Philip Khoury’s cinnamon slice from A New Way To Bake is a beautifully braided pastry layered with rich, spiced sweetness. A soft vegan brioche dough is rolled out and spread with two fillings – creamy crème pâtissière on one side and a cinnamon blend made with muscovado sugar and sweet potato on the other.

The dough is then rolled into a scroll, sliced, and twisted into an eye-catching plait. After proving, the scrolls are baked until golden and finished with a drizzle of vanilla icing. Once cooled, they’re sliced into six generous portions. This plant-based pastry is soft, lightly spiced, and sweet without being overpowering. Perfect for weekend baking, it brings a bit of bakery-style indulgence to your kitchen.

Read more: 10-Minute Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Bake the cinnamon slice loaf

The cinnamon loaf is made into a pretty plait of vegan custard and cinnamon paste.

this cinnamon slice is part of a full vegan brioche loaf

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Servings slices

Ingredients

50 g muscovado sugar
50 g sweet potato cooked and cooled
6 g ground cinnamon
40 g coconut oil

Also needed (found in cookbook)

500 g Vrioche dough pages 51–52
200 g Crème Pâtissière page 235
40 g Vanilla Water Icing page 81

Instructions

Cinnamon filling

Place all the ingredients in a small high-powered blender and blend until smooth. You can make this filling ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or freeze for 3 months.

To assemble and bake

Prepare the vrioche dough following the instructions on pages 51–52 and leave it to bulk ferment or double in size in the bowl. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Lightly flour the work surface, then turn out the dough and sprinkle lightly with flour to help you roll it out easily. Press the air out of the dough and into a flat square shape, then roll the dough into a rectangle, about 25 x 40 cm (10 x 16 in) long.
If the crème pâtissière has set, whisk it in a large bowl just to soften it up slightly, then spread it along half of the dough. Spread the cinnamon filling on the other half.
Take a long edge of the rectangle, fold it over and start to roll a scroll until it reaches the other side.
Use a sharp pair of clean scissors to cut vertically almost down to the bottom of the scroll, at 2.5 cm (1 in) intervals, then push each cut section over to alternating sides of the scroll so it resembles a plait (braid).
Arrange the scrolls on the lined baking sheet, making sure there is plenty of space in between them. Lightly brush with water to keep them moist and supple while they are proving, then cover with cling film (plastic wrap) to prevent the dough drying out.
Leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes–1 hour until doubled in size and jiggly. When they are at around the halfway mark, preheat the oven to 190°C fan (375°F/gas 5).
Bake for 13–15 minutes until golden all over the top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spoon the icing (frosting) into a resealable bag and drizzle diagonally along the cooled scroll. Leave it to set, then slice into six pieces. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

This recipe was republished with permission from A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury (Hardie Grant, £30), Photography © Matt Russell