There are few things in life that make me feel as smug as overnight cinnamon rolls. A few simple steps the night before rewards you with the most satisfying breakfast ever, and don't get me started on how amazing your house will smell. That cinnamon laced fug is like a warm hug on a cold Winter morning. Talk about taking the whole Hygge movement to another level.
Whipping up a yeasted bake might seem a little daunting to some, yeast is a notorious son of a bitch to work with sometimes, but I've made these rolls tonnes of time now and they've never failed. Once, I prepped them after a girls night in, more than a few glasses of wine deep. Ahem. If I can do them drunk, a monkey could probably make them sober. Plus, morning after Katie was over the moon with tipsy Katie. That rarely happens....
I've made these rolls with butter and I've made them with margarine, honestly, there isn't an ounce of difference between the two. The only thing I noticed was if you make the frosting with marg it gets a wee yellow tinge, which isn't overly appetising. These days I prep the rolls with margarine and make the frosting with butter. Bish bash bosh. Anything to keep these damn rising butter prices down.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
- For the dough :
- 7g (1 sachet) active dried yeast
- 220g lukewarm, whole milk
- 100g caster sugar
- 75g margarine
- 2 large, free range eggs
- 480g plain flour
- For the filling :
- 200g light brown sugar
- 4tbsp cinnamon
- 75g margarine, softened
- For the frosting :
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar
- 50g cream cheese
- 1/2tsp vanilla extract
Cooking Directions
- To make the dough first pour the warm milk into a jug and stir in the yeast, set aside for 5 minutes to activate. You'll know it's working if the yeast has begun to froth.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook add the sugar, margarine, eggs, and flour and mix together. While the mixer is still running at the lowest speed, pour the milk into the dry ingredients in a slow, steady stream. Mix until everything is incorporated then turn the mixer up to medium and leave for 3 minutes.
- Spray a large mixing bowl with olive oil and pop the dough into the greased bowl, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and leave until doubled in size. This usually takes around an hour. Don't worry if it takes a little longer, just keep an eye on it.
- Stir the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Grease a 9x13" high sided baking tray with butter and set aside while you prepare your rolls.
- Roll your dough out on a lightly floured surface until you get a rectangular shape measuring around 19x15". Spread the dough with the margarine then sprinkle liberally with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Take the longest edge of the dough and carefully roll it up into a long sausage. Cut the sausage in half then cut each half into six equally sized pieces. Place the cut rolls into the greased baking tray.
- Wrap the baking tray in clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight. The rolls will continue to rise but at a much slower pace.
- When you're about ready to bake your rolls remove them from the fridge and check if they've doubled in size. If not just leave them in a warm place for 30 minutes to puff up. Once they're doubled in size pop them into a preheated oven at 175°C and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the rolls are baking, mix the butter, icing sugar, cream cheese and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and spreadable. Once the rolls have finished baking, allow to cool for 5 minutes before spreading with the frosting and serve immediately.
- The rolls can be kept, wrapped in cling film, for 5 days. Simply reheat for 30 seconds in a microwave.
