!

Orange rolls use bright zingy fresh orange zest in the filling to shake everything up! I then make an orange glaze and top with a sprinkle of pistachios!

The glaze is super simple and will set, like the glaze on a donut. This means you can box them up and give them as gifts (which is what I did for a friend’s birthday recently!) 

The perfect “fika”!

Learning about fika was one of the most important changes in my life. If you don’t know, fika is one of those amazing Swedish words to describe something which doesn’t exist anywhere else. It’s essentially a coffee break, but what makes it super special is that, by nature, the coffee MUST be accompanied by a sweet treat.

It tends to occur in the late afternoon. For me it’s just an excuse to eat cake whenever I want. Cinnamon rolls for breakfast? FIKA! Chocolate cake at 6.30? FIKA MATE! You woke up at 2am to eat trifle? It’s FRICKIN FIKA!

These vegan orange rolls make for a MAGICAL fika. So whip them up, take them to work, and force everyone to chill the fika out with a sweet-treat accompanied coffee break! 

What’s the process??

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: are you going to make me bake with yeast again?? The answer is yes, but you really needn’t be spooked. It’s super easy and the results are almost ALWAYS stunning.

To make sure things go smoothly, follow these steps and you’ll be grand!

1. Make the dough!

This bit is made so much easier by a stand mixer, however, the first time I made this recipe I did everything by hand, so it definitely can be done! 

Start by melting your vegan butter. I use Miyokos when I’m in the states and Naturli when I’m in the UK. Add it to the vegan milk and mix in the sugar. The mixture should be about body temperature so give it a quick zap in the microwave if it’s too cold. Sprinkle the yeast over and allow it to bloom for a few minutes.

Mix together the flour, salt and yeasty milk! Just mix until it’s sticky and messy then cover and leave for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for around ten minutes. Return the dough to the bowl and leave to prove for an hour. 

2. Make the filling!

While the dough proves, make the filling. You’ll need your vegan butter to be nice and soft, so keep it at room temperature. 

Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla and orange zest together until smooth. The smell at this point should be bonkers good!

3. Assemble the rolls and prove!

At this stage, once the dough is proved, you’ll need to roll it out into a big rectangle, so clear your work space. Spread the filling over the rolled out dough and then roll up into a long snake!

Slice the snake into around 10 discs. The neatest way to do this is with a fine piece of thread. Pull the thread under the snake and then cross the two ends over each other to slice through. Repeat until the whole dough has been sliced into discs. 

You’ll now need to prove them again so pop them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof and cover. Leave to prove for another 30 minutes.  

4. Bake and glaze!

Once proved, it’s time to bake the rolls. Pop them in the oven at 180c for around 25 minutes or until nicely golden.

While the vegan orange rolls are baking, make the glaze. Whisk together the icing sugar, orange juice and plant milk. 

Once the rolls are baked, leave them to cool on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, drizzle with the glaze. Sprinkle with pistachios and grate some more orange zest over the top

Want more rolls?

I got vegan rolls on top of vegan rolls for you! Why not try making some of these guys while you’re at it!

• Vegan Salted Caramel Rolls
• Cinnamon Rolls with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
• Hibiscus and Lime Rolls

Vegan Orange and Pistachio Swirls

Vegan orange rolls with pistachios and a super zesty glaze. Perfect for a morning treat or an afternoon "fika" with a cup of coffee!

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Course: Dessert

Servings: 10

Author: Richard Makin

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 480 ml oat milk full fat, at room temperature
• 120 g vegan butter melted, I used Miyokos but any will do
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 x 8g sachet of quick yeast
• 700 g plain flour
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

For the Filling

• 185 g vegan butter
• 185 g soft dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1/2 an orange

For the Glaze

• 200 g icing sugar sieved
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp oat milk if necessary

For Finishing

• 2 tbsp shelled unsalted pistachios (crushed)
• Zest of 1/2 an orange

Instructions

To Make the Dough

• Combine the milk, butter and sugar in a large bowl. The mixture should be around body temperature so dip your finger to test – if it feels cool, give it a super quick zap in the microwave or in a pan to warm it up slightly.
• Sprinkle the yeast over the surface and leave to bloom for one minute.
• Add the flour and salt, mix to combine until a sticky mess, cover and leave for an hour.
• Meanwhile make the filling.

To Make the Filling

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and beat to combine. The consistency should be a nice paste. Set aside.

To Assemble

• Preheat the oven to 180c. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
• Once the dough has proved for an hour, lightly dust a surface and turn out. The dough should not be super sticky. Knead lightly for a minute. Dust the top of the dough if necessary and pat into a rough oblong.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular sheet about 60cm wide and 25-30cm tall. Spread the dough sheet with the filling mixture right to the edges. Roll up the dough starting with one of the shorter two sides so you end up with a short fat snake.
• Slice the cylinder of dough into 10 discs using a very sharp knife (or you can use strong thread or fishing twine). Place the discs of dough on the prepared baking trays, separated by about an inch. If you have english muffin rings, grease the inside and place them over the rolls (this will make sure they turn out an even circle shape, but don’t worry too much if you don’t have one. Just bake without).
• Cover the discs with cling film or a damp cloth and leave to prove for 30 minutes. Once proved, brush the top of each disc of dough with a little soy or oat milk. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until each bun is lightly golden on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely while you make the glaze.

To Make the Glaze

• In a medium bowl, mix the icing sugar with the orange juice. The glaze should be runny but thick enough to glaze a spoon. If the mixture is too thick to drizzle, add the oat milk and mix to combine.
• Once the swirls are cooled completely, drizzle the glaze over each swirl and top with the orange zest and crushed pistachios. Serve and enjoy!

Tried this recipe?Mention @schoolnightvegan or tag #schoolnightvegan!