Sugar. Spice. And everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little roll. My kitchen this week was transformed into the best smelling place on earth. Imagine the smell of warm freshly baked bread, fresh ground cinnamon and melting butter - it's probably what the evil witch used to lure Hansel and Gretel. Yep, sweet dreams are made of these.And they taste as good as they smell. I'm guessing most people don't attempt making these at home thinking that they are just too much work and too time consuming. Well, think again. This dough is as easy to make as cake batter. Actually, minus the yeast, it practically is cake batter - flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs.
I truly believed I had self control until I made these. It is just too irresistible and hence perfect to serve for breakfast on Christmas day. Just wait till you smell them baking, it's probably what Santa's factory smells of. I want to bottle this scent and wear it forever!
Adapted from Epicurious.com
For the dough:
1 cup milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (plus more for rolling and dusting) all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3tsp active dry yeast (if using the powder form double this quantity)
A pinch of salt
For the filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter
For the glaze:
1 cup cream cheese
1tbsp milk or fresh cream
2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp Amarula or any other liquor (optional)
Combine milk and butter in a bowl and microwave until the butter melts. The mixture should be warm and not piping hot. Pour into a large bowl. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg yeast and salt. Using your hands or a stand mixer stir to combine. Add the rest of the flour and mix till the flour is incorporated. The dough should be sticky but should also pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Lightly flour your kitchen work surface. Turn the dough out and knead until smooth and elastic. Add some more flour if the dough is too sticky. After kneading for about 5-8mins the dough should come together to form a smooth ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough, turning it to coat. Cover the bowl with cling film or a kitchen towel. Let it rise for approx 2 hours or until the dough is double in volume.
Punch down the dough gently with your knuckles. Transfer again to floured work surface. Roll the dough out to form a large rectangle. You can also cut out the dough to give the desired shape.
Now for the filling: spread butter over the dough. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle this cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter. Ensure that you leave 1/2 inch border. Roll the dough into a log. You can pinch it gently to keep it rolled up. with seam side down, cut the dough into 1/2inch to 1inch sized slices.
Grease your baking dish and arrange rolls cut side up. It is ok if there is barely any space between rolls. Cover the baking dish with cling film or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise again for 4-50mins.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake rolls for approx 20 mins or until the tops are golden.
Remove from the oven and invert immediately onto a rack to cool. Once cooled, turn the rolls right side up.
For the glaze, beat all ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle on top of the rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The best part is that I had a lot of trimmings left by cutting the dough to a rectangle. So I got to experiment with different fillings. Pictured here is a giant roll stuffed with some cherry jam that I had in my pantry.
Besides the classic cinnamon filling, I recommend trying chocolate chips, dessicated coconut, nuts, caramel or even fresh fruits.
FYI: Butter, eggs, milk and sugar slow down yeast activity. Regular bread rises quickly but since this roll involves all of the above, the bread may rise more slowly or not quite as much as usual. There is nothing wrong with the yeast or the bread, it's just that for recipes as rich as these, you just need patience :)
