Right, I am 21 days late posting the recipe for these frosted cinnamon rolls. October 4th was Kanelbullens Dag in Sweden – Cinnamon Roll Day to you and me. A whole day celebrating cinnamon buns – fantastic 
. I think I need to move to Sweden!
The first recipes for cinnamon rolls seem to have appeared in Germany in the 1500s. Schnecken, as they are called in Germany (which translates to ‘snails’, presumably because of their shape), are yeast dough buns coiled with cinnamon, which often have the addition of nuts and raisins.
There was mass emigration out of Germany to America in the 17th & 18th centuries, and the recipe for schneckes went too. From Pennsylvania, where many of the German immigrants settled, the recipe for cinnamon buns spread, with different states adopting different variations, some with glazes and some without.
In the UK, we have Chelsea buns, similar to cinnamon rolls but filled with a combination of cinnamon, raisins and mixed peel. They are good, but are never my first choice when visiting a British bakery. Not sticky enough for me!
So my first experience of a sticky, glazed, cinnamon roll was on a visit to a Cinnabon bakery in London a couple of years back. I had read all the hype when Cinnabon eventually moved to the UK and I was prepared to be disappointed but instead I was really impressed. I loved the sticky, sweet cinnamon swirled center and as for the creamy frosting…well 
Unfortunately, I live 180 miles (and a plane ride) away from the nearest Cinnabon store – just a little bit too far to travel for a cinnamon roll – so I had to come up with my own recipe! After a lot of trial and error (and some disasters) I have come up with this recipe and I believe it’s good – I hope you do too!
Frosted Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 4h
- Cook Time: 18m
- Total Time: 4h 18m
- Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls
- Category: Bars & Traybakes, Biscuits & Cookies, Breads, Cakes
Ingredients
For the dough
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg (whisked)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup tepid water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons fast acting yeast
For the filling
- 1/2 cup of softened butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
For the frosting
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Pour the water, yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with a spoon to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to froth.
- Add the remaining sugar, and the salt to the yeast mixture, then add the melted butter, milk and whisked egg, and mix with a spoon to combine.
- Add 2 cups of flour into the mixture, and using the dough hook attachment of your mixer, mix on a low speed for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the flour bit by bit until the dough pulls away cleanly from the bottom of the bowl. You may not need to use all the flour, you just need the dough to be sticky, but not so sticky that it leaves traces of dough at the bottom of the bowl. At this point, turn the mixer on to a medium speed, and knead the dough for 5 minutes.
- Empty the dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover with cling film and a tea towel, and leave to rise until it doubles in size. This will take 1-2 hours.
- Place the cinnamon, corn starch and sugar into a bowl, and mix thoroughly to combine.
- Once the dough has risen to twice its original size, punch the air out of it and remove it from the bowl. Place it onto a floured work surface and roll it out into a rectangle approx 16 x 24 inches.
- Spread the softened butter over the rectangle of dough, spreading it right up to the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the butter, and press into the butter using the rolling pin. Carefully roll up the dough so that you have a log 24 inches long.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12 so that each roll is 2 inches wide.
- Place the rolls into a lightly greased 10x13 inches pan, and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise for 1 hour. The rolls should be touching each other, having doubled in size.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until the tops turn golden brown.
- Whilst the rolls are baking, place the cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla paste and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix on a medium speed for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar, and mix slowly until it is combined. Then turn the mixer up to a high setting for 4 to 5 minutes, until the frosting is light in color.
- Remove the rolls from the oven, and immediately spread the icing on top while they are still warm. A lot of the frosting will melt and soak into the rolls, but some will remain on the top of the rolls, giving them a white, sticky, glaze.
- These rolls are best served warm!
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