The best part about holidays is being with the family. A decadent dessert with a strong and bold cuppa adds an additional essence to those beautiful moments. Cinnamon rolls are one of our family favorites. This recipe makes a classic, buttery soft cinnamon rolls ideal for all the special occasions. Each and every bite will make you sing praises of the rich dough and pure goodness of cinnamon.
Eat them fresh or store up to a month in the freezer. My freezer is always stocked up with a couple of these rolls with variety of fillings like sweet and hot mint chutney, tomato and garlic chutney. I’ve used yeast but, it’s completely optional. A few of my friends feel intimidated using yeast, if you are feeling the same way, it’s okay! You can totally replace it with baking soda.
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups + 1/2 cup (for rolling and dusting) of all purpose flour
Filling
6 to 7 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Caramel sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 apple, skin peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Cinnamon Roll
1. Butter 10 inch pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix warm milk, sugar and melted butter. Add the yeast and mix well. Leave it undisturbed for about 15 minutes and let the yeast bloom. Blooming time varies from place to place so, eyeballing should help.
3. Add 2 cups of flour and combine well. The mixture will be sticky, trust me it will come together. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or warm towel and let it rise nearly double the size for 1 hour.
4. Filling – In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix well and set aside.
5. Transfer the dough into clean working surface, knead the dough by adding 1/4 cup of flour, salt and baking powder. Gradually add the remaining flour and keep kneading for 10 more minutes.
6. Do you see a smooth dough, bouncing back after poking? Then, it’s ready for the show. Roll them into a rectangle shaped sheet of about 1 cm thick. Make sure the edges are also 1 cm thick and sharp.
7. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and start rolling it from the shorter end. Brush the seam with water and pinch them. Trim down the uneven edges, if any. Cut the log into a small rolls of 3-4 centimeters thick.
8. Caramel Sauce – In a sauce pan over a medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, salt and the sliced apples. Saute them for 3 minutes and off the flame.
9. Preheat the oven to 175˚C. Arrange the apple slices in the prepared pan and pour in the syrup. Place the cinnamon rolls on top the apples. Don’t jam-pack the pan, the rolls will expand. Cover the pan and leave it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
10. Bake them for 25-30 minutes. Once baked, immediately flip the pan onto a plate. Enjoy while warm!
It might sound like a hell of a process. Believe me, in the end, it’s all worth it! My husband loves this for breakfast. So, I usually makes this in 2 batches.
Tips
Make sure the milk mixture is warm before adding the yeast. If it’s too hot, bring it down to warm.
We like the tart apples so, I’ve used granny smith and left the skin unpeeled. If you want the apples to be crunchier, cut them into thick slices.
While kneading the dough, try cutting down the additional flour as much as possible.
Baking temperature varies from oven to oven, make sure you have an eye on the rolls and reduce the upper temperature to 160˚C, if you see them burning.
If you’re not a sweet tooth, ignore the caramelization. Make tiny chunks out of the apple, sprinkle them on top of the filling, roll and bake.
Loavesandfishez 