I think I have truly found the ultimate cinnamon roll recipe for you guys. These rolls are perfect! When I made them for my boyfriend, we had another 5 (in addition to these) in a separate dish and I thought cool so we’ll have 1 each for breakfast and I’ll take the rest to work. Guys, we ate the whole other dish of these! I think I only had 2, but still… 😉 I loooove the chocolate in the dough, I think it is quite different to using cocoa or chocolate in the filling because it’s not a chocolate overload, it’s more like a subtle flavour which allows the cinnamon to really be the star which is awesome!
I really do have to apologise though, and I’m hoping that these cinnamon rolls make up for it? I know it’s been a looooong absence and there’s not really any other excuse other than life getting in the way and me being bad at prioritisation… But you guys and this blog is a priority for me and I think I just need to remember that! I have still definitely been baking and trialling quite a few different recipes lately, so there are lots of yummy things coming up soon on the blog! If you follow me on Snapchat, then you’ll get a preview of stuff that I’ve been making that will be coming up like a recipe for a Blueberry Chocolate Pie, yuuuum! If you want to follow me, my Snapcode is in the sidebar —-> or my username is chloekincaid.
There has been some interesting turns of events in my life (sort of!) in the time I’ve been away though – the main thing being that at the start of September, my sister and I were at a trampoline park (yes it’s ok for adults to go to one… No judgements please! ;)) and she landed wrong on a trampoline and has a suspected torn PCL ligament! Basically one of the big ligaments that keeps your knee together and she’s been on crutches for a month already and gets to see a surgeon this week about the possibility of surgery so it’s been very much all hands on deck this last month helping her out!
Of course, the PCL is apparently not a very common injury because it’s at the back of your knee, but Alex already injured the ACL (the other major ligament) in her opposite knee when we were 15 so you know, couldn’t do that again?? I’ve never been much into science or anything but I think we’ve all learnt a lot about knees in the last month… She is doing pretty well though so onwards and upwards from here right?
Luckily here in New Zealand we’re going into summer so it hasn’t been too cold which is lucky for Alex, but for basically the rest of the world (i.e. Northern Hemisphere people!) it’s cooling down and going into Fall, so I think these cinnamon rolls are pretty much perfect for that. They are warm and comforting and squishy – all ideal things for colder weather! I think these really are the ultimate cinnamon rolls because of the dough. I find it really makes a cinnamon roll, and the dough for these is soft and squishy more like brioche dough but browns to a nice crunchy top in the oven. It’s also stuffed with chocolate which is pretty much ideal right? I like making these the night before, leaving them to rise in the fridge overnight then baking them in the morning for breakfast. Heaven!
Happy baking. 🙂
- [b]Dough[/b]
- 3 eggs
- 100g butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 5 cups flour
- 2 Tbspn brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tspn (7g) yeast
- 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- [b]Filling[/b]
- 3 Tbspn butter, softened
- 4 Tbspn cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- [b]Cream Cheese Frosting[/b]
- 115g (4 oz) cream cheese
- 65g (1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 1/2 tspn milk
- 1/2 tspn vanilla essence
- Combine the yeast, buttermilk and sugar in a measuring jug or small bowl and leave to proof (bubble up) for around 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt and make a well in the centre. Crack the egg into the centre and add the buttermilk/yeast/sugar mixture once proofed. Soften the butter and add this to the mixture as well. Add the finely chopped chocolate to the dough at this stage.
- Mix all together with either a wooden spoon or your hands (I always go with hands!) until the mixture comes together into a dough.
- On a floured surface, knead the dough until it becomes elasticated and smooth, around 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Grease a rectangular 40cm x 30cm (12in x 16in) baking dish very well, preferably with butter.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 45cm x 22cm rectangle. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl. Then spread the softened butter on top, leaving a 1cm gap around the edges.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the margarine, making sure it is evenly spread.
- Roll up into a big log lengthways, starting at the side furthest from you. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal together. Slice into 5cm rolls and place them in the baking dish, leaving at least a 1cm gap on all sides.
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size.**
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a medium sized bowl and using an electric hand beater), place all of the frosting ingredients.
- Beat the frosting ingredients all together until smooth and shiny.
- Once the rolls are golden brown, remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 minutes then immediately spread with the cream cheese frosting. Make sure each roll gets a big helping of creamy goodness!
- The rolls will keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container, just pop in the microwave for around 30 seconds before eating. Best eaten on they day that they are made though of course!
How much flour? it’s also missing in the article on Stuff where I first saw these.
I’m really sorry Nikki, I didn’t notice at first that it was missing! I’ve updated it now, so it’s 5 cups of flour. 🙂
Thanks 🙂