‘Too often, we do something for the sake of reward. But usually there is a delay between action and reward… If you can make the process of making an effort your primary source of happiness, then you have succeeded in the most important challenge of your life.”– Ken Mogi

On that note, why not dance or sing with no one to hear you? Why not bake when there’s no one to bake for? Like this blackberry orange sweet cinnamon roll, ready for you like nothing else in the world, sometimes. There’s something pretty magical about the way two dimensions of tart marry perfectly with each other. Can we just talk about blackberries for a second?

With summer comes berries. Let there be berries. Frozen berries are, and always will be, my kryptonite. I haven’t lived through a day without frozen berries for quite a few years now. Aside from their health benefits, they just taste amazing no matter what time of year. I’m also quite in love for how thawing frozen berries adds a sorbet-like quality to anything. So why not chuck this magic into a classic cinnamon roll recipe? Blackberries in particular are so underrated. Blueberries and raspberries seem to garner all the attention, all the time. You can go right ahead and use those as substitutes in this recipe, although I do think this power-packed berry is a special one, with a flavour all its own. Tucked in folds of brioche-like bread, this roll is simple goodness at its finest.

Think messy, sticky, sweet fingers. Bursting, warm sweet berries elevate your classic cinnamon roll, mushing into cinnamon-coated innards of each fluffy roll.

There’s no reason to shudder at the word ‘yeast’. I have a few no yeast recipes in the archives, but I tell you now, using yeast this time won’t do you any harm with luck or time, or both. It’s a simple matter of chucking instant yeast into the dry mix, mixing in the wet ingredients, kneading, and letting nature get to work on its own. Sometimes shortcuts make life less of a hassle, it’s true, but instant yeast does make this whole thing a breeze.

Just like how best part about eating granola is the sweet milk after letting the milk soak into every surface and crevice of the granola, the best part, to me at least, of eating a cinnamon roll is tearing apart a fresh and warm one, letting the tear end wherever the brioche fails to stop seizing under pressure, unveiling the speckles of cinnamon, filling spilling everywhere. Rich, superior filling with an interesting salty top. I like to have a part of this as a snack since it is quite rich, best enjoyed with a cup of hot black coffee.

Ingredients

For the dough:

450g plain flour (sub: use half whole-wheat and half plain for something a little more wholesome, although the buns will not turn out as fluffy)

65g (around 1/4 cup) cane/coconut/white sugar

7g instant yeast

1 tsp fine salt

zest of one orange

240ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk

50g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (sub: the same weight of melted vegan butter)

For the filling: 

250-280g frozen blackberries

1 tsp ground cinnamon mixed with 2 tsp white/cane/coconut sugar

For the salted vanilla icing:

160g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp fine salt

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

5 tbsp almond milk

1 tbsp orange juice

Directions

First, make the dough. In a large bowl, tip in the flour, then put the salt, yeast and sugar on opposite sides of the bowl. Mix briefly, then pour in the milk and coconut oil. Add the orange zest. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything together until you get a taut, firm dough. Flour your hands and work surface and knead the dough for around 5 minutes. Alternatively, you could actually leave the dough in the bowl and use the spoon to ‘knead’ (I like to call this spoon kneading, kill me if you wish) the dough by mimicking the same movement you would do with hands with the spoon. This technique means less dough on your hands and more left in the bowl for you to enjoy…. duh! You just have to make sure that you’re thorough and not complacent with the kneading. It gets tiring, but it’s worth it. Just 5 minutes, you know.

Cover the bowl with a towel and leave it in a warm place (skip this if you’re in Singapore currently, ha) for 1.5 hours. Leave for longer, or up to 2 hours, if your surrounding temperature is under 25C. During the time you have to wait, take your frozen blackberries out to thaw, and mix the ground cinnamon with the sugar in a small bowl. Line a baking tray with a piece of baking parchment and set this aside.

After 2 hours, tip the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and then roll this out into a relatively large rectangle of 20x30cm. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar, then put on as many berries as you can fit, leaving the juice behind. Alternatively, you can use fresh blackberries microwaved for a minute. Leave a border of about an inch on each side of the rectangle. Mash the berries a little using a fork. Roll the rectangle lengthwise (along its length, not the breadth), keeping each roll tight and rolling gently and carefully the whole way. Cut the roll using a serrated knife or piece of dental floss into 6-7 smaller rolls along its length, or 3-4 cm apart each time. As you cut, some of the filling will spill out, and that’s ok. The side at which you cut may have more berry stains– simply lay this side of the roll down on the parchment. Lay all the rolls out on the piece of parchment and leave them to rise and puff out a little more for an hour. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180C (350F).

An hour later, place your rolls in the oven for 25 minutes. As they bake, make the icing by mixing all the icing ingredients in a medium bowl. You should have a thick, runny and opaque white icing. Add the liquid ingredients little by little and stop once you reach the thick, runny consistency you need. Once the rolls are baked, leave to cool for 5-6 minutes before drizzling on the icing. These rolls are best eaten within 3 days of making them. Store them in an airtight container, or in the freezer, where they will last for months!