I like cinnamon rolls, but I thought I’d try something different today as I had some more plums lying around. Since we loved the slivovice plum compote so much, I came up with a similar recipe  to fill these buns. I thought that the slivovice already brings out the flavour of the plums really well. But there is another ingredient, which made the filling for these buns come out amazing: fresh rosemary. Once the filling was cooked it reminded me of a dark wood full of conifers. If that doesn’t sound totally weird. These rather earthy flavours are combined with a sweet yeast dough made with dulce de leche. In the end, you don’t taste much of both the dulce de leche and the rosemary anymore. But both ingredients support the other flavours perfectly.

I made another batch of dulce de leche, improving the recipe a bit. I boiled the mixture over medium instead of low heat, halved the sugar and left out the barley malt syrup. This version has a lighter colour and is done in 55 minutes instead of three hours.

Dulce de leche
180 ml full fat coconut milk (3/4 cup)
760 ml soy milk (3 cups + 2 tablespoons)
200 g sugar (1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch baking soda (to prevent curdling)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to medium. The mixture will bubble quite a bit and there might be some foam. Stir the mixture often and cook over medium heat until it has reached the desired consistency. Transfer to a glass jar and let cool completely. Store refrigerated for up to one week.

Plum-Blueberry Rolls (makes 8 rolls)

300 g pitted and halved Italian plums (11 oz.)
50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons slivovice*

70 g (1/2 cup) frozen or fresh blueberries
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

* Replace slivovice with rum or apple juice if you don’t have access to the liquor or for a non-alcoholic version.

For the yeast dough:

180 ml soy milk (3/4 cup)
50 g sugar (1/4 cup)
70 g dulce de leche (1/4 cup)
55 g refined coconut oil (1/4 cup)
300 g all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare the yeast dough:

Combine soy milk, sugar, dulce de leche, and coconut oil in a small saucepan. Heat until the oil is melted and the dulce de leche is completely dissolved. Make sure the mixture does not boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Stir and add dulce de leche mixture. Knead with your hands for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth. It will probably still be a bit sticky. Cover the dough and allow to rise for 60 minutes.

Prepare the filling:

In a small saucepan combine plums, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and slivovice. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over medium heat until the plums have fallen apart, for about 25 minutes. Check the mixture frequently, making sure it doesn’t burn. Add blueberries, lemon zest, and rosemary and cook for five minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to the compote. Cook for 1 minute until the mixture has thickened:

Let cool. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 43 x 28 cm (17 x 11 inch). Spread compote on top leaving a 4 cm (1.6 inch) margin:

Roll the dough into a log, starting with the shorter side:

Cut the log into eight equally thick pieces. Place in a baking dish lined with parchment paper (I used a 18 x 28 cm pan [7 x 11 inch]). Carefully brush the rolls with oil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm.

This entry was submitted to YeastSpotting.