Simple and Soft Homemade Cinnamon rolls

I had my first cinnamon roll about a month ago, yeah- shocking! And for the life of me, I can’t tell you why it took so long. Was it delicious? Hmm, I wished it was ‘calorieworthy‘ to be honest. It was drenched in chocolate which might have been the issue, not sure. If you have had some amazing cinnamon rolls with chocolate, please let me know in the comments. So what made me want to make them? And what makes me believe that this is the ultimate cinammon roll recipe you ought to try?

I decided to make them because of my curiosity about everyone’s fascination with them. You may be wondering what makes me think I can make mouthwatering cinnamon rolls when I haven’t had what might be considered ‘the best’ or classic cinnamon roll?

Well, because once I got the gist of what people seemed to like about it, I decided to make a simple recipe. Ensuring that the cinnamon rolls are soft, springy, and just sweet enough but not overly drenched in this vanilla bean sugar frosting which I believe is one other reason that these rolls are sooo d@mn good!

After baking the cinnamon rolls I waited patiently while testing another bread dough gorgonzola and walnuts which is coming soon. I did my photoshoot and sat on the floor by the window which overlooks this light shop. I had one bite and I was beyond shocked.

So there I was, staring at the cinnamon roll in my hand with my mouth wide open (yeah, still in shock). Why? Because I couldn’t fathom how it took me so long to get on board the cinnamon roll train. And how I managed to get this so right! I WANTED MORE!!!

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls

Sift the flour and sugar.

Heat the milk to lukewarm and stir in the salt until dissolved

Please note: If you will be using active dry yeast instead: You should dissolve the sugar and yeast in the milk to activate, then add the salt to one corner of the flour.

Pour the milk into the flour, followed by the whisked egg, and begin kneading on low. 

When most of the flour is mixed in with the wet ingredients, add the butter (should be soft enough to hold its shape when pressed and not melted) 1 tablespoon at a time.

Knead for at least 15 minutes at medium-high speed. 

Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl to rise double in size

Filling the Cinnamon Roll Dough

Mix the cinnamon with the sugar until evenly incorporated without any large lumps of light brown sugar. Then make a paste using the cinnamon mixture and butter. 

Punch back the dough and knead for a few seconds. 

Roll the dough to 19×21 inches. It will spring back quite a bit but just dust the rolling pin and board with a little flour. 

Put portions of the cinnamon paste all over the rolled-out dough. Then using a spatula gently spread the paste all the way to the edges of the dough 

Roll the dough into a log making sure to press a little. Cut the dough to about 2 cm wide each

Grease two 9.5-inch round baking pans with butter then put the rolled dough into it with ample space in between for when they rise and spread during baking.

What’s Different About This Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Double Rise for Extra Spring and Soft Cinnamon Rolls.

It may be the one thing that drives you away or pulls you closer. Most recipes I have seen require one rise. I let my cinnamon roll dough rise until double in size, then I punch it back and roll, spread the paste, portion, and let them roll once more. The cinnamon rolls ended up soft, very springy, and felt light.

Vanilla Sugar Icing

You will love this icing if you prefer it light. The cinnamon rolls are so freakishly delicious they need to be shown off and not hidden beneath a thick layer of icing. Which is why I feel that light is the way to go. Once the icing has set on the cinnamon rolls, it forms this thin-ish crackly layer with an intense vanilla flavor that you might end up nit-picking in between bites.

Like seriously these rolls are over-the-top good so make them and don’t forget to let me know how it went.

Please give the decadent cinnamon roll recipe a thumbs up below.

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Print Recipe

Cinnamon rolls

(+24 rating, 5 votes)

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Breakfast – International

By Angela – Serves: 10

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 23 minutes – Total Time: 4 hours including rise

Simple and soft homemade cinnamon rolls topped with vanilla sugar icing.

Ingredients

• CINNAMON ROLL
• 400g strong bread flour (i used one with 13% protein)
• 55g granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 7g instant yeast
• 215ml fullfat milk
• 1 small egg (45g)
• 70g Unsalted butter
• CINNAMON PASTE
• 85 unsalted butter
• 70g light brown soft sugar
• 10g cinnamon
• VANILLA SUGAR ICING
• 260g icing sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of milk

Instructions

1

CINNAMON PASTE

2

Mix the sugar with the cinnamon making sure there are no lumps, stir in the butter and mix to form a paste

3

CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH

4

Sift the flour and sugar into a stand mixing bowl, stir in the instant yeast

5

Heat the milk until lukewarm and dissolve the salt in it.

6

Pour the milk to the flour, followed by the whisked egg, and begin kneading on low.

7

When most of the flour is mixed in with the wet ingredients, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.

8

Knead for at least 15 minutes on medium-high speed. Perform the windowpane test

9

Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl to rise double in size

10

Punch the risen dough to disseminate the air bubbles

11

Then tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds, and roll it into 19x21-inches

12

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

13

Using a spatula, smear portions of the cinnamon paste all over the rolled dough. Then evenly spread it all the way to the edges

14

Roll the dough with a firm yet gentle grip. Using a sharp knife, cut the 'log' into about 2 cm wide rolls.

15

Lightly grease two 9.5 inch round baking pans and put an equal number of rolls in the pans, leaving ample space between them. Cover with cling film and leave to double in size.

16

Preheat the oven to 170°C and bake for 23 minutes. Cover with foil halfway through to avoid over-browning. I baked the rolls one tin at a time. While the rolls bake, prepare the icing at least 5 minutes before taking out the cinnamon rolls.

17

VANILLA ICING

18

Measure the icing sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla paste, and extract. Add 6 tablespoons of milk and stir. Check to see if the consistency is to your preference otherwise add 1 more tablespoon of milk at a time for a lighter icing.

19

DONE

20

Take the rolls out of the oven and immediately evenly pour the icing over them.

21

Let the icing set and cinnamon rolls cool a little before devouring!!!