Ultimate Cinnamon Buns
Although I eat well the majority of the time, I also have a major appetite for sweet treats. Often I’ll go for something more virtuous like these date-caramel truffles, but sometimes you just gotta go all in, you feel me?
Cinnamon buns have long been one of my all-time favourite baked goods. It might be because I am obsessed with cinnamon (I use it every day), or that the combination of buttery brioche, gooey cinnamon-sugar filling, and tangy cream cheese icing is just too darn good to pass up.
After trying many different recipes I have developed my own version. It’s simple enough for a novice baker, but also always feels like a great accomplishment when you pull the puffy, golden buns out of the oven.
I have a few tips for ultimate cinnamon bun success:
Prepare the dough the night before you plan to eat them and let them rise slowly in the fridge. Take the buns out about an hour before baking to allow to come to room temperature, then bake. This means you can fill your house with the smell of cinnamon buns in the morning without having to get up at 5 am to make it happen. Sleeping in + cinnamon buns- it’s a win-win!
If your home is drafty try this trick. Heat your oven to 200 degrees. Once the oven reaches 200 degrees turn it off. Allow the dough to rise in heated oven for the designated time in the recipe. This creates a warm, humid environment that is ideal for encouraging the dough to rise.
Roll it tight! You don’t want your delicious filling to spill out of your buns. To prevent this from happening, pat the cinnamon-sugar filling into the dough and take care to roll your your dough up tightly
Ultimate Cinnamon Buns
makes 12-14 buns
Dough:
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (one packet)
Filling:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ tsp of salt
1 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
Cream-Cheese Icing:
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine lukewarm milk and yeast and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk in eggs.
Add flour, sugar, and salt to mixer with dough hook attachment. On low speed slowly pour in wet ingredients while mixer is running until dough comes together
Increase speed to medium and add softened butter, one piece at a time, until incorporated. Continue to mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball round ball (about 2 minutes).
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 2 hours.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll out into a 16’ by 21’ rectangle
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon,salt, and espresso powder if using. Spread the dough with the softened butter leaving a half an inch border along the sides. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon-sugar mixture and gently press into the dough.
Starting at the long end of the rectangle, tightly roll the dough into a log and cut into twelve pieces.
Transfer pieces, cut-side up, to prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.*
Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sugar filling is bubbling.
While buns are cooling, prepare the cream cheese icing. Place softened cream cheese and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer if that’s what you’ve got), and beat using the whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Add in the confectioner’s sugar and beat, starting on low and increasing to medium-high, until icing is smooth. Spread frosting on top of still-warm buns.
*Make Ahead: After transferring pieces to prepared pan in step 8, buns can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and continue with step 9 as directed.