Cinnamon Rolls in 40 Mins - Revolutionary!
These are great for when you get that urge to bake something you can eat immediately. And I mean immediately - these are best eaten straight from the oven. What's even better is they are yeast-free, so no waiting around for proving.
They are different to the fluffy, yeasty cinnamon buns you can get. These are almost scone like - but flakey, moist and buttery.
No funny ingredients - if you're a home baker you should have most of these in your cupboard and fridge already. See notes at the end of the recipe if you're having any difficulty.
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
70g butter, very soft
230g light brown sugar
1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
Optional: 60g chopped pecans
For the rolls
560g plain flour
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sea salt
240g cold butter, cut into small cubes
290g full fat milk (cold)
2 tsp vanilla extract
For dipping
3 tbsp caster sugar combined with 1 tsp cinnamon
METHOD
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan).
- Combine all the dry ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the cubes of butter and mix (with paddle attachment) until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Do not over mix!
- With the mixer running on a low speed, slowly pour in the cold milk until the dough forms into a ball and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Stop mixing!
- Lightly flour your work surface and flip the dough out onto it. Leave it to rest for a few minutes. Fold the dough over itself twice, then let it rest again, this time for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a small bowl, mix the very soft butter (not melted as the filling will leak out in the oven), sugar and cinnamon until it becomes a smooth paste. Stir in chopped pecans if using.
- Clear your work surface, lightly flour it again and roll the dough out into a large rectangle. The dough should be about 5mm thick.
- Using a pallet knife or spatula, spread your filling mixture all over the dough to make a nice thick, even layer.
- Tightly roll the dough from the long side, rolling away from you to form a long sausage shape. Cut this into 12 even slices.
- Take one slice, and using a knife or pizza cutter, cut twice down the length of each strip to make three strands, but do not slice all the way through - keep the top part of the slice connected. Plait the three strands together, then press the ends into the bottom of the bun so it doesn’t unravel during cooking. Repeat with remaining slices.
- Lightly grease 12-hole muffin tin, then transfer the knots into it. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and risen nicely. Flip them out onto a cooling rack as soon as they come out the oven, then while still warm, dip each roll into your bowl of cinnamon sugar.
NOTES
Butter - usually unsalted is recommended, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a bit of extra salt, so use salted if that's all you have.
No cardamom? Substitute with 1 tsp nutmeg, or 1 tsp mixed spice.
No stand mixer? Roll up your sleeves and do it by hand - it's totally possible, just needs a bit of elbow grease.
Confused about the plaiting thing? You can stop after step 8. Just cut your dough sausage into the 12 slices, then put them straight into the muffin tin. They won't have the knot shape, they'll have that classic cinnamon bun swirl look. Still equally delicious.