Is there anything more comforting at this time of year than a little seasonal baking - warm doughy cinnamon rolls topped with sticky, sugary glaze and toasted nuts... errrmmm yes please!
They do require a little work but my goodness they are absolutely worth it so roll your sleeves up, don an apron and say hello to gooey and indulgent cinnamon rolls. Delicious? Yes! Healthy? Not so much. But who cares... we can all hide under thick woolly jumpers until Spring!
ingredients:
Makes 9 cinnamon rolls
For the dough:
170ml whole milk
2 1/4 tsp fast action yeast
50g granulated sugar
1 x egg plus 1 x egg yolk at room temperature
60g salted butter, melted
360g white bread flour plus extra for rolling out
3/4 tsp salt
For the filling:
150g light brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
60g unsalted butter, softened
For the glaze:
240g icing sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp milk
For the topping (optional)
Handful of nuts (pecans/almonds/peanuts - whatever you like!)
Pinch of salt
method:
Warm the milk by placing in a microwave for 40-45 seconds. It should feel like warm bath water. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined then add the flour and salt and mix on a low speed until a dough starts to form.
Place a dough hook on your mixer and let it 'knead' on a medium speed for 8 minutes. The dough should form a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If too sticky i.e. if sticking to the bottom of the bowl, add a couple of tbsp of extra flour. If you don't have a dough hook for your mixer then hand knead the dough for around 8-10 minutes.
Transfer the dough ball to an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and pop in your oven on a dough proving setting for 1 hour. If your oven doesn't have this setting, simply wrap your bowl in a warm tea towel and again, leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. This may take more or less time depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Once doubled in size, transfer the dough to a well floured surface and roll out into a rectangle approx. 9" x 14". Spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough with your fingers (this doesn't need to be neat or even, just smoosh it on there!).
In a small bowl, mix your brown sugar and cinnamon together then use your hands to sprinkle on and rub into the buttered dough.
Tightly roll up the dough starting from the shorter side and place it seam side down then cut off the very ends to make them neat and straight.
Cut your rolled dough into 9 even pieces approx. 1" wide and place flat in a 9"x9" square baking tin or a 9" round tin lined with baking paper. Cover with clingfilm and pop back in the oven on the dough proving setting or wrap in a warm tea towel for around 30-40 minutes to rise again.
Preheat your oven to 175C, remove clingfilm and bake for 20-25 minutes until the rolls are lightly golden brown. Don't overbake as they will dry out and you won't get that lovely fluffy, gooey centre.
Allow them to cool while you make the glaze by combining the icing sugar, melted butter, vanilla and milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on a fast speed until smooth and pour over the rolls while still warm.
Finally, toast some chopped nuts with a sprinkling of salt (if you like the sweet/savoury thing) and sprinkle over the rolls before the glaze sets.
Serve immediately and leave no survivors - life’s too short for day-old cinnamon rolls!
Comments