I’m NOT buying any groceries this month.

Let me tell you what this means and how I ended up in this struggle… and convince you to do the same.

If you don’t know me, hello there!

I’m Jane, creator of Let Jane Cook, a Korean and fusion cooking channel. You may have seen my cooking adventures on Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.

So what does it mean to actually not buy any groceries?

This means, for a fixed amount of time, you stop restocking food items in your kitchen and use only the ingredients out of your (hopefully stacked!) pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.

No one will hunt you down for a sneaky grocery run - if you really need to, you can get yourself an ingredient or two, especially on your first try.

Why… are you doing this?

The decision to deprive myself of the luxury of grocery shopping and to restrain myself to make something out of the “scraps” was not necessarily a financial decision. (Although, it does save you some money!)

My current series of “I’m not buying any groceries” is actually my second one. The original trigger, was the move. (yes, I had to switch flats twice in a span of a year).

If you have the tiniest interest in cooking (probably so if you ended up on my substack!), you’ll know that cooking new cuisines add batches of ingredients to your pantry. When I realised the ingredients in the deep end of my drawer rarely see light, I decided that I’ll have to give myself a challenge to use them up in a meaningful way.

Soon enough, I discovered that this challenge is doing wonders to my creativity and reducing food waste, and something that everyone should be doing.

If you want to be a better cook, you might want to try this challenge too.

Here’s why the challenge works wonders.

1. You work with a limited selection and volume of ingredients. And you’ll find unexpected, amazing substitutes to your ‘go-to’s.

You usually cook with beef for ragu, but only got beans?

Well, you’ll try replacing beef with beans, and see how you can create the same level of satisfaction. Will we go for chili vibes?

And the next time you cook a ragu, you can CHOOSE if you want to make a bean one or a beef one!

2. You will finally get to use the ‘fun’ ingredients that you avoided using because it’s not familiar to you. Again, training your cooking muscle but also reducing waste!

I pile up a whole lot of ingredients.

To name a few fun ones from all over the world:

• Dried chwi-namul from Korea (note: this is a type of plant called aster leaves that are blanched and marinated to be eaten as a side dish in Korea)

• Spicy sardines from Portugal

• Báhn Xèo powder from Vietnam

• Dried daikon radish strips

But sometimes, it’s just dried chickpeas that I almost NEVER remember to soak them the night before I want to use them - I can be lazy.

The more you procrastinate on the ‘work’ to learn about the ingredient, the more ingredients sit your pantry for a long, long time, sometimes past their expiry date… am I right? This challenge will wipe out your pantry, so you can fill it with new, more interesting stuff.

Okay - where should I start?

Well, you can just whip up dishes out of a whim, but, in my experience, I had a pretty high chance of ending up with a struggle meal girl dinner.

Not that these are bad, but for a foodie, this is not going to make you last in this challenge for a long time!

But planning for every meal is unsustainable. I came up with these steps that saves the panic of not knowing what to cook!

1. Dig

   • Like you do a spring clean, just take everything out of the deepest parts of your pantry. You’ll realise what you tend to buy, what often gets forgotten, and the things that are close to expiry date that needs to be eaten first.

     

2. Audit

   • Make a list of ingredients, including the condiments/sauces AND volume of ingredients (i.e. do you have 100g or 5kg of basmati rice to use in a month? That surely would change your priorities!). This will help your recipe planning.

   • Digital notes are easier to manage: I made my list on Notion, with categories:

     

3. Brainstorm recipes

   • With your list of ingredients in your hands, you can now think of the best combinations. Some tips:

     • AI can be your friend. Drop the ingredients to think of recipes, but use it for inspiration only. The AI recipe suggestions often turn out quite crappy, so I use it usually only to research other human-tested recipes.

     • Search for ingredients on recipe websites and apps for inspiration. There’s a good chance you’re missing some in the list of ingredients. Don’t be discouraged. This is your chance to try alternative ingredients! Here are some good recipe websites, for newbies:

       • America’s Test Kitchen and Serious Eats: lots of tried, and tested, recipes!

       • CKBK: This is a website that’s got A LOT of published cookbook recipes. More complex recipes from professional chefs.

       • And of course, my substack, Let Jane Cook.

         This is a list of my recipes, and most of it can be found on my substack and videos on my socials on letjanecook.com

       

   Like this one!

   My recipes are free! Get them here :)

4. Plan your cooking, but don’t stress!

   Once you have your shortlist of recipes, resist the urge to plan every single meal (unless you really enjoy doing so). Instead, choose a couple of anchor meals, which are 3 to 4 recipes per week that you’re committing to cooking. Leave the rest open for improvisation based on what’s left over, so that it leaves room for the happy accidents that make this challenge genuinely fun.

   A few helpful rules that helped me plan:

   • Cook the most perishable things first. Fresh herbs, opened jars, anything in the fridge door, these should go before the dried lentils in the cupboard.

   • Batch cooking the “base” ingredients. If you’ve got a big bag of dried beans or grains, you can cook a large batch early in the week and use it in multiple ways. If you batch cook a lot of dried chickpeas, you can use it in some crispy chickpea snacks, and stir it into a soup the next day!

   • Feed your friends, because more hungry people = faster emptying!

5. Cook, eat, and enjoy watching your pantry get tidy :)

The tips: What I got wrong the first time, so you don’t have to!

Tip #1: let yourself buy protein and fibre (sometimes). I know the whole point is not buying groceries, but hear me out. Unless you are training for a marathon, you will end up with mountains of pasta, rice and flour. Opening my 5th can of tuna and 4th can of chickpeas almost broke me. (the number of times I almost ordered a pizza…)

Lock the pantry staples - no new fancy pasta. But you’ll have a much easier time if you throw in a protein and a fresh vegetable here and there. The challenge is about using what you have, not about punishing.

A few protein sources that will stretch the furthest across different dishes:

• Eggs: obviously, but also criminally underrated for how many different jobs they can do. Fried rice, ramen topping, shakshuka, scramble when you have nothing else.

• A whole chicken: I separate the bones and meat, use the meat for two recipes, and freeze the carcass with celery, carrots and onion for chicken stock and soup!

• Dried beans and legumes: yes, they require forethought, but they cost almost nothing and once they’re cooked you have enough for days. Red lentils don’t even need soaking - I made tofu with them!

Tip #2: give yourself at least two months, not one. Dry ingredients are deceptive and emptying your pantry will take longer than you think! Rice, pasta, dried mushrooms… they EXPAND.

And life can throw your plans out the window. Even with a good plan, I still ended up with a pile of dry beans and carbs that to either take to the new flat or donating.

Two months give you enough time to absorb the disruptions and still actually finish the challenge with less pain.

All of this said, it’s really fun! You should try it.

Seriously, even with the 7 cans of tuna situation. I problem-solved, substituted, and actually thought about what flavours I’m working with instead of just following a recipe to the letter. The memories will stick with you, long after you restock :)

What’s coming next from me?

I’ve moved into a new flat, which means a new kitchen and a new pantry that will fill itself up really quick. In fact, I may have gotten myself a whole salmon, with 18 fillets to eat. So here comes my next salmon recipe series: I’m not buying salmon.

Some more exciting stuff coming: expect lots of noodles and deep dives into kimchi!

When my pantry starts overflowing, I’ll restart this series, and share all my lovely struggles adventures with you again.

So follow along my journey! I write roughly every month. And if you’re doing this challenge yourself, come find me on Instagram or tiktok and show me how it’s going! I mean it. I’d love to hear your journey 🥢

Thanks, and good luck!

xx Jane

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Ingredients:

Makes 8-10 large dumplings, (it’s ~1.2kg of raw filling)

• 16 rice papers (or more, for the ones that break)

• 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots (grated)

• 4 large cabbage leaves (napa cabbage or white cabbage)

• 2 spring onions

• 60g dry rice noodles (boiled)

• 200g hard tofu (crushed) - you can use meat if preferred.

• 1 white onion (diced)

• 2 Tbsp minced garlic

• 1 Tbsp minced ginger (or 1t ginger powder/extract)

• Marinade

  • 2 Tbsp light soy sauce

  • 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 Tbsp sugar

  • 1 Tbsp mirin

  • 2 Tbsp sesame seed oil

  • a pinch of ground pepper

• (optional) quick peanut butter dipping sauce

  • 6T peanut butter

  • 2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce or sriracha

  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice

  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 Tbsp honey or brown sugar

  • 2-4 Tbsp hot water

1. Grate carrots and finely slice cabbage leaves.

2. Thinly slice spring onions & white onion.

3. Boil rice noodles until soft, drain and chop into short pieces.

4. Press and crumble the tofu.

5. In a large bowl, add the grated carrot, cabbage, spring onion, white onion, crumbled tofu, drained & cut rice noodles, minced garlic and ginger.

6. Put together ingredients in the marinade and add to the large bowl. Mix thoroughly.

7. In a large pan or wok, heat a tablespoon of neutral oil over medium heat.

8. Fry the ingredients until the onion cooks and the cabbage softens (if you’re using meat, until the meat is cooked through)

9. Transfer to a different container to let the filling cool.

10. Prepare a shallow dish of warm water & a work surface (e.g. chopping board)

11. Dip one rice paper into warm water for a few seconds until slightly soft, but still has structure.

12. Lay the softened rice paper flat on the surface and put 2 scoops of the filling.

13. Fold and wrap up (Fold the bottom edge over the filling, then the sides in toward the center, then roll upward to form a tight parcel and seal)

14. Repeat with a second rice paper to double up. Double wrapping reduces breaking if you’re crisping them up in a pan.

15. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan for pan-frying.

16. Place dumplings in the pan and cook each side until crisp all over.

17. Serve as-is or with some peanut butter dipping sauce!

Or you live in Scandinavia, and the stores care a lot about employee work-life-balance. Seriously, I was very sad to find out all the stores close at 6pm when I was on a day trip there (bad planning from my side…).

Or your pantry is just overflowing with things and you’re looking to empty it (like me)!

Either way, here’s are two recipes to inspire you to make something super nice just out of your pantry items.

Easy apple turnovers

You can use any of those store-bought puff pastry or homemade one (which are super freezable!)

Ingredients:

2 large apples
50g brown sugar
2t ground cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/2t salt
1t ground nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1T butter
1T lemon juice
1t corn flour
~320g puff pastry (1 store-bought package)
1 egg, mixed for egg wash
2T demerara or sanding sugar (for topping - optional)
Vanilla ice cream (for topping - optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. Peel and chop the apple in small dices.
3. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and pecans, and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes until the apples are slightly translucent. Remove from heat and cool down.
4. Beat 1 egg to prepare an egg wash.
5. Mix in cornstarch when the apples are cooled (optional, if the apples are loose).
6. Roll out the puff pastry cut into roughly six squares (easier to do it parchment paper on baking tray, to avoid having to transport them!)
7. Fill each square with 2T of the apple filling and 1T of cream cheese.
8. Brush egg wash on the edges of the square (as glue), and fold the squares diagonally to make triangles. Press around edges with a fork to seal them.
9. Brush the surface of the triangles with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle demerara or sanding sugar on top (optional).
10. Make 2-3 small cuts with a knife on each pastry (to allow steam to escape).
11. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown.
12. Enjoy warm or cold! Ice cream is amazing for a hot turnover, as a topping :)

High protein, vegan chocolate pudding

Ingredients:
- 400g silken tofu
- 200g melted dark chocolate (check for milk solid in the ingredients if you want a fully vegan recipe)
- 1t vanilla extract or paste
- 1T peanut butter
- 1T brown sugar (white sugar is fine too)
- 1t instant coffee powder (optional)
- 1t cinnamon (optional)
- 2T desiccated coconut or topping of your choice (cocoa powder, melted chocolate, berries or fruit jams work well!)

Steps:
1) Blend all ingredients until smooth
2) Distribute them in small containers (4-5 portions recommended), and refrigerate, covered, for 3+ hours until set. Add your melted chocolate layer on top now if you like.
3) Add toppings of your choice before you serve. Enjoy!

I’m still not buying any groceries and eating out of my pantry.

Go grab that one tin fish in the corner, and turn it into a fun meal just with your typical pantry ingredients… now straight to the recipe!

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Ingredients

• 1T gochujang

• Cooking Oil (olive oil recommended)

• Chili oil or chili (optional)

• ½ onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 400g peeled canned tomatoes

• 1T honey

• 1 tin of sardines

• 200g pasta of choice (short pasta recommended)

• Ground pepper

• Herbs (optional)

• Parmaggiano reggiano cheese

Recipe

1. Dice onion and garlic (if you don’t want to eat the garlic, keep it as whole and take it out before you put gochujang)

2. Heat the oil and chili or chili oil on a pan.

3. Add the onion and garlic.

4. When the onion softens, add gochujang and honey.

5. Fry just until the gochujang blends in to the oil, then add a can of tomatoes.

6. While the sauce is heating up, boil water in a pot and cook your pasta.

7. Break the big chunks of tomatoes in your sauce into smaller pieces with your spoon/spatula.

8. Salt and pepper the sauce to your taste, and keep the sauce warm over a very low heat until your pasta is done.

9. Drain the pasta when done- save a couple spoons of pasta water!

10. Dump the pasta into tomato sauce with the pasta water and mix aggressively.

11. Add fresh herbs (if any), and sardines as topping or broken, depending on your preference.

12. Add as much parmasean cheese as you want!

So… I’m not buying groceries and just eating up my pantry this month.

If you have a tub of chickpea flour (also known as gram flour or besan) lying around your pantry, take this as a sign to make your own cheez-its that will make you go *CRONCH*

Even if you don’t, take this as a sign to stock up some chickpea flour!

You can make socca (mediterranean chickpea bread) and, of course, lots of these lovely cheez-its.

It doesn’t have any nasty preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers, just 1 cup of flour, some oil, water and seasonings.

OKAY straight to recipe, so you can go jacked faster.

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[Ingredients]

1 cup gram/chickpea flour (aka besan)

3T cooking oil (Olive oil recommended) + extra to grease the bowl, your hands and parchment paper

3T water

1T curry powder

1T paprika powder

1T garlic powder

4T sesame seeds

2T salt

6 turns ground black pepper

(optional) Extra seasoning after baking (0.5T paprika powder, 0.5T salt, 1T garlic powder)

[The steps]

1. Preheat your oven to 200C

2. Grease an empty bowl with oil

3. Add your chickpea flour and dry seasonings (curry powder, paprika powder, garlic powder, sesame seeds, salt, and black pepper) into the bowl

4. Mix with whisk/spoon until the seasoning is evenly distributed

5. Add cooking oil and water, and mix until you don’t see any dry powder.

6. Grease your hands and roll it into a dough ball (imagine cookie-dough texture!)

7. Cut out two pieces of parchment paper to fit the size of your baking tray.

8. Grease the surface of both parchment paper.

9. Add the dough ball on one parchment paper and cover it (like a sandwich!) with another piece of paper.

10. Press down with your hand to flatten it and roll out with a rolling pin as thinly as you can! The thinner it is, the crispier it will get. I like to make it thin so that I can see the light through the dough.

11. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut the dough with a knife into smaller pieces. (Use pizza cutter if you have it. I just use my chef’s knife and grease the blade to make the dough stick less.

12. When the oven is heated, put the parchment paper with the dough on a baking pan and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.

13. When done, take it out of the oven and break them into your desired shapes!

14. Feel free to dip it in your favourite dipping sauce (I like to make a yoghurt sauce with lemon juice, mayo and sriracha!)

I found a gazillion cinnamon roll recipes in the world; they come in different shapes, sizes, and languages and we should love ‘em all.

But unfortunately, I am discriminatory—some do taste better than others!

I was in a short period of obsessive unpaid research to create the best cinnamon rolls to win a local cinnamon roll competition (spoiler: I won 2nd place)

and during that time, I found out my type for the cinnamon rolls is:

fat, juicy and wet.

I classify cinnamon rolls into three breeds (below), but I find only one of them particularly decadent.

Type #1: The pretty, knotted one with a good weight (a.k.a. Swedish Kanelbullar)

They’re the pretty but dangerous ones. Beautifully braided, smooth and straight out of Pinterest aesthetic; but they can get a bit dry and heavy, and might choke you (speaking from experience). If you’re in London, Fabrique bakery makes fabulous Kanelbullar, and their cardamom buns are irresistible. But I’ve moved on from my Kanelbullar phase.

Type #2: The flaky one (a.k.a “cinnamon swirls” or “cruffins” )

This one’s crispy, airy and flaky, covered with cinnamon sugar, and crumbles when you bite. Most of the “cinnamon rolls” in a corner cafe is probably this one, sitting right next to a stale croissant, because they look stay tasty for a bit longer than others (….because they’re already DRY!). Gail’s bakery makes a good one, but the satisfaction it gives is nowhere near the my next candidate.

Type #3: The fat, juicy and wet one

If you loved Cinnabon as a kid, you’ll already know that this one’s the best breed - just scroll down to the tips. I’m not gonna go lie to your face and say this is the prettiest pastry, but when you take a big bite into that warm, soft, moist and pillowy bun, you will be loyal to this bun like me. If you’re convinced, let me share all the tips I learned to make the best version of this bun.

So how do you make the best tasting, fat, juicy and wet cinnamon rolls?

I’ve accumulated a couple of practical tips that you can use TODAY to turn your cinnamon rolls the most popular one in your ‘hood. All of these are small swaps and additions, with what you can get in your local grocery store.

#1 Use strong bread flour

If you take only one thing from this entire post, let it be this: your cinnamon roll is only as chewy as its gluten network.

Strong bread flour has higher protein (usually 12–14%). This builds more gluten, which is the source of chewy texture and the strength to hug lots of butter, sugar, and cream without collapsing.

Weaker flour will make your rolls that look soft but feel more cake-y when you bite. That doesn’t make that tear-apart, elastic texture of a good cinnamon roll!

If your flour says “strong,” “bread,” or “high-protein,” grab that one.

#2 Pour in warm milk or cream right before you bake

This felt illegal to me the first time I did it. I looked at my beautifully proofed rolls and thought surely I shouldn’t drown them now?

But there was a reason all the famous bakeries do it.

Right before baking, gently pour warm (not boiling) cream (even milk works!) into the pan. The liquid should come up about a quarter height of the rolls.

The dough will then absorb the cream, and steam while baking at the same time. As a result, the interior will stay so much softer, custardy, and moist!

This is the single reason why bakery-style cinnamon rolls taste impossibly wet compared to many homemade ones.

#3 Buff your cinnamon filling

Most cinnamon roll fillings are just cinnamon + brown sugar dumped on butter, but this is where you can really boost the depth of flavour without the risk of destabilising the recipe.

Some tricks I played to jack up my cinnamon filling that actually made a difference:

• Using dark brown sugar (it has more molasses, which gives deeper, complex flavour than just light brown sugar or white sugar)

• Don’t forget a pinch of salt (salt boosts flavour in desserts, almost all the time)

• Adding a spoon of coffee powder (for the aroma and a slight bitterness)

• Adding a spoon of peanut butter (for nuttiness and a bit of lasting creaminess)

• Sprinkling chopped nuts and seeds (for the crunch)

You can play around with the filling so much. This is the time to drop your favourite spice. Tahini, poppy seeds, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, just drop it.

Whatever you do, make sure your sugar mix is not dry/powdery, so it leaks less when it bakes.

#4 Don’t skip your frosting, and make it SOUR!

Sweet on sweet on sweet is too boring. We need something sharp to cut through the boredom of “too much sweetness” to build that tangy relief, which makes the rolls more addictive.

Cream cheese frosting works best because it’s sour and creamy, and I like to add lemon juice to make it even more sour. Even crème fraîche or greek yoghurt mixed with sugar would work as a frosting! Whatever it is, acidity will make you want another bite instead of lying down.

If you’re enjoying this, hit subscribe, and I’ll take that as a nudge to post more interesting stuff.

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If you’re still here, you’re probably as obsessed with cinnamon rolls as I was. So here are a couple more tips!

1. Underbake slightly

   This seems to be the secret of Cinnabon. The softness and gooeyness comes from the dough being just barely baked. If you wait too long for that golden brown, it will lose that softness and moisture. Pull them out before they look golden brown - they will finish cooking from residual heat anyway!

2. Roll mega tight

   

   Loose rolls means there are gaps in your layers. This will allow the cinnamon butter filling to escape more easily to the bottom. We want to lock them in! Stretch when you pull, and roll super duper tight.

3. Use crunchy toppings

   

   Because cinnamon rolls are soft and gooey, it gets more fun if you add some crunch. I made maple candied pecans with sesame seeds as a topping, which was a BIG hit in the competition booth. (No one asked me for my cinnamon roll recipe, but many did for my sesame candied pecans - it comes later)

4. Use tangzhong method if you’re not gonna finish it on the same day.

   Tangzhong is an Asian bread method where you pre-cook a small portion of flour with liquid into a paste before adding it to your dough. If you like Japanese milk bread, this is how it’s made.

   It sounds extra… because it is a tiny bit of extra work. It doesn’t make a huge difference if your buns the same day, but if you’re keeping them a bit longer (but I wouldn’t worry too much), tangzhong helps lock moisture into the dough for longer.

   Tangzhong is a topic for another post, but if you want to try it out, you basically cook 5–10% of the flour with milk or water until it’s thick and pudding-like (approx. 65C). It is then cooled and mixed into the dough.

Okay, okay. So where’s the recipe?

Right below. Hit subscribe if you want to see more of these recipes!

My recipe is adapted from Julie Clark’s homemade cinnamon rolls recipe! Let me know how it is, and please share your best recipe (….especially if you’re a winner of a cinnamon roll competition).

[Ingredients]

The dough

• 225 g warm milk

• 1 pack instant dry yeast

• 2 eggs (room temp)

• 75 g salted butter, soft room temp

• 100 g granulated sugar

• 5 g salt

• 520g bread flour

Nutty filling

• 115 g salted butter, almost melted

• 200 g dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar)

• 2T cinnamon powder

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts and seeds (pecans, cashews, pumpkin seeds - whatever is in hand!)

• 1T sesame seeds

• 1T peanut butter

For soaking

• 115 g heavy cream

Cream cheese frosting

• 130 g cream cheese, softened

• 75 g salted butter, softened

• 250 g powdered sugar

• 1/2 T maple syrup

• 1/2 T lemon juice

Candied sesame pecan topping

• 150g pecans

• 6T brown or white sugar

• 1.5T water

• 1t cinnamon powder

• 3T sesame seeds (enough to sprinkle over the pecans)

• a sprinkle of salt

[Step by step guide]

• Pour warm milk (not boiling! just microwave) in a large bowl or a stand mixer and sprinkle a pack of yeast into the milk. Wait until the mix is a little frothy.

• In the same bowl, add eggs, butter and sugar. Mix well until combined.

• Mix salt into the flour and then add to the wet mix. Mix with spatula or use beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Rest for 5 minutes until flour soak up the liquids.

• Knead with hand or using the dough hook on stand mixer on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is not formed, add more flour up to ½ cup until you’re able to pick it up but still quite sticky on the surface.

• Grease the surface of a large bowl and transport the dough there. Cover the bowl with a towel and rest in a warm place until the dough rises (to almost double the volume, usually takes about half an hour).

• While the dough is rising, in a small bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, peanut butter and chopped nuts and seeds with a spatula, mixing until well combined.

• When resting is complete, prepare a pastry mat or work surface with flour sprinkled on top. Take dough onto the surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.

• Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to roughly 24×15 inch rectangle.

• Spread the nutty filling evenly with a spatula or a small knife on the dough.

• Starting on the long side, roll the dough up super tightly, stretching and pulling slightly towards yourself as you roll.

• Cut into 10-12 slices and place the rolls in a greased baking pan (don’t need to bake all at once!)

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cover the pan with a towel and rise the rolls again for extra 15-20 minutes while the oven is preheating.

• Warm the heavy cream in a microwave for 30 seconds, until it’s lukewarm.

• Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream evenly over the rolls.

• Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (depends on the oven and size of the rolls), until the rolls are slightly golden and the rolls in the middle are not raw (test: poke with a stick and see if the batter comes out). Check the rolls at 20 minutes. If they are getting browned but still too raw, cover loosely with foil for the remaining baking time - don’t over cook! When done, pull them out and cool them down in the baking dish.

• Prepare a nonstick pan on a stovetop to make the pecan topping.

• Roast pecans (skip this step if using roasted pecans) until the surface browns slightly. Remove from the pan.

• Add sugar and water on the pan, and heat it on medium/low heat until it simmers, slightly browns and thickens (do not stir aggressively!)

• Remove from heat, add pecans to the caramel and gently toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over and toss until they are coated.

• Spread pecans over a baking sheet so they are not clumped, and sprinkle a bit of salt.

• While the rolls and pecans are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.

• In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer/whisk/stand mixer.

• Add in your maple syrup, lemon juice. Whisk in powdered sugar in batches (so it doesn’t splash!) until the powder is not visible.

• When the rolls are cooled down, add your frosting on the top, along with more chopped nuts and/or sesame seeds (optional).

• Serve while it’s still warm! Enjoy.

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