I really had to finish the milk in the fridge, and that’s how these cinnamon scrolls were born. Recently I’ve been reading up on & experimenting with recipes to find the easiest one for a lazy person’s solution to a cinnamon scroll craving. I think this is the one! For the effort & time, the result is delicious and satisfying. What’s more, this recipe can easily be made vegan so no one misses out!
Makes six scrolls
Ingredients
For scrolls
180g plain flour, sifted
1½ tsp dry yeast
½ tsp salt
45g maple syrup
100ml milk (use non-dairy to make this vegan)
15g olive oil
For cinnamon filling
1tsp ground cinnamon
40g soft brown sugar
20g unsalted butter (use Nuttelex to make vegan)
For icing
some icing sugar, sifted (you will have to add more or less to make your preferred consistency)
vanilla bean paste
a little bit of milk (use non-dairy to make vegan)
Method
To prepare dough, in a mixing bowl place the flour, yeast & salt and mix together. In a microwave proof container warm up the milk, oil & syrup until it’s lukewarm (between 30-45 seconds in the microwave). Pour liquid into the dry ingredients & mix together with a spatula until it’s combined into a dough.
Lightly dust the bench, and knead the dough with your hands for about 5-8 minutes. You may need to add more flour to the bench to avoid sticking, this is fine but keep it to a minimal. Roll into a ball & rest dough for 10 minutes. After resting, using a rolling pin shape the dough into a rectangle.
To make cinnamon filling, in a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon. In a microwave proof bowl, melt butter & using a brush spread on the rectangle of dough (leaving about 1cm at the top edge). Spinkle cinnamon sugar mix on dough and spread evenly on buttered surface. Starting from the bottom edge, carefully roll the dough into a round tube, and pinch together the top end.
Cut roll into six pieces, and place into a spacious baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel, glad wrap or hotel shower cap. On a warm day, you can probably leave this on the bench to proof for 1-3 hours, however in colder weather I do this following trick. Warm up the oven on the lowest setting (mine is at 50 degC) for about five minutes, then turn off the heat but keep the light on and place tray of scrolls inside.
Scrolls are ready to bake when you poke them, and the mark half springs back. Preheat oven to 170 degC for at least 30 mins (if it’s a hot day put the scrolls in the fridge to avoid over proofing). Once the oven is ready, place tray in & bake for 20-25 minutes, until scrolls are golden on the top.
Whilst the scrolls are baking, prepare the icing by sifting some icing sugar into a clean bowl. Start with perhaps three tablespoons of icing sugar, and a little squeeze of vanilla bean paste, and carefully add a little bit of milk. Stir together mixture and gradually add more icing sugar or milk until the icing is at the consistency you like (I like it thick & glossy)!
Once scrolls are ready, allow them to cool slightly before spooning icing on top.
Cinnamon scrolls will last in an airtight container for up to three days. You can also keep them in the fridge for up to a week (in an airtight container), as long as you reheat them before consuming!
