I’ve called this a cake but it’s probably more accurate to describe it as one giant cinnamon roll. There’s something very addictive about cinnamon rolls – yeasty sweet dough, buttery cinnamon filling and that vanilla frosting that seeps into all those nooks and crannies. If there’s anything more comforting than a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee I’d like to know about it!
Cinnamon rolls are a bit of a labour of love to make. Not that they are difficult but there is a fair amount of time spent waiting for the dough to prove and rise. But all that rising makes for the lightest and softest dough, so be patient as it’s well worth the wait. Once your roll is out of the oven the only thing you need to do is decide is if you’re going to pull it apart, slice it or share it.
Ingredients adapted from Sally’s baking addiction
Dough
½ cup milk
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons butter
2⅓ cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 package instant yeast
1 egg
Filling
3 tablespoons butter, very soft
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup sugar
Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Method
Place the milk, water, and butter in the microwave and heat until butter is melted let the mixture cool until it is just hot to the touch, add the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Pour the flour, sugar and salt into butter mixture and mix. Add egg and mix for a few minutes. If dough is very sticky, add a drop more flour. Shape dough into ball and place into an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for an hour. Meanwhile, combine the filling ingredients (excluding the butter) and grease a 9-inch round pan.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about a 1/4-inch thick. Spread softened butter evenly all over dough, including edges. You can put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds till it gets to an almost melted stage to make the spreading easier. Sprinkle filling evenly on top of dough.
Using a pizza cutter, slice dough (vertically – the long way) into 6 even strips. Loosely roll up the first strip and place it into the center of the greased pan. Wrap/coil the next strip around the roll in the center (don’t roll it into itself like you did the first strip), starting at the spot where the previous coil ended so you achieve the look of one continuous spiral. Repeat with the rest of the strips. The spiral should fill up almost the whole pan at this point.
Preheat oven to 180C. Cover and let rise again in a warm spot for 1 hour, till the dough puffs up nicely and spreads to fill the whole pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool, then drizzle glaze over cake. To make the glaze, whisk together all the ingredients and drizzle over cake.
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