It is getting pleasant day by day but the languish to stay in bed for late in the morning is as predominant as it used to be a couple of weeks back during cold winter days. As the days are getting warmer, it’s the right time to bake the breads, if not the ones needing long resting hours, at least the quick ones to start with. Baking cinnamon rolls had been on my todo list for a very long time. But every time I thought about them, it was cold harsh winter which was just too hostile for a bread baking plan. And I never wanted to ruin my weekend being perplexed whole day staring over the dough not rising due to sun not showing up. But this is also true that the cinnamon buns are not meant for a hot scorching summer day either. So now when it is spring for us, I thought of baking them, thinking they can’t go wrong at least this time of the year. Neither they’ll be too heavy for a Sunday breakfast. Hmm…cinnamon, without any second thought is my most favorite spice after cardamom. I just love it! And if you have been following my posts, you would know that I love adding cinnamon to my cakes quite often. This sweet spice has a wonderful warmth attached to it. I just can’t resist anything sweet which is flavored with cinnamon. And the Sri Lankan cinnamon variety is the one we get here from the down south. It is surely an amazing spice to deal with and probably the most dependable when it comes to desserts. The recipe I adapted from is Donal Skehan’s. It was one easy recipe to follow. Donal’s recipes are way more traditional and rustic, just the way I love. The Swedish Cinnamon Buns are basically the sweet bread dough rolled up with a swirl of sweet buttery cinnamon throughout. These are sprinkled with pearl sugar, which can resist the high temperature in oven without melting, which makes the buns look very beautiful and rustic at the same time. Now clearly, it was difficult for me to source the pearl sugar and I didn’t want to forgo this recipe just because I didn’t have that specific kind of sugar. So the mind started playing on thoughts and it occurred to me about crushing the white sugar cubes roughly to make my own homemade pearl sugar. Isn’t it innovative, huh? Haha, although it didn’t look as perfect, but it did the job quite nicely. And in return, I got these beautiful pearl sugar studded soft warm buttery Swedish cinnamon buns to be enjoyed with coffee on a relaxed Sunday morning. Do I need anything else in life? nah!
- 400 ml milk
- 110 gm butter
- 2 x 7 gm sachets of dried yeast
- 110 gm caster sugar
- 750 gm plain flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp of pearl sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 110 gm soft butter
- 90 gm sugar
- 2 tbsp of cinnamon
- Melt the butter in a large pot gently on a low heat and then add the milk. When the mixture is lukewarm, remove from the heat and whisk in the dried yeast.
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well and pour the wet ingredients in. Mix and knead the dough using your hands for about 6 minutes until dough is soft and supple.
- Transfer the dough to a floured bowl, covered by cling film and let it rise for 45 minutes in a warm dark place.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C.
- To prepare the filling, in a bowl, beat the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until you have a smooth paste.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down in the bowl and cut it in half. Roll one of the halves into a rectangle about 3mm thick, and then spread the filling all over.
- Then, from the long side, roll the dough in a spiral and slice into approx 12 pieces. Place the slices in a non stick pie tray or a muffin pan face up and coat with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the buns with pearl sugar.
- Reduce the heat to 190˚C and then bake the rolls in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.