Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Fluffy, gooey cinnamon rolls made from a homemade yeast dough – baked to perfection and slathered in a gorgeous cream cheese glaze.

You need these Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese glaze for your next weekend or holiday breakfast. I’ve made countless batches and now I’m finally ready to share this perfect recipe with you! These cinnamon rolls are so easy to make – perfect for even beginners to baking with yeast.

These rolls are so insanely moreish and addictive that you may find yourself eating one for breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. It all makes sense once you taste them, believe me!

I’ve been making this recipe for cinnamon rolls from How to Be a Domestic Goddess for fifteen years. So many times, in fact, that my copy flops open to that page, which just so happens to be covered with cinnamon and butter… There are many, many great recipes in that book, but I think these cinnamon rolls are the best. I realise it’s controversial to suggest that I’ve improved upon Nigella’s recipe… I’ve simplified it by removing the step of the bottom layer of dough, and made it even more decadent by doubling the amount of cinnamon sugar butter inside these rolls.

The dough makes the softest, fluffiest cinnamon rolls which become golden and delicious after their turn in the oven. The cinnamon sugar butter that they’re stuffed with makes them completely irresistable – and some leaks out while they’re baking too, making a delicious caramel like sauce for the bottom of these buns!

I’m betting that you could make these buns right now with ingredients already in your cupboard. Flour, dried yeast, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, cinnamon, cream cheese and icing sugar! Although the process of making a yeasted sweet bread may seem daunting, these rolls couldn’t be easier. The flour, sugar, cinnamon and yeast are combined with a pinch of salt, and then incorporated with the wet ingredients of milk, beaten eggs and melted butter. We’ll knead this bread for 4-5 minutes, or until it’s soft and springy to touch. I used the dough hook on my stand mixer to get the process started, but there really is no substitute to kneading by hand – and – this is important – until the consistency of the dough changes and is springy.

These yummy cinnamon rolls need two rises – but don’t let that put you off! They’re still super easy to make ready for breakfast – simply make the dough the night before you want to bake them, and leave to rise overnight. In the morning, you only need to roll out the dough and stuff it with cinnamon sugar butter before leaving it to rise for 30 minutes. Totally worth it. Plus, you’ll have done the bulk of the work the night before, meaning these are perfect for holiday breakfasts!

There is nothing – and I mean really nothing – more comforting than the smell of these gorgeous Cinnamon Rolls baking. If you’ve got guests this Christmas and you want them to stay forever, make these Cinnamon Rolls for them for brunch! Trust me, they’ll never leave!

These rolls aren’t just for cinnamon-lovers, you can customise them to whatever flavours you like best! Lemon and blueberry rolls, chocolate and salted caramel rolls – whatever rocks your boat!

Giving cinnamon rolls as gifts is really easy too – and it makes sense, since you had might as well make a big batch if you’re going to the (little bit) of trouble of making these. Simply pop 3-4 of the buns into a disposable tin foil flan or cake tin (widely available from supermarkets and places like Home and Bargains, Wilko’s etc) and bake, then wrap in clingfilm to give it as a gift!

You can also use the same method to freeze these rolls – simply bake and cover with the glaze, then wrap tightly in tin foil and pop into the freezer for up to three months.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

 

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Serves: 20

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 
  
• 650g plain flour
• 3 sachets quick rise dried yeast
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 100g caster or golden caster sugar
• large pinch salt
• 100g soft unsalted butter
• 400ml milk
• 2 large eggs

For the filling

• 300g butter
• 300g caster or golden caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 beaten egg, to glaze
• 
  
• For the cream cheese glaze
• 
  
• 120g soft cream cheese
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 250g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp milk

Instructions

For the dough

1. In a very large bowl, sift or whisk together your flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cinnamon. Gently melt your butter in another bowl or jug, and then, once it's cooled to room temperature, whisk in the milk and the two eggs to the butter. Slowly combine and the milk and flour mixture - it will be very sticky but add a little more flour if you need to. Either by hand, or with the dough hook of a stand mixer, mix the dough until it's a soft, springy ball (this will take 5-10 minutes). DO NOT stop kneading the dough until it is soft and springy, or it won't rise properly. Pop the ball of dough into a very large greased bowl and cover it with cling film (there needs to be room for the dough to double in size). Leave the dough in a warm or not draughty place to rise overnight.
2. The next morning, pre-heat your oven to 160C/gas mark 5/350F and prepare a large baking sheet by greasing it with some soft butter.
3. For the filling: Combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon to make the filling - the butter needs to be very, very soft so heat it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds first.
4. Next, liberally flour your work surface and give your risen dough a brief knead before cutting it in two and popping the spare half back into the bowl. Flatten half your dough on the work surface, and then begin to roll it on with a floured rolling pin. Keep the dough moving, turning it over from time to time, until it's about 1cm thick. Spread the filling all over the dough using a spatula, and then carefully roll it up into what can only be described as a giant sausage. Next, use a sharp knife to cut the sausage in 2 inch sections, and position them in a grid about an inch apart on the baking tray, until they're all used up. Let the buns rise near the hot oven or in another warm place (it does need to be in a warm place, so if it's a very cold day, position near a radiator or fire) for about 30 minutes or until they're all puffed up and touching each other. Brush the buns with egg wash, and sprinkle with more cinnamon and a bit of caster sugar, and pop them into the oven for 25-35 minutes or until they're browned but puffy and fluffy. Remove from the oven and let them cool almost completely before applying the glaze.

For the glaze

1. While the rolls are baking, make the cream cheese glaze. Combine the cream cheese with the lemon juice and vanilla bean paste, then slowly begin to sift in the icing sugar until you have a thick consistency. Add a little milk until you have a consistency not unlike yoghurt and it tastes delicious. Slather it all over the still slightly warm rolls.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 8750 Fat: 397g Saturated fat: 240g Unsaturated fat: 124g Trans fat: 14g Carbohydrates: 1202g Sugar: 674g Sodium: 1040mg Fiber: 36g Protein: 121g Cholesterol: 1587mg

#version#

x Kerry

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