Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

These utterly delicious pastries are great for breakfast or for having with a mid-morning coffee. You friends will love you for ever if you make cinnamon rolls for them!

Ingredients

750 g (26 oz) plain white flour
250 ml (9 fl oz) warm milk
100 ml (3½ fl oz) warm water
100 g (3½ oz) caster sugar
75 g (2½ oz) butter, melted
2 eggs
3 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
½ tsp salt

The Filling

150 g (5 oz) brown sugar
150 g (5 oz) currants or raisins (optional)
100 g (3½ oz) chopped nuts (optional)
75 g (2½ oz) butter, softened
3 tbsp cinnamon powder

Butter Frosting

50 g (2 oz) cream cheese
50 g (2 oz) butter
100 g (4 oz) icing or confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Few drop of lemon or orange oil (optional)


Instructions

Prepare the dough: Put the yeast, caster sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir well and leave for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
Add the salt and sift in half of the flour. Beat or fondle the mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla essence and most of the milk; mix until smooth. Sift in the remaining flour and mix well. If the dough is too dry add the remaining milk a little at a time until you achieve a sticky, stretchy dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a lightly-greased bowl. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (at least 40 minutes).
After the dough has risen punch it down and roll it out on a lightly-floured surface to a rectangle measuring 38 cm x 60 cm (15″ x 24″).
Brush the dough with the softened butter. Mix together the cinnamon and the brown sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle onto the dough leaving a 2½ cm (1″) border. Sprinkle on the nuts and currants if using.
Roll up the dough from the long edge and pinch the edges to seal. Do not roll the dough too tightly or the dough will rise in the centre to give you Cinnamon Pyramids!
Using a sharp knife cut the roll into 2½ cm (1″) slices and arrange them on a lightly greased deep baking tray. Make sure the rolls are well spaced. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake in an oven at 180°C for around 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
Prepare the frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and extracts and mix well. Spread on the warm cinnamon rolls and leave to cool.

Titli's Tips
The deep baking tray helps to prevent the sides of the rolls from becoming crispy. The rolls should remain nice and soft.

The unbaked rolls freeze really well. Place on a tray in the freezer for a few hours then transfer to a sealed bag. The frozen rolls will keep for up to a month. To use them, arrange them while frozen in a deep baking tray and allow to thaw and rise for 10-12 hours. Then bake as normal.

There are many variations of this basic recipe – with or without raisins and/or nuts. I’ve shown a butter frosting, but you can also use a simple frosting made from icing sugar and a small amount of water (see my recipe for Gingerbread Men). Another option is to brush the cooked rolls with maple syrup.

Best served slightly warm with a nice cup of coffee!