Simnel Cinnamon Rolls Recipes

Steps:

• Make the rolls: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the long sides. Top with the cinnamon sugar. Brush the clean border with water. Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log, rolling toward the clean border; pinch the seam to seal.
• Slip a long taut piece of thread or unflavored floss under the roll, about 1 1/2 inches from the end. Lift the ends of the thread and cross over the roll, pulling tightly to cut off a piece. Repeat, cutting every 1 1/2 inches, to make 12 rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish.
• Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour, 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the rolls and bake until they spring back when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan. (You can freeze the baked rolls for up to 2 weeks. Cool completely before freezing, then thaw, warm up and glaze before serving.)
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the warm rolls.
• Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 degrees F to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of the sugar; set aside, undisturbed, until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, the salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center, then add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 6 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, turning to coat lightly with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly to release excess air; re-form into a ball and return to the bowl. Lightly butter a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it directly on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Steps:

• Tip all the ingredients for the dough, except the butter and golden syrup, into the bowl of a stand mixer with 1 tsp salt. Use a paddle attachment to combine everything until it begins to come together into a dough, then tip out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 mins. Put it back in the bowl and gradually add the softened butter, 1-2 tsp at a time, while mixing on a medium setting. Alternatively, knead the butter in by hand until smooth. Flatten the dough to a square roughly 20 x 20cm, then cover and freeze for 30 mins, or chill for at least 1 hr.
• Meanwhile, butter and line the base and sides of a deep baking tray, roughly 20 x 30cm. To make the filling, mix the sugar with the cinnamon and a large pinch of sea salt, then set aside 2 tbsp. Beat in the butter to form a thick paste.
• Lay the dough on a floured surface and roll to a neat rectangle roughly 35 x 25cm. Spread over the filling so it's completely covered. Fold the bottom third of the dough into the middle, then fold over again to cover the top third. For the best results, chill the dough again for another 30 mins.
• Re-roll the dough to another rectangle about 40 x 30cm, then roll it up along the long edge into a tight log. To get the neatest spirals, cut in half, lift onto a tray and freeze for 15 mins to firm up, then cut into 12 equal-sized slices. Arrange the slices, spiral side-up, in the tin. Leave to prove in fridge for at least 1 hr, or up to 24 hrs.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the buns for 20 mins, then scatter over the reserved cinnamon sugar and bake for 10-15 mins until deep brown.
• Meanwhile, mix the golden syrup with 2 tsp boiling water. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush them with the syrup glaze, then leave to cool a little. To make the icing, beat the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla together, then gradually add 1-2 tbsp boiling water to create a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle the icing over the buns.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Warm milk in a small pot over medium heat until it's warm to the touch but not yet simmering (110 degrees). Add 2 tablespoons sugar and the yeast, whisking to dissolve and break up any clumps. Let sit until it's slightly foamy and starting to bubble, about 2 to 5 minutes. (If this doesn't happen after about 5 minutes, check the expiration date on the yeast; it might be dead.)
• Meanwhile, combine flour, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and the salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly to combine.
• Add milk mixture, followed by the egg and, with a wooden spoon or the mixer on low, stir to combine, just to eliminate any obviously dry or wet spots. If using the mixer, you may need to scrape the dough off the paddle. Add melted butter and continue to stir until a shaggy lump of dough forms, again scraping down the paddle and helping things along with your hands if necessary to combine.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, or keep in the mixing bowl and change to the dough hook attachment. Knead dough until it's smooth, shiny and elastic, about 4 or 5 minutes. (You shouldn't have to add any more flour at this point, but if the dough seems especially sticky, give it a light dusting.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with nonstick spray or vegetable oil and place dough in the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area. (If it's cold outside, on top of the stove is generally a good bet, as long as the burners and oven aren't on.) Let sit until the dough has about doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch dough down to release any air that has built up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and chill the dough for at least an hour (and as long as overnight).
• Fill the dough and shape the rolls: Once dough is chilled (it should feel firm and no longer flimsy), turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 16 x 10-inch rectangle. The rolled dough will be about 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick.
• Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Brush surface of the dough with half of the melted butter and sprinkle brown sugar mixture in an even layer, patting to make sure it's sticking. Drizzle with remaining butter.
• Starting at the end closest to you (the long side of the dough), roll dough up into a tight coil, pressing lightly as you roll to make sure there are no gaps between the dough and the filling.
• Cut log into nine even pieces, about 1 3/4-inch thick. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and arrange dough in three rows of three pieces each, with the spiral facing upward and with space in between each piece. (At this point, the rolls can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight, if you'd like.)
• Cover rolls lightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area until the rolls have puffed (they won't quite double, but they will be noticeably fluffier and closer to touching) and spring back slightly when pressed with your finger, about 1 hour. (If you refrigerated the rolls overnight, this may take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place rolls in oven and bake until they are golden brown and fluffy and the sugar has started to bubble up around the edges, caramelizing on the sides of the buns, about 32 to 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: combine confectioners' sugar and milk and whisk until it is thick but can still be drizzled, like a thinner frosting. (If the glaze is still too thick, thin with more milk by the teaspoonful to get desired consistency.) Keep in mind the glaze is to be applied while buns are warm, and it will thin out upon contact, so it's best to err on the thicker side.
• Once rolls are out of the oven, drizzle with the powdered sugar glaze and let cool slightly in the pan before digging in.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a 9-inch square baking dish with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Whisk flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Work 3 tablespoons softened butter into flour mixture using your hands. Beat milk and egg together in another bowl; pour into flour-butter mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and roll dough into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Brush surface of dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Whisk 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over butter-brushed dough. Roll dough around filling to form a log; cut log into 18 rolls and place rolls in the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until rolls are set, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Beat confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until frosting is smooth. Top hot cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Mix the flour, caster sugar and cinnamon together with a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk the butter, egg yolks and milk together and combine with the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle, about 30 x 25cm.
• Mix the filling ingredients together. Spread evenly over the dough then roll it up lengthways, like a Swiss roll, to form a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even-sized slices and pack into the prepared tin. Brush gently with extra milk and bake for 30-35 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 mins before removing from the tin.
• Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the cream cheese and butter in the centre, pour over 2 tbsp boiling water, and stir to mix. Add a little more water until you have a drizzly consistency. Stir in the vanilla essence, then drizzle the icing over the rolls. Serve warm or cold.