overnight cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning

A few years ago I started a new tradition; fresh baked cinnamon scrolls, oven warm, enjoyed in the lull after the presents on Christmas morning. It might seem crazy to add extra baking to an already busy time, but these are made ahead and need only be baked and iced on Christmas morning, the icing not an entirely necessary step, easily replaced with a dusting of sugar.

My search for the perfect scroll recipe has been a bit of an obsession, the family were definitely over them for a while, three batches in as many days possibly pushed them over the edge... These are a light, buttery, brioche style roll with tangy cream cheese icing, and fresh nutmeg festively reminiscent of eggnog. I can't claim they're perfect, but I'll happily bake these on Christmas morning and leave the experimenting for another year. Next on my hit list, those super soft and fluffy "white bread" style scrolls from Bakers Delight, any suggestions?



Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas Morning

dough 

250g warm milk
6g (2 tsp) instant yeast
500g bread flour
1 tsp sea salt
50g caster sugar
100g butter, at room temperature
2 eggs

filling

240g brown sugar
3 tbsp ground cinnamon

100g butter, at room temperature

cream cheese icing

150g cream cheese, at room temperature

120g icing sugar
seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)
45ml milk
fresh nutmeg

• gently warm the milk in a small pan, until it feels just warm, approx. 40ºC if you’re measuring, add a tablespoon of the sugar and the dried yeast, whisk to combine, leave to stand for 5 minutes, it should start to bubble and foam
• tip the flour, remaining sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer, use a whisk to combine then add the warm milk/yeast mixture, eggs, and butter; using the dough hook mix on slow for approximately 5-8 minutes, the dough should be smooth and glossy, and have pulled away from the sides of the bowl; transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for around an hour, or until it has doubled in size

• while the dough is proofing prepare the cinnamon filling; in a microwave proof bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, mix in the ground cinnamon, set aside
• line a tin with baking paper, I use either a 38cm x 26cm baking pan or 30cm cast iron low casserole pan, but something with similar dimensions will be fine
• lightly dust the bench with flour, tip the dough out of the bowl, it may need encouragement, and roll to a rectangle 40cm x 60cm, turn the dough a few times as you’re rolling, dusting the bench with more flour if the dough starts to stick
• pop the cinnamon mixture into the microwave on low for 30 seconds, this will soften, but not melt the mixture, making it much easier to spread; check it after 20 seconds as you don’t want it to melt
• spread the mixture evenly over the dough leaving a small a 1cm gap along the top of the long edge

• starting with the long side of the dough, carefully roll into a tight roll; cut the roll into 12 pieces for a rectangle pan, 10 for the round pan, you can eyeball this or use a ruler, I’m absolutely a ruler girl… a serrated knife will work well, but for super neat edges try using dental floss, I've given up trying to write instructions for this, have a look at this clip)
• place the rolls in the pan, cut sides facing up, cover tightly with plastic wrap and put into the fridge overnight
• the next morning take the rolls out of the fridge and let them sit on the bench while the oven heats to 175ºC; once the oven has reached temperature, pop the rolls in and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and the middle rolls are nicely puffed

• while the rolls are baking, make the cream cheese frosting; sieve the icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and vanilla, using the paddle attachment beat on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth, drop the speed to low and add the milk a tablespoon at a time until you have a pouring consistency – you may not need all of the milk
• remove the rolls from the oven, stand on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes then drizzle with cream cheese frosting and a grating of fresh nutmeg
• serve immediately, with the excess icing in a bowl for dipping, enjoy!
The rolls are best eaten warm, fresh out of the oven, give any leftover rolls a quick 20 second blast in the microwave to soften