Overnight Cinnamon Buns

Overnight cinnamon rolls

As I already alluded to, I changed jobs recently. In my old job we had a meeting on every Monday morning to talk about the week ahead. Over the two or so years at that job, my colleagues at Talented Talkers badgered me constantly to bring in some cinnamon rolls. My main excuse for not doing it is that cinnamon buns are much, much, better fresh and on the day they are made. I’ve done cinnamon rolls overnight plenty of times, but doing it in the week was something I haven’t done. However, with it being my last week, and the last time I’d be in that early Monday meeting, I wanted to bring in a treat for the team. This meant that after sticking the dough in the fridge the night before, I was actually up super early on that last Monday (about 5.30) to take the dough out of the fridge to allow it to return to room temperature before I stuck it in the oven.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

It’s a new version of the overnight cinnamon roll recipe which I’d not used before, and it’s not become my go-to. I adapted it slightly from here. It worked so well that I’m actually intending to use it at Christmas so I can make fresh cinnamon buns on Christmas morning for my family when I go up to see them. Starting any day, let alone Christmas day, with a cinnamon bun always improves it, and being able to let the dough proof overnight makes that possible. No one wants to get up at 4 to have buns ready for 9 but if you can do the bulk of the work the evening before, you’re on to an absolute winner.

Overnight cinnamon rolls

Overnight cinnamon rolls

Why not make these extra festive by adding some chopped chestnuts and cranberries to the filling before you roll them?

Overnight Cinnamon Buns
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • **For the dough**
  • 235ml warm milk (not hot)
  • ½tbsp fast acting dried yeast
  • 4tbsp granulated sugar
  • 385g + 2-4tbsp all-purpose flour, divided (*see notes below)
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • ½tsp salt
  • **For the filling**
  • 90g unsalted butter, softened
  • 20g granulated sugar
  • 1tbsp ground cinnamon
  • **For the frosting**
  • 85g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 80g pure maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 120g confectioners' sugar, sifted
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast into the flour. Leave for a few minutes then whisk in 65g of the flour and 2tbsp sugar until combined. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for 35-40minutes so it puffs up.
  2. Whisk in the remaining sugar, egg, melted butter and salt.
  3. Using a dough hook attachment, set to low and add in 320g of flour, 60g at a time, making sure the flour has incorporated well after each addition. Add flour a tablespoon at a time after this until the dough is no longer sticking to a fingertip. Set to knead for 10 minutes. It should be coming away from the sides of the bowl at the end.
  4. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours (1 hour in an oven set to 35°C), until it's doubled in size.
  5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough into a 17″x10″ rectangle. Spread the softened butter over the top.
  6. Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle the buttered dough generously all over. You'll use all of it.
  7. Roll tightly, away from you along one of the long edges, to make a long a log.
  8. Pinch the very ends together slightly, then cut them off to neaten. Divide into 12 even cinnamon rolls.
  9. Place them cut side down in a prepared tin, spacing evenly to allow some space to rise.
  10. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 7 hours. Overnight is preferable.
  11. Remove from the fridge an hour before you want to cook them so they can return to room temperature. They'll be puffy.
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C(160°C fan assisted).
  13. Remove the cling film, transfer to the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for 22-24 minutes, until the tops have gone golden.
  14. Make the frosting while they cool.
  15. Using either a stand mixer or electric whisk, beat the softened cream cheese on a medium speed until smooth.
  16. Add the maple syrup and milk and beat on high until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and beat on a medium speed until it turns creamy. If you need to add more sugar to thicken at this point then do, I did.
  17. Pour over the warm cinnamon rolls and serve. They taste best fresh but last covered for a day or two.
 

One thought on “Overnight Cinnamon Buns

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.