Cinnamon rolls worth the wait. A soft enriched dough, rolled around butter, brown sugar and ground cinnamon, baked at 190°C for about 25 minutes and finished with cream cheese frosting while the rolls are still warm. It took us a lot of tests to land on a crumb that is genuinely moist and fluffy, and this is the version we kept.
They are not quick. The dough rises for 1-2 hours, the shaped rolls need about 2 hours more, and the bake is another 25 minutes. Most of the time we make them the night before, leave the tray in the fridge for 8-12 hours, and bake them in the morning.
What you’ll need
Makes 8 large rolls.
Dough
- 225ml milk
- 15ml lemon juice
- 135g white sugar
- 14g active dry yeast
- 115g butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 575g all-purpose flour
Filling
- 90g butter, room temperature
- 100g brown sugar
- 15g ground cinnamon
Cream cheese frosting
- 150g full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 70g butter, room temperature
- 200g sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 15ml vanilla extract
Method
- The dough: add the lemon juice to the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In a microwave, warm the milk until warm, approx. 35°C. Pour it into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a towel and let it sit until the yeast is foamy, approx. 5 minutes.
- On low speed, beat in the butter until it is slightly broken up.
- Mix in the eggs, and then the salt.
- On low speed, gradually add the flour. Once it is all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 5 minutes longer.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for 1 minute. Form it into a ball and put it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover loosely and let it rise for 1-2 hours, until double in size.
- Grease an approx. 20x30cm baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle, approx. 35x40. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.
- The filling: spread the softened butter all over the dough.
- In a small bowl, toss the cinnamon and sugar together until combined, then sprinkle evenly over the dough.
- Tightly roll up the dough to form a log. If some filling spills out, that is fine, just sprinkle it on top of the rolls. Cut into 8 large rolls and arrange them in the prepared baking pan. Cover very tightly with plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Or put them in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
- If the rolls rose overnight in the fridge, take them out and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy, about 1-2 hours.
- After the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 190°C. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Take the pan out and let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes while you make the frosting.
- The frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until glossy.
- Spread the frosting over the warm rolls.
A couple of tips
- Wait for the foam. The milk goes in warm, around 35°C, and the yeast should be foamy after about 5 minutes. If nothing has happened by then, start that step again before you add anything else.
- Use the fridge. The second rise can run 2 hours on the counter or 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. The overnight route is how we do it, and cold rolls still need 1-2 hours in a warm spot to puff up before they bake.
- Give them 10 minutes. Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes out of the oven while you beat the frosting, then spread it while they are still warm.
We don’t bake the rolls at the cafés. What is on the counter is the Cinnamon-Roll Cookie, handmade and baked in-house every day. If you’re in Budapest or Bucharest, have one with a coffee — walk-ins only. #webelieveinhandmade
