These really don’t need an introduction. Cinnamon rolls are high on the list favourite sweet treat, fluffy, soft and down right delicious. Perfectly paired with a cuppa tea, snuggled up on the sofa, wearing fluffy socks and watching your favourite film (not obligatory but advised)
You don’t really need a freestanding electric mixer for this recipe but it does make it a bit easier, I enjoy kneading by hand but if you struggle with this or just really cba use a freestanding mixer.
Ingredients
- 180mls warm milk (whole milk)
- 2 1/2 tsp dried active yeast
- 35 g (1/4) cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 60g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 400g (3 cups) strong white bread flour, plus more for dusting ( I have used plain flour for these too and they were fine, so strong white bread flour isn’t essential!)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 85g (2/3 cup) dark brown muscovado sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 60g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
Cream cheese frosting if you fancy
- 1 pack of cream cheese (200g ish)
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, make sure its nice and soft.
- 100g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Warm your milk on the hob or in a microwave, you want it to be WARM and NOT hot! I repeat NOT hot! Warm like a warm bath people. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Wait a few minutes till the yeast has activated (it will foam a little) Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined (you can do this by hand too if you don’t have an electric mixer!) Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form. Tip the dough onto a well floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. Or if you have a dough hook for your freestanding electric mixer attach this and knead on a medium speed for about 8 minutes or so. The dough should be slightly sticky in a ball when this is done.
- Grab a big bowl and oil it with vegetable oil. Pop the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film (or plastic free alternative) and a warm tea towel. Pop it in a warm place (I put it next to my radiator) and leave to rise for about an hour and 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- When the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and transfer to a well floured surface, knead again for a couple minuets. Grab a rolling-pin and roll the dough out (roughly 35cm x 25cm) and then spread the softened butter over the rolled out dough, leaving about 2cm clear from the edge.
- Rub the sugar and cinnamon together and then rub this mix into the butter on the dough using your fingers. Really press the cinnamon sugar mix into the butter.
- Starting from the 25cm end roll the dough tightly as possible into a sausage. Grab a sharp knife and slice the dough into 9 rings. Line a 22cm x 22cm square cake tin. Then place the sliced rings into it. Cover the dough again then leave to rise for about 30 minutes until they have doubled in size. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180’c
- When they have doubled remove the cling film and towel then bake for about 15-20 minutes, you want to ever so slightly under bake them so they are a little soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely in the tin before frosting (I sometimes don’t do this.. like in the pics here I didn’t wait till they cooled completely so the frosting melted a little.. it was pretty delicious with the frosting melted into it. So maybe try it!)
- Whilst the buns are cooling make your frosting by whisking the frosting ingredients together until you get a lovely thick frosting. Spread over the rolls and then divide the rolls up. Dig in!