I had a wild idea to make sweet rolls or cinnamon rolls with cannabis leaves after making the Rose Pistachio Cardamom Buns! I know you’re wondering and NO, just the cannabis leaves will not get you high. I call these Cannabis Leaf Lime Sweet Rolls -- The Vathana -- named in honor my friend Vat who supplied the cannabis leaves to help make my crazy idea a reality!
For my cannabis connoisseurs out there, the fan leaves for this recipe came from an Afgoo Lavendar strain plant. What Do Cannabis Leaves Taste Like?
Can I bake with cannabis leaves? Yes! Does it taste like bongwater? I was wondering about that too but no, it doesn’t! Cannabis leaves taste like spicy grass, kinda like wheatgrass if you juice it. It has a pleasant grassiness that’s not too strong that I paired with lemon verbena leaves and sweet lime curd.
The benefits of eating raw cannabis are that they contain cannabinoid acids, vitamins, and antioxidants including folate, iron, calcium, vitamin K, and vitamin C. How to eat cannabis leaves? Juicing it is a popular way to enjoy the leaves, chopping into a salad, or even deep-fried tempura style. I chop up the leaves and mix into a cinnamon bun dough swirled with lime curd.
Okay But What Does This TASTE Like?
Yeasty, fluffy sweet rolls, spicy grass meets sweet lime curd, with a creamy lime cream cheese frosting to bring it all together. Overall, it’s a light herbaceous citrus flavor, not too strong at all.
“Tart at first but great creaminess to the frosting, then a really rich butteriness. The cannabis taste is subtle and the brightness of the lime complemented the grassiness well.” - my friend Vat
How to Store Cannabis Leaves for Cooking
Cannabis leaves are fragile and dry out quickly in the air. If you’re not using immediately after harvesting, store the leaves submerged in cold water or between wet sheets of paper towels with cold water in the fridge until ready to use. Remove from water and pat dry with a dry cloth.
How to Infuse Baked Goods with Cannabis or CBD
The recipe below is not infused. But if you want to make edibles and infuse these buns with cannabis or CBD to feel its psychoactive effects, you can! Just replace the oil in the recipe with the appropriate amount of cannabutter or infused oil. Bake at 340 degrees F and adjust the baking time to accommodate for the temperature difference.
Baking at a lower temperature prevents terpene burnoff. Terpenes are the scents and flavors of cannabis, baking at high temps can degrade flavor and potency. You could also infuse the cream cheese frosting with cannabutter or cannasugar instead of the rolls.
Interested in baking with cannabis? Check out my Cannabis-infused Cookies post and recipe to learn more. Formula - How to Calculate Mg of Cannabis Per Serving:
[# of servings] x [mg of THC/CBD per cookie, I recommend starting at 5mg] = [total mg infused oil needed]
[total mg oil needed] / [total mg count per full dropper] = [# of droppers of infused oil]
Convert ml of oil to tablespoon/teaspoon. Substitute equal amount of butter/vegetable oil.
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Cannabis Leaf Lime Sweet Buns
Creamy, citrusy, and slightly grassy, these lime sweet rolls are swirled with chopped cannabis leaves, lemon verbena, and topped with a lime cream cheese frosting. Inspired by and recipe adapted from Loria Stern via Flamingo Estate and Katiebird Bakes.
Makes 16 servings (two 9-inch pans, 8 buns each)
Time to Prepare: 2 hours (plus more for drying candied cannabis leaves)
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
2 cups milk (whole milk, or full-fat coconut milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup divided (see below)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped cannabis leaves (approx 20 medium to large sized leaves chopped into confetti-sized pieces)
12 lemon verbena leaves, chopped
Lime Curd Filling, recipe from ZoeBakes via Better Homes & Gardens:
2-3 limes (1 1/2 teaspoon zest; 1/3 cup juice)
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut up
1 cup chopped cannabis leaves (approx 25 leaves chopped into confetti-sized pieces)
Candied Cannabis Leaves:
16 cannabis leaves
1 egg white
1/3 cup fine baking sugar
Lime Cream Cheese Icing:
4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened
1 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
Zest from 1 lime
Squeeze of juice from half a lime
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk of choice (or more if necessary)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. At least a few hours in advance, make candied cannabis leaves. Dip leaves in egg white, shake off excess, sprinkle both sides with fine baking sugar. Lay on a parchment paper to dry for several hours. Candied cannabis leaves will be done when the egg white and sugar crystals have hardened. Set aside.
2. Make Dough: In a large pot (a Dutch oven is great because it retains heat for the dough to rise nicely), combine the milk, oil, and sugar and place over low-medium heat until the mixture is warm to the touch. A minute or two on the stove. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool until it’s 105-110 degrees F. If your milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
3. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture and let sit for 1-2 minutes, until foamy. In a separate medium bowl, mix 1 cup of chopped cannabis and lemon verbena leaves into a bowl with 4 cups of flour. Mix the dry ingredients into the pot with the liquid, and stir until an evenly combined dough has formed.
4. Cover and let sit in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour. Check after halfway through to make sure it’s rising and your yeast isn’t dead, you may have to start over. By the end of the hour, it should have doubled in size and smell yeasty.
5. Make Lime Curd: While the dough is rising, make the lime curd. In a large heatproof bowl whisk together zest, juice, egg yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, being careful that the bowl doesn't touch the water. Cook until curd mixture begins to thicken (160°F), about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Add butter; cook and stir 10 to 15 minutes more or until butter is melted and curd is the consistency of thick pudding and coats the back of a metal spoon. Place plastic wrap on curd surface; chill 30 minutes or more. Makes 1 cup.
6. When your dough has risen and doubled in size, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir until combined.
7. Divide the dough in half and roll one half out on a floured surface (to prevent sticking) to about a 16x8-inch rectangle.
8. Spread half the lime curd evenly over the dough, then sprinkle half the cup of chopped cannabis leaves evenly over the top.
9. Starting with the long edge farthest from you, roll the dough towards you until it is tightly coiled with seam down. With a sharp knife, cut into 8 even rolls. I like to cut in half, in half again, and half those pieces.
10. Place 8 rolls into a 9-inch round cake pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat steps 8 through 10 with the second half of the dough.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Let the rolls rest on top of the oven (or in a warm place) for 15-20 minutes covered with a towel until slightly risen and it fills out the pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, side-by-side on the same middle oven rack until golden brown. Turn the pans halfway through baking for a more even bake on all sides.
12. While rolls are in the oven, make the lime cream cheese icing. Whisk together cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until completely combined and smooth. Whisk in powdered sugar, lime zest, juice, and salt until fully blended. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture reaches a pourable, but still thick, consistency.
13. Remove buns from the oven, lift out from cake pan by lifting the parchment paper sides, and onto a baking rack. When it’s completely cool, spread the icing on top, and decorate each bun with a candied cannabis leaf.
14. Stuff those fluffy bun-buns into your mouth!
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