I was at a huge popular furniture store just the other day. It also has a cafeteria serving drinks, desserts, fish, beef and salad. I had a cinnamon roll and was kinda disappointed the way it was baked. Since that visit, I had been going through some recipes for a good cinnamon roll. It seems an easy dessert to prepare but it wasn’t for I have failed the first time. I chanced upon a blogger’s recipe(Kenneth Goh) and was convinced by his cinnamon roll method. I was amazed and delighted for it turns out super delicious and easy to prepare. However, I tweaked a little in the process of baking and it was fun. Oops! I was running late so the mess on the icing.

I use muffin cups instead of a cake tin to fill the rolls. You can see the rolls and fillings well risen together when baked in muffin cups.  It s still amazing and the results rewarding.

Ingredients  

• 240ml milk
• 3.5 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup grandulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 1 egg

Fillings

• 1/3 cup castor sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
• 50g butter, soften

Glazing

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 20g butter, melted
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Put the milk and butter separately in a microwave dish and microwave for 45 secs. The butter should be melting and the milk lukewarm and not hot. Set aside to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, put all the ingredients. Make a well in the centre and pour in the lukewarm milk. Using a spatula, combine the ingredients together to form a rough paste.
3. Using a dough hook, knead the mixture(paste) using a medium speed for about 5-10 minutes until it is smooth texture. You can knead manually and using a bread machine.
4. While the dough is kneading, prepare the filling. Mix the brown sugar, castor sugar, cinnamon and butter until it resembles a paste. Set aside for later use.
5. When the dough is ready, transfer out from the mixing bowl, knead in the lightly floured surface for 1-2 minutes. Shape into a ball, leave it in a bowl covered with cling wrap and proof for 10-15 minutes in a warmth place. The dough will rise at this time as the yeast is active. Preferably proof for further 20 minutes.
6. After the first proofing, remove the dough and with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 38cm by 30cm shape.
7. Brush some milk or cream at the edge of one side(longest). Spread the cinnamon mixture on the dough as evenly as possible. Roll up the dough and end with the side brushed with milk or cream. Even up the shaped dough.
8. Use a sharp knife to cut it into 8 equal pieces. Place the cuts side up(swirl) in the muffin cups individually. Or put the cuts side up in a prepared lightly greased tin.  Leave them to proof in a warmth place for 30 minutes until it double in size.
9. Preheat oven to 180’C. Brush the top of the rolls with cream or milk and bake in the oven 20-25 minutes. If it browns too quickly, cover the top with some aluminium foil.
10. While baking, add the melted butter and milk to the icing sugar and mix well, adding more milk if it s too thick. It should be soft and not too runny.
11. The cinnamon rolls are ready once the skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Drizzle the icing sugar over the rolls when cooled. Voila! Happy Days