Sometimes we just feel like a home made treat straight from the oven and with everyone on lock down it’s the perfect thing to do. Children especially love home made treats. Many times we see perfect looking cakes or pastries but the truth is that they do not need to look perfect they just need to be made with a lot of TLC and they will always come out right.
Most times I am a Carrot Cake or Muffin Mama but this time I tried making Cinnamon Rolls for the first time ever , they were so good that I have madee them twice already ! Here is the recipe for Cinnamon Rolls if you want the recipe for Nigerian Meat pie then click here . Shout out to Laura of the Joyfoodsunshine blog, I looked at a lot of recipes and though I adapted mine hers was the most helpful. Ps. I always use the American system of measuring for baking, I am a relaxed baker and it’s easier for me than using a scale. If you don’t have standard measuring cups used for baking then you can order online on Konga or Jumia.
The Dough:
4 cups of Flour
half cup of white sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup of Milk (I always mix water with powdered milk)
10g or 1 tablespoon of yeast
6 tablespoons of butter (not margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Method:
- Warm the milk and add just one table spoon of sugar …make sure the milk is warm not hot then add the yeast in and leave for 5 minutes. You will see that the yeast has proved and the milk is frothy. If the Milk is not frothy then its either the milk was hot or not warm enough.
- Add the eggs, the half cup of sugar, melted butter and vanilla into the milk mixture and mix well.
- Add the salt and cinnamon into the flour and mix, then pour in the wet ingredients (the milk mixture) and mix well
- If you have a very sticky consistency then add a little flour (less than a handful) and then start kneading
- Knead the dough for about 4 minutes and form into a fairly smooth ball
- Put dough in a greased bowl (use butter) cover with a clean napkin and put in a warm dark place for an hour.
- While the dough is rising you can begin to make the filling for the rolls
The Filling :
1 cup of Brown Sugar (preferably dark brown sugar)
6 teaspoons Butter
2 tablespoons of Cinnamon
Method:
Mix all very well! Ps. I tried it the first time with dark brown sugar and the filling had a better consistency and also came out better in the rolls. With light brown sugar it also came out well but not as nice as the dark brown.
Making the Rolls:
This is fun part!
- Get your dough out and press down gently and knead again and form in a rectangular shape for easy rolling.
- Get a rolling pin put some flour on it (if you don’t have one use a clean bottle) and roll out the dough on a floured flat surface.
- Now try and make sure the rolled out dough measures 12 inches by 24 inches. Ps. I did not have a tape close so we used a phone app and it was pretty accurate.
- Use a pastry brush or clean hands (grease with a little butter) to spread the filling on the rolled out dough, do not spread on the edges. Just pat the filling all over to ensure it’s fairly even. There are 2 ways to roll and cut listed as 5 and 6 below.
- You can roll into 1 big roll and then cut 12 pieces measuring 2 inches each OR
- Use a knife and divide the dough into 12 inch stripes all measuring about 2 inches (I found this method easier and the rolls have a slightly coned shape which I like)
- Arrange the rolls in a greased baking pan leaving a little space in between for the rolls to rise again .
- Put on the oven at 170 degrees or mid temp and then wait about 30 minutes to allow the rolls rise (outside the oven)
- Put in the oven for about 20 mins or till golden brown.
Viola! your yummy Cinnamon rolls are ready. Let me know if you tried the recipe and how the rolls turned out.
Ps. All images except where stated are from my kitchen, do not use without permission.