Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls...my mouth waters at the thought of them! Especially when they are fresh from the oven! You just can't beat them!!! Over the years the Cochrane family has tried many different cinnamon roll recipes...some were a bit too dry...others were just okay. However this recipe is by far the best. I came upon this recipe by Cupcake Jemma one day when I was supposed to be studying. I decided I would make them because I was really craving some. I was not disappointed!

Ingredients:

- Dough:

• 345g plain flour

• 60g caster sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 7g instant yeast

• 120ml water

• 60ml milk

• 45g butter

• 1 egg

-Filling:

• 70g soft butter

• 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

• 60g dark soft brown sugar

- Glaze:

• 120g icing sugar

• 2 tbsp milk

• pinch salt

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Next place the water, milk and butter in a bowl and place in the microwave just until the butter has melted. The mixture should only be hand warm, not boiling as this will denature the yeast.

2. Place the liquid mixture in a stand mixer along with the dry ingredients and mix with the dough hook attachment.

3. Once the mixture has started to come together add in the egg and beat for about 5 minutes or until all the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Now you knead! The mixture is quite soft so you will knead (haha see what I did there?) a bit of flour to stop it from sticking to your work surface! Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. If you do not know how to knead there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube or I did put up a timelapse of me making these on my Instagram. Please follow me @alanabakes if you haven't already!

5. Set the dough in a bowl and leave aside for 15 minutes to make the filling. To make the filling combine all the ingredients and mix together until smooth and lump free!

6. To start forming the cinnamon rolls the dough must be rolled out into a large rectangle about 17"x12" this is just a guideline I didn't measure mine! (Tip: Make sure to use a lot of flour as you don't want your cinnamon rolls sticking to your work surface!)

7. Once the dough has been rolled out it is time to spread on the filling. Do this gently as the dough will tear quite easily. I used an offset palate knife to spread mine but the back of a spoon or a spatula will also do the job!

8. After the filling has been spread it is time to rolling part of the cinnamon rolls! Do this by bringing up the wider side of the rectangle and slowly rolling it over itself to meet the other side. It's a bit like making Swiss roll! Once the cinnamon rolls have been rolled cut them into about 8-10 rolls. Set into a 10" pan. Make sure to leave space because they will double in size while proving! Also please line your tin - I didn't last time and they wouldn't come out of their tin it was a bit of a mess but they still tasted good!!!

9. The cinnamon rolls now need time to prove. They will rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. They should double in size. Once proven place into a 170c oven and bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown!

10. To make the glaze simply combine the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth! Then spread over the cinnamon rolls while they are still hot!

These cinnamon rolls freeze really well too! When I made them the first time I told my flatmates I was freezing them because I didn't want to share!