Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

About This Recipe

Great cinnamon rolls need a soft, enriched dough (milk, butter, eggs) that springs back when you poke it — the enrichment is what keeps the crumb tender rather than bready once baked. The filling should be generous — brown sugar and cinnamon mixed to a paste with soft, spreadable butter rather than melted butter brushed on, since a paste clings to the dough during rolling instead of pooling and leaking out. How tightly the dough is rolled matters more than most home bakers expect: too loose and the rolls unravel or bake with gaps; rolled snugly, each slice keeps its tight spiral and bakes evenly through the centre. The cream cheese icing, applied while the rolls are still warm, melts into the swirls rather than sitting as a solid layer on top, so every bite gets a thin ribbon of tangy sweetness worked into the dough itself rather than icing that's separate from the roll. Making them overnight — proofing the shaped rolls slowly in the fridge — means fresh, oven-warm rolls with minimal morning effort, and a slow cold proof also lets the dough develop a slightly deeper flavour than a same-day rise.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 500 gbread flour
• 7 ginstant yeast(1 sachet)
• 50 gcaster sugar
• 1 tspfine salt
• 240 mlwarm whole milk(40°C / 105°F)
• 2large eggs
• 80 gunsalted butter(softened, for dough)
• 160 gsoft unsalted butter(for filling)
• 200 glight brown sugar(for filling)
• 3 tbspground cinnamon(for filling)
• 200 gcream cheese(softened, for icing)
• 60 gunsalted butter(softened, for icing)
• 250 gicing sugar(for icing)
• 2 tspvanilla extract(for icing)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add warm milk and eggs, mix to a rough dough. Knead 5 minutes, then add softened butter in pieces, kneading until smooth and elastic — about 10 minutes. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

   A stand mixer with a dough hook makes this effortless — knead on medium for 8 minutes.

2. 2

   First rise

   Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and rise until doubled — 1–1.5 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.

3. 3

   Fill and roll

   Roll dough on a floured surface to a 40×50cm rectangle. Spread softened butter all over. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over butter. Roll tightly from the long edge into a log.

4. 4

   Cut and prove

   Cut the log into 12 equal rolls using dental floss or a sharp knife. Arrange cut-side up in a greased 23×33cm / 9×13-inch tin. Cover and rise 45 minutes until puffy.

5. 5

   Bake and ice

   Bake at 190°C / 375°F for 25–28 minutes until golden. Cool 5 minutes, then spread cream cheese icing generously over warm rolls. Beat cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth for icing.

Watch: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Variations

• •

  Orange rolls: replace cinnamon with orange zest in the filling and add orange juice to the icing.

• •

  Overnight method: after cutting and placing in the tin, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature 1 hour before baking.

Storage

Keep covered at room temperature for 2 days. Microwave for 20 seconds to refresh. Freeze baked uniced rolls for up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions