Wholewheat maple cinnamon buns

Step 1

To make the dough, gently heat the almond milk until lukewarm, then combine in a small bowl with the yeast and maple syrup. Set aside for about 5 minutes for the yeast to activate. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir the flaxseed into 3 tablespoons of water and set aside for 1 to 2 minutes. Melt the coconut oil, then add to the flaxseed mixture along with the flours, cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of sea salt. Gradually stir in the yeast mixture. Bring everything together with your hands – the dough will feel a bit tacky, but this is fine. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, make the filling. Toast the pecans in a dry frying pan. Peel the bananas and destone the dates. Reserving one-third of the toasted pecans to one side, add all the filling ingredients to a food processor, then blitz until smooth. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas

Step 2

Grease a 20cm x 20cm baking dish with a little coconut oil. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 20cm x 40cm. Blob the nut mixture onto the dough and spread it evenly across to the edges. Roll up widthways (from the shortest edge) tightly into a log, then cut into nine slices. Place the slices in the baking dish, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to prove for another 25 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and slightly firm to the touch. Leave in the tin to cool. In a small bowl, mix together the almond milk and icing sugar until it’s thick enough to drizzle over the buns. Chop and sprinkle over the reserved toasted pecans and serve.