This Grand Cinnamon Roll came from wanting to make something with yeast that wasn’t bread. But Cinnamon Rolls have always been in the “just buy it” category for me. There’s no need to exude one’s own energy on making them. At the same time plain old cinnamon rolls sounded so basic. I needed inspiration. I rifled through my recipe binder and scoured the internet. I found a Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake on Sally’s Baking Addiction. I tweaked the method for preparing the filling – compound butter is your friend, my friend. And why choose between icing and frosting? I prepared half the vanilla icing in the original. Then I coupled it with a butter-free cream cheese topping I’ve been making for years.
Grand Cinnamon Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting
INGREDIENTS
Dough
- 345 g (2¾ c) All-Purpose Flour
- 50 g (¼ c) Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 ¼ tsp Instant or Active Dry Yeast (1 standard packet)
- 180 mL (¾ c) Milk
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (½ stick)
- 1 large Egg - room temperature
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (½ stick) - room temperature/softened
- 50 g (¼ c) Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 60 g (½ c) Powdered Sugar
- 30 mL (2 tbsp) Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 tbsp Cream Cheese (½ stick)
- 60 g (½ c) Powdered Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla
METHOD
Making the Dough
- Whisk together the Flour, Sugar, Salt, and Yeast. Microwave milk and butter together until butter is melted. The mixture should be 100° - 110°F, or warm to the touch. Pour milk-butter mixture into the dry ingredients, and add Egg. Combine until the dough is soft and pulling away from sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixture start with the paddle attachment and finish with the dough hook. If, as you are kneading, the dough is more sticky than soft add more flour 1 tbsp at a time. Poke the dough, if it bounces back slowly it's ready.Ball up the dough, place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Rest the dough for 30 minutes at room temperature to allow for the first rise.
Cinnamon Sugar Compound Butter
- Combine the Butter, Sugar, and Cinnamon to a paste-like consistency. Set aside
Vanilla Icing
- Combine Sugar, Milk, and Vanilla until a smooth, slightly viscous mixture is achieved. Set aside.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine Cream Cheese, Sugar, and Vanilla until you reach a light, smooth consistency. Set Aside.
Assembly & Baking
- Lightly grease a 9" round pie dishRoll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 12" by 15" rectangleSpread the Compound Butter evenly over doughCut 6 even strips, each 2" wideRoll up one strip and place in the center of the pie dishWrap the remaining strips around the center roll in staggered concentric circlesLoosely cover with plastic wrap and rise in a warmish place. An oven with the light on will do the trick. The roll should double in size in about an hour.If you brought it to rise in the oven, remove it before setting the temperature to 350°FOnce the oven is heated, bake until golden brown - about 30 minutesRemove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutesPour Vanilla icing on top in a circular pattern and allow it to settle and seep inDollop on the Cream Cheese Frosting and smooth out to cover Grand Cinnamon Roll
NOTES
I've listed the ingredients in this recipe primarily by weight because that's how I make it. I love my kitchen scale, its easily in my top 5 must-have list for tools/utensils. Still, I don't exclusively bake by weight measure, and I suspect neither do you. Hence, I've included the more traditional American method of measurement in parenthesis.
I know some people are daunted by the idea of making any kind of dough. If this is the case for you, I do recommend combining and kneading the dough with a mixer as I noted above. However, I know not everyone has a stand mixer. Also, truth be told I prefer to mix any dough that doesn't contain yeast by hand. Either way, you should be able to bring this dough to together with a spatula, a large mixing bowl, a counter or tabletop, and your hands. It will take a little longer to get done, but it can be done.
