Full disclosure: I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon by itself as a flavour. I loathe it in drinks (blame a nasty red Aftershock incident from my misspent teenage years) and I can’t stand the cinnamon Jelly Beans you get masquerading as Raspberry or Cherry ones. But cinnamon used as an ingredient is fantastic, and I love Cinnamon Rolls! There’s something about cinnamon and sugar combined in these soft, delicious rolls that is just wonderful, especially with a nice cup of coffee.
Cinnamon Rolls
Print RecipeIngredients
- For the dough:
- 500g Plain Flour
- 10g Fast Action Dried Yeast
- 75g Caster Sugar (or Soft Brown Sugar)
- 200ml Full Fat Milk
- 2 Large Eggs
- 75g Softened Butter
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla Bean Paste)
- For the filling:
- 150g Caster Sugar
- 2tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 75g Softened Butter
- For the glaze:
- 100g Icing Sugar
- 2tbsp Water
Instructions
Add the flour, sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl, and make a well in the centre.
Crack one of the eggs into the well, add the milk, the softened butter, and the vanilla essence.
Mix together the ingredients with a wooden spoon, or get in there with your hands to form a soft dough. If you're using a stand mixer, switch it on to a medium-slow speed until the dough is formed.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth, or let the stand mixer knead the dough until you get the same effect.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm (or an unused shower cap works just as well!) and leave in a warm room for 2 hours until the dough is doubled in size.
Once the dough has proved, it's time to roll out the dough and make the filling! Roll out the dough into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface as thin as you possibly can with dimensions of approximately 40cm x 20cm.
Next, spread the softened butter all over the rolled out dough, coating every part of the surface. Then, in a bowl, mix together the caster sugar and cinnamon and then rub it into the butter. Get in there with your hands, you want to make sure you get as much of the filling in there as possible!
From the longest side, roll the dough up into a long cylinder as tightly as possible to get as many swirls in there as you can. Then cut it into 2cm slices, which should get you about 16 slices, but it may vary depending on how large you rolled out your dough.
Take a couple of deep baking dishes, preferably round, and grease them with some oil or butter. Then, place the rolls around the outside of the dish with one in the middle, making sure to leave some space between each of them.
Now cover these with clingfilm or a light tea towel and leave them to prove again in a warm place for around 45 minutes to 1 hour, until they double in size and are all touching. Preheat an oven to 180°c (160°c fan assisted)/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Once the rolls are risen, beat the extra egg and brush it over the rolls and place on the middle shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
While the rolls are in the oven, mix together the icing sugar (making sure to sift out any lumps) and the water in a bowl to make the glaze.
Once the rolls are baked place them on a wire rack with a baking tray or some kitchen towel underneath and immediately brush them with the glaze. Leave to cool, but they are best served slightly warm!
Notes
To make these even more delicious, you can add the zest of a large orange into the dough, and use 2tbsp of the juice of the orange in the glaze instead of water!
If you have any feedback on this recipe, do let me know and I can adjust it accordingly.
