Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe is a mix of three different recipes that I've tried. Thank you SmittenKitchen and King Arthur Flour for the inspiration. This recipe requires you to make the dough the day before and sit in the refrigerator overnight.
CINNAMON ROLLS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Makes 12 servings
DOUGH:
4 large Egg Yolks
1 large Whole Egg
1/4 cup (50 grams) Granulated Sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) Butter+
3/4 cup (175 ml) Buttermilk
3 3/4 cups (470 grams) All-Purpose Flour++
1 packet (7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons) Instant Dry Yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil for bowl
+ Extra Butter to grease baking dish
+ Extra Flour to coat counter
FILLING: 3/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed 2 1/2 tablespoons Cinnamon 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 56 grams) Unsalted Butter, room temperature 1/4 teaspoon Salt
FROSTING: 4 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 56 grams) Unsalted Butter, room temperature 1 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
NOTE: This is more time consuming than you may think. Remember it could take 2-4 hours of proofing depending on the temperature of your house, so start it earlier than you initially planned.
DOUGH:
In 1st bowl, sift 2 cups of flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt - set aside.
In 2nd bowl, sift 1 3/4 cups flour - set aside.
In the stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, cream the 4 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar, 6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter.
Beat in slowly 3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk.
Slowly add in bowl #1 (2 cups of flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt) and the 1 packet (7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons) Instant Dry Yeast. Mix until incorporated.
Switch out the paddle attachment for the Bread/Kneading attachment.
Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour from bowl #2 and let the mixer knead on low speed for ~5 minutes. The dough should be moist, but not overly sticky.
Lightly oil a large glass bowl (3x the size of the dough ball), and scrape the dough from the mixer into it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (do not plastic wrap the dough itself), and set aside in a warm (not hot) place until the dough doubles in size. This can take anywhere from 2 hours to 5 hours depending on how warm/cold you keep your house.
FILLING:
In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Use your fingers to incorporate 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 56 grams) unsalted butter into the sugar mixture. The end result should be crumbly looking.
ASSEMBLE ROLLS:
Use butter to grease a 9"x13" (23cm x 33cm) baking dish - set aside.
Once the dough is done rising, flour your work surface and transfer the dough there.
Press out the dough into the rough shape of a rectangle, and then roll it out to be about a 18"x12" (45cm x30cm) rectangle. Make sure that the dough is oriented "landscape" (not "portrait").
Sprinkle the butter/sugar mixture onto the dough rectangle and use your fingers to make sure that is it evenly spread all the way to the sides.
Roll the dough tight by starting from the top and rolling towards you. Pat out the sides to make the dough an even looking tube.
Cut the roll into 12 equal pieces and place them into the buttered baking dish.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
BAKING:
Pull the rolls out of the refrigerator a minimum of 30 minutes prior to baking. Remove the plastic wrap.
(Remember to pull out the ingredients for the frosting too - see below)
Preheat oven to 350F (175 C conventional / 160 C fan).
Bake for about 40 minutes or until they are puffy and golden.
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack over the lined cookie sheet.
Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately use the cookie sheet/tray to flip them out of the baking dish. Be careful not to burn yourself.
FROSTING:
A few minutes before you pull the rolls out of the oven, make the frosting.
In a bowl, sift the 1 cup powdered sugar. Do not skip this step. If you do not sift, the frosting will be lumpy.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the 4 ounces Cream Cheese, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 56 grams) Unsalted Butter, and 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla.
On low speed, slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar and mix until fully combined. You will need to stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Serve rolls while still warm. You can either spread the frosting on all of them at once, or you can add it individually. I prefer to add the frosting individually as needed, because these store in the refrigerator for about 5 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
