Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
It all starts with a yeasted dough that is pillowy soft, fluffy and tender and filled with a warm and sweet cinnamon butter filling and finally they are topped off with rich, yet light cream cheese frosting. Is there anything better?!
Equipment
- 8x8 or 9x13 baking pan or glass baking tray
- Rolling Pin
- Large bowl
- Whisk
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 480 g strong white bread flour (4 cups)
- 7 g dried active yeast (1 packet)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 250 ml milk (1 cup)
- 100 g butter (7.5 tbsp)
Cinnamon Rolls Filling
- 100 g softened butter (7.5 tbsp)
- 210 g light brown sugar (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 120 g cream cheese (4 oz)
- 55 g melted butter (4 tbsp)
- 200 g icing cup (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 1 tsp lemon extract or paste (optional)
- 1 - 2 tbsp milk
Cream to add to the cinnamon rolls
- 150 ml double cream (heavy cream) (2/3 cup)
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the milk and butter, in 30 seconds increments until warm and the butter is melted. The mixture should be warm, but not hot. If it is too hot, make sure to let it cool before adding to the yeast to prevent killing the yeast.
- Add the salt, sugar and yeast into the milk and butter mixture and mix well. Cover the bowl tightly with some cling film (saran wrap), and a cloth on top of the bowl, leave this mixture for 15 minutes, until the yeast blooms.
- In a separate bowl, crack in a couple of eggs and whisk them well.
- Next, remove the cloth and cling film (saran wrap) off of the yeast mixture and add in the eggs and combine.
- Now, fold in 120g (1 cup) of flour and mix till well combined. You should have a loose and slightly lumpy dough.
- In a large bowl, measure out the rest of the flour and add in the yeast mixture and fold everything together, The dough should start coming together
- Knead the dough on a well floured surface for around 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, comes together and is still slightly sticky on the outside but doesn't stick to your hands or the surface. You should be able to stretch the dough between your fingers without it snapping.
- Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with cling film (saran wrap) and a cloth and allow to proof in a warm place for an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough proofs, make the filling by mixing the softened butter, with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a bowl, until everything is well combined.
- Next, make the frosting by whisking the cream cheese, until light and fluffy. Then add in the butter, vanilla and milk and combine.
- Add in the icing sugar in 3 parts, whisking the frosting in between each addition of icing sugar. You should end up with a smooth and thick frosting that is still pourable.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out into a long rectangle about 18 x 12 inches on a well floured surface.
- Spread the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a very small gap on the edge.
- From the long end, roll the dough away from you into a tight roll, sealing the bottom edge down by pinching the dough together.
- Use unflavoured floss or a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 evenly sized rolls and place into a 9x13 baking pan (or a 9x9 inch pan, you can use two of these) and let the rolls rise again for around 30 minutes.
- Once the rolls have risen pour the cream onto the rolls, making sure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls at (175 celsius / 350 fahrenheit / gas mark 4) for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and no longer doughy. Allow to cool.
- Once slightly cool, warm but not hot, spread the frosting evenly over the cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Notes
- Use unflavoured floss - to cut the cinnamon rolls, instead of a knife. This will give you a cleaner cut and make sure the rolls don’t get squished.
- Store the cinnamon rolls - in a airtight container, once the glaze has fully set and store at room temperature at they should last for about 3 days
- If you don’t have a rolling pin - use can use a closed bottle of olive oil instead