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Hands up, who likes cinnamon rolls?  This is a favourite with many… soft gooey rolls, filled with a buttery cinnamon sugar and topped with runny icing that just melts into the bun!  It is one of those things that you just cannot stop eating!

Personally, I prefer them warm - straight out of the oven, with the smell still hanging thick in the air.  But if you have more self-control than me, just pop a roll in the microwave for 5 – 10 seconds before eating them and it will be just as good.

This is a super easy recipe to make, with only a single rise, and no need for overnight processes.  I’m also sharing my top tips with you for getting the perfect rise every time, and how to cut your cinnamon roll dough to have those flawless cinnamon swirls.

Top tips for this recipe:

• Don’t be shy with the ingredients for the filling of the rolls…that’s what gives you the flavour, so feel free to be quite heavy handed with the cinnamon, sugar and butter! The recipe is just a guide.
• Instead of using a knife to cut your rolls from the dough, use a piece of unflavoured dental floss!!! Trust me it works like magic and you won’t end up squashing your hard work and losing those beautiful swirls.  Check out this short video for a demonstration.

• If you live in a warm country, you can cover your rolls with cling film and leave them in a sunny spot to rise. However, if you are in a colder country, my top tip is to set your oven to its minimum temperature whilst preparing your rolls (usually about 50°C).  When your rolls are ready for the rising stage, cover them with cling film, switch the oven OFF, and pop them in the warm oven for about an hour…you’ll have the perfect rise with no effort at all!
• I find that the fan setting on an oven is too hot for these rolls, so I bake them on a conventional oven setting. Keep an eye on your rolls though, and if the tops are nice and brown halfway through the baking process, cover them very loosely with kitchen foil for the second half of baking to prevent the tops from burning or going too dark.

Recipe:

Prep time: 90 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Servings: 9 – 10 rolls

Author: Cornel Schalkwyk

Equipment:

• Kitchen scale 
• Stand mixer
• Pyrex glass bowls
• Stainless steel measuring spoon set
• Spatula set
• Rolling pin
• 9” square foil trays

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 450g plain flour, plus extra for kneading
• 50g granulated sugar
• 1 packet (7g) dry instant yeast
• A pinch of salt
• 60ml water
• 120ml milk
• 60g butter
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 60g spreadable butter
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 5 tbsp brown sugar
• raisins (optional)

Watch the video here for a demonstration of how to make the dough and create the rolls.

Icing for top:

• 240ml icing / confectioners sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tbsp milk / water

The icing will set hard when exposed to air, so make the icing only when your rolls have cooled down enough to put your icing on straight away. 

Instructions:

• Add about 400g of the flour, with the salt and yeast into your mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, add the milk, water and butter and microwave for about 1 minute or until the butter is just melted.
• Stir the butter / milk mixture and pour the warm liquid into the dry ingredients. Add the egg and using your dough hook attachment, mix on a medium speed until the ingredients come together and form a sticky dough.

• Add the remaining 50g of flour in small amounts until the dough forms a soft ball with a pliable consistency.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, stretching and working the dough. Cover the dough with cling film whilst preparing your work surface for the next step.

• On a lightly floured surface space, roll the dough out to about 0.5cm thick into a rectangular shape, roughly about 20 x 35cm.
• Spread butter over the dough, covering all the surface area of the dough. Sprinkle ground cinnamon and brown sugar over, ensuring an even distribution over the dough. Add raisins if you want to.

• Starting at the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough into a tight roll, resembling a long sausage.
• Cut the dough into 9 – 10 pieces and place in a baking tray, with the swirls facing up and evenly distributed.

• Cover the tray tightly with cling film and allow to rise and double in size for 60 – 90 minutes before baking. See my top tip above for an easy way to get the perfect rise.

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
• Once the rolls have doubled in size, cut the cling film off, and bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven. See the top tip above for preventing the tops from going too dark.
• Test the rolls after 20 minutes to ensure they are baked. If you knock on the top of a roll it will sound hollow if baked.  Or, insert a cocktail stick and if it comes out clean, it’s baked.
• Let the rolls cool for a while before pouring the icing over, otherwise the icing will melt and run off the buns. Mix the icing sugar, water /milk and vanilla together with a spoon, and pour over the rolls.

Notes:

• You can use any type of butter for this recipe, whether it’s a dairy-free alternative or not.
• Wrap the dough with cling film whilst preparing your work surface for rolling the dough, to prevent it from drying out.
• If you’ve used milk in the icing sugar, store the rolls in the fridge in an airtight container.

Have you used this recipe?  Tag me and hashtag your creations on social media:

 @bloomingbakesbycornel

 @bloomingbakesbycornel

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