Just desserts of this series of posts: Hanuman Sunshine Rolls

Thanks for staying with me through this small series of posts.  As I mentioned, mangoes, and fusion food, had been on my mind, and I wanted to create something unique and delicious.  I read recipes for mango cakes, applesauce cakes, pumpkin-based breads and desserts…  Finally, I settled on an experimental ideas.  I’d aim for a yeast roll, similar to a cinnamon roll, but with mango puree in it.  Then I had to figure out the filling and glaze.

Based on my reading and a Smitten Kitchen pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe, I came up with the following for the dough:

Warm 1/2 cup of milk for 30-40 seconds in the microwave.  Add a big pinch of saffron and 1.5 packets of active dry yeast.  Leave this to foam.

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add 3.5 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 cup of mango puree, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of ghee.  Pour in the milk/saffron/yeast, and mix on low/medium until the dough forms a ball.  Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and leave to rise for an hour.  Once that’s done, put some ghee in a big ziploc, place the ball of dough in, and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, take the dough out and let come to room temperature.  With floured hands, take about half the dough, and roll out into a rectangle on a floured surface.  Drop a spoonful or 2 of ghee and spread it across the surface.  Sprinkle on a big pinch of sugar.  Scatter a handful of chopped pistachios, and a handful of diced dried mango chunks.  Roll it up, and slice into 8 pieces.  Do the same with the second half of the dough.  Place your spirals in a round baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place for the proof for an hour.  I turned my oven to 170F, then turn it off, and put the rolls in there.  When the proofing is done, you’ve got:

Get your oven up to 350F, and cook for 22-25 minutes.  They’ll look like this:

For a delicious glaze, combine 1/4 cup coconut cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 cup mango puree, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Add to your rolls:

This is a real cross-over dessert.  I call them Hanuman Sunshine rolls because the saffron and pistachios make this reminiscent of royal Indian foods, and Hanuman, the monkey god, mistook the sun for a mango and reached for it.  You might similarly try to grab a still-hot roll.  They are utterly beautiful with their lovely coloring, they smell amazing, and they taste really quite good.  I might fiddle-faddle with the recipe to make these a bit lighter/puffier.  Not sure if the fruit puree or the ghee were responsible for making these a touch bready.  My own monkey-husband enjoyed them very much, though, and this is probably bound to impress guests for a special brunch or as an unexpected dessert after an Indian meal.  Hope you try them out and enjoy them, and keep me posted of any particularly successful tweaks!