My son is a big fan of homemade cinnamon rolls. Now that he’s back home for the holidays, we made a fresh batch together. This is the recipe we always follow—it comes out soft, buttery, and full of cinnamon flavour every single time. Once baked, we top it off with a creamy frosting that just melts into the warm rolls. It’s a no-fail recipe, and one of our favourites to make as a family.
Before You Begin
This is a very soft and sticky dough, so using a stand mixer is highly recommended.
Make sure the eggs, cream cheese, heavy cream, and butter are at room temperature for best results.
Here are some of the things I have used for making this recipe
Baking Tray – https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/poetisk-oven-dish-off-white-10513877/
Active Dry Yeast – https://amzn.to/4nUlUnu (I store my yeast in the freezer and they last for a really long time)
Kitchen Aid – https://amzn.to/3GRbLY2
Baking Oven OTG – https://amzn.to/4eXAAht
Dough
In the bowl, pour warm milk (not hot). Sprinkle active dry yeast over the milk along with a pinch of sugar to give the yeast a quick start. Let it sit undisturbed for about 3–4 minutes. The mixture should become slightly frothy or bubbly—this means the yeast is alive and active.
Tip: If there’s no foam or bubbles, either the milk was too hot (which can kill the yeast) or the yeast is no longer active. In that case, start over with fresh yeast.
Now take the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook). Add the egg, soft butter, and sugar. Pour in the activated yeast mixture. Then add flour and salt. No need to be fussy about the order of ingredients here—just make sure everything gets into the bowl.
Mix on medium speed for about 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should start to slightly pull away from the sides of the bowl but still feel soft and sticky. It will stick to the bowl. Using a bench scraper, scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl. It should be elastic and stretchy—not dry.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it briefly—just for a few seconds—to shape it into a smooth ball. This dough is quite soft, so a light dusting of flour is enough. Place the dough in a greased bowl. You can use oil or butter to grease it—either works fine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This typically takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Rolling and Filling
Once the dough has doubled, gently punch it down to release the air. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface. The dough will still be slightly tacky, but that’s okay. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle approximately 14 inches by 10 inches. Try to keep the edges straight and even.
Now it’s time for the filling. Spread softened butter evenly across the entire surface of the dough.
In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle this mixture all over the buttered dough.
Sprinkle this mixture all over the buttered dough. Make sure to sprinkle evenly.
Starting from the bottom edge, roll the dough all the way up into a log. Do not roll it too tight or the dough will open up in the middle when baking. Slice the log into thick segments—around 2 inches each.
Second Rise and Baking
Pour a layer of fresh cream into the bottom of your baking dish. I use the IKEA POETISK oven dish, which is about 30 x 20 cm. – https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/poetisk-oven-dish-off-white-10513877/
Place the rolls cut-side up into the dish over the cream. Leave a little space between them, as they will puff up. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise again at room temperature for about 30–45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 190°C.
Once the rolls have risen and look puffy, bake them in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Tip: Keep an eye on the rolls in the last few minutes—every oven is different, and you want them golden but not overbaked. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the same dish for about 45 minutes. This helps them absorb the creamy base at the bottom. The bottom will become gooey and nicely caramelise because of the fresh cream we added.
Making the Frosting
While the rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, blend together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and butter until smooth.
Add vanilla extract and mix well until the frosting is light and creamy. Make sure all your frosting ingredients are at room temperature for the smoothest texture. Once the cinnamon rolls are slightly warm (not too hot), drizzle or spread the frosting generously over the top. Serve warm and enjoy.
Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 rolls 1x
Ingredients
For the Dough
120 ml milk
1¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 egg
40 grams butter
50 grams sugar
½ tsp salt
275 grams all-purpose flour (maida)
For the Filling
40 grams butter
100 grams brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
60 ml fresh cream (for layering the baking dish)
For the Frosting
100 grams cream cheese
40 grams butter
100 grams powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Dough
In the bowl, pour warm milk (not hot). Sprinkle active dry yeast over the milk along with a pinch of sugar to give the yeast a quick start. Let it sit undisturbed for about 3–4 minutes. The mixture should become slightly frothy or bubbly—this means the yeast is alive and active..
Tip: If there’s no foam or bubbles, either the milk was too hot (which can kill the yeast) or the yeast is no longer active. In that case, start over with fresh yeast.
Now take the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook). Add the egg, soft butter, and sugar. Pour in the activated yeast mixture. Then add flour and salt. No need to be fussy about the order of ingredients here—just make sure everything gets into the bowl.
Mix on medium speed for about 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl but still feel soft and slightly sticky. It should be elastic and stretchy—not dry.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it briefly—just for a few seconds—to shape it into a smooth ball. This dough is quite soft, so a light dusting of flour is enough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl. You can use oil or butter to grease it—either works fine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This typically takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Rolling and Filling
Once the dough has doubled, gently punch it down to release the air. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface. The dough will still be slightly tacky, but that’s okay.
Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle approximately 14 inches by 10 inches. Try to keep the edges straight and even.
Now it’s time for the filling. Spread softened butter evenly across the entire surface of the dough. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle this mixture all over the buttered dough.
Starting from the bottom edge, roll the dough tightly all the way up into a log. Slice the log into thick segments—around 2 inches each.
Second Rise and Baking
Pour a layer of fresh cream into the bottom of your baking dish. I use the IKEA POETISK oven dish, which is about 30 x 20 cm. – https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/poetisk-oven-dish-off-white-10513877/
Place the rolls cut-side up into the dish over the cream. Leave a little space between them, as they will puff up. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise again at room temperature for about 30–45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 190°C.
Once the rolls have risen and look puffy, bake them in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Tip: Keep an eye on the rolls in the last few minutes—every oven is different, and you want them golden but not overbaked.
Remove from the oven and let them cool in the same dish for about 45 minutes. This helps them absorb the creamy base at the bottom. The bottom will become gooey and nicely caramelise because of the fresh cream we added.
Making the Frosting
While the rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, blend together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and butter until smooth. Add vanilla extract and mix well until the frosting is light and creamy. Make sure all your frosting ingredients are at room temperature for the smoothest texture.
Once the cinnamon rolls are slightly warm (not too hot), drizzle or spread the frosting generously over the top. Serve warm and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 90m
- Cook Time: 20m
- Category: bread