This Muslim Girl Bakes: Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

These rolls are one of my absolute favourite things to bake and eat!

I admit that until a few years ago, I had never heard of cinnamon rolls.
But then, I tried this recipe and was hooked. Those early cinnamon rolls with a maple glaze are one of my all-time favourites but today I wanted to share a version with cream cheese frosting.

With cinnamon rolls, I love the process of baking them as much as the eating part. They are a labour of love and I think that is what makes them so worthwhile to eat.

We'll start by making a simple yeast dough that has been enriched with an egg, some milk and melted butter. The dough rises before being rolled and filled with cinnamon, sugar and more butter. Yep, butter is the key to this recipe!

The rolls have a second rise before baking. Then, the best bit. We make a tangy cream cheese frosting and spread it all over the rolls, making sure to get into all those nooks and crannies. The fluffy roll, the sugary cinnamon filling and the creamy frosting all make for one of the best combinations. The perfect bake for the holidays.

Cinnamon Rolls, previously: cinnamon rolls // nutella cinnamon rolls // cinnamon apple rolls

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Dough:

1. Warm Water
2. Caster Sugar
3. Dried Yeast
4. An Egg
5. Milk
6. Salt
7. Vanilla Essence
8. Butter
9. Plain Flour

For the Cinnamon Filling:

1. Soft Light Brown Sugar
2. Caster Sugar
3. Ground Cinnamon
4. Butter

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Cream Cheese

2. Butter

3. Icing Sugar

4. Vanilla Essence

5. Milk

Bismillah, let's begin!

We begin with the dough. Measure out 60ml Water.

Heat the water in the microwave until it is warm. It should be warm enough that you can stick your finger in without it hurting too much.

Add in 1 teaspoon Caster Sugar.

Then, take 1 packet (7g) Dried Yeast.

And, add to the warm water.

Stir and cover with clingfilm. Let it prove like this for around 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, place 1 large Egg.

Pour in 170ml Milk.

Throw in 1/2 teaspoon Salt.

And, 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.

Then, take 55g Butter and melt it in the microwave. Pour it into the bowl.

Finally, throw in 60g Caster Sugar.

Once all these ingredients are in ...

... the yeast mixture should be foamy.

Pour in all the yeast mixture.

Including all the foamy bits!

You can do this by hand or with a dough hook and stand mixer like me.

Whisk or mix all the ingredients to combine.

Then, take 540g Plain Flour. You may not need all it.

Because we're going to gradually add in the flour, around 1 cup at a time.

Keep adding and mixing in enough flour until you have a clean bowl and a dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth.

Now, to let the dough rise, place it into a large, lightly oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in a warm place to rise until just doubled in size. This may take between 1-2 hours.

Whilst the dough rises, we can make the cinnamon filling. Take 160g Soft Light Brown Sugar.

Add in 60g Caster Sugar.

And, 2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon.

Stir everything together and set aside until needed.

Once the dough has just about doubled in size, we can assemble the rolls.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute.

Then, roll out into a rough rectangle measuring around 9x15 inches / 22x38cm.

For the filling, take 75g Butter, softened.

And, spread it evenly all over the dough.

Like this!

Next, the cinnamon sugar that we prepared earlier.

Sprinkle it evenly all over the dough, breaking up any big brown sugar lumps as you go. You could also stir the soft butter and cinnamon sugar together and spread the whole thing on as one paste.

Then, roll the dough into tight log.

Once you get to the end, pinch the edges together to seal.

It's time to slice!

We're going to put our rolls into a buttered 9x13 inch / 22x33cm oven dish or tin.

Gently score the log with a knife so you know where to cut. We divided our log into 13 rolls.

Before using a sharp knife to slice them up!

Once all the rolls have been sliced, it's time to pop them into their tin.

Sprinkle any escaped cinnamon sugar onto the rolls.

Once the rolls are in, it's time for them to rise.

Loosely cover the tin with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until the rolls have just doubled in size. This may take between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When the rolls are ready, pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Gently brush them with Melted Butter.

Then, bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Whilst the rolls bake, we can whip up our cream cheese frosting. Place 120g Cream Cheese into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until creamy.

Add 15g Butter, at room temperature. Beat it in too. I like my cream cheese frosting to be on the tangier side so add more cream cheese than most. You may add more butter if you want it less tangy.

Next, sift in 100g Icing Sugar - more, if you want a sweeter frosting.

Beat in the icing sugar.

Before stirring in 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.

If you want a glaze rather than a frosting, add a little Milk.

By now, the cinnamon rolls should be baked!

Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes before frosting.

Spread the frosting over the rolls.

Until they are all drowned in the delicious frosting!

Cinnamon rolls are one of my absolute favourite things to bake and eat. I love this recipe because of how simple it is. The rolls are super fluffy, filled with plenty of cinnamon and go really well with the cream cheese frosting. This recipe does make 13 rolls and I have included a few ways to freeze them in the written recipe below.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Prep Time: About 3 hours.

Bake Time: About 25 minutes.

Serves: Makes 13 cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients

For the Dough

60ml Warm Water

1 teaspoon Caster Sugar

1 packet (7g) Dried Yeast

1 large Egg

170ml Milk

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

55g Butter, melted

60g Caster Sugar

540g Plain Flour, as needed

For the Cinnamon Filling

160g Soft Light Brown Sugar

60g Caster Sugar

2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

75g Butter, softened

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

120g Cream Cheese

15g Butter, at room temperature

100g Icing Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Milk, if needed

Make the dough:
In a jug, stir together the warm water, 1 teaspoon caster sugar and dried yeast. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, place the egg, milk, salt, vanilla, melted butter and 60g caster sugar. Once the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the bowl.

Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook and mix all the ingredients together until combined. Gradually add the flour until you have a dough. You may not need all the flour so be sure to add it in gradually and not all at once. Knead the dough for 5 minutes or until smooth.

Let the dough rise:
Lightly oil a large bowl and pop in the dough. Cover with clingfilm and place in a warm place to rise until just doubled in size. This may take between 1-2 hours.

Make the cinnamon filling:
Stir together the brown sugar, caster sugar and ground cinnamon.

Assemble the rolls:
Once the dough has risen, place it onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Roll into an rough rectangle measuring around 9 x 15 inches / 22cm x 38cm. Spread the rectangle with the softened butter and sprinkle on the cinnamon filling. Roll into a tight log and slice into 13 rolls.

Let the rolls rise:
Place the rolls into a buttered 9 x 13 inch / 22cm x 33cm oven dish or tin. Cover loosely with clingfilm. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until just doubled in size. This may take between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Bake the rolls:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Remove the clingfilm and gently brush the rolls with melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Let them cool for 10 minutes.

Make the frosting:
Beat the cream cheese with an electric whisk for a minute. Add the butter and beat in. Sift in the icing sugar and beat it. Stir in the vanilla. We prefer a thicker frosting but if you like a glaze, add milk until you have the consistency you want.

Frost the rolls:
Spread the frosting equally over the rolls.

Enjoy:
These rolls are so good fresh however I have had my fair share of freezing them over the years.

Recipe Notes:

You can freeze them unbaked then bake when needed and top with frosting.
You can freeze them baked but without the frosting. Top with frosting once defrosted.
I have also recently tried freezing them baked with frosting. They were absolutely fine.

{adapted from laura}

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