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 filling should be generous — brown sugar and cinnamon mixed to a paste with soft butter. The cream cheese icing, applied while the rolls are still warm, melts into the swirls. Making them overnight means fresh rolls with minimal morning effort.

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.

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