Baking Post: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Over the last few months I have become really good at baking. It was always something that I was interested and pretty good at but since I moved and have a lot more space for it I have been practicing a lot.

As fall is the season when pumpkins are available and everyone around the world have been going crazy over them, I couldn’t be the exception. Cinnamon buns are also an all time favourite of mine so I thought I would bring them together! This recipe is the merge of a lot of different recipes I have tried over the time and I will be linking the originals as I go on but bare in mind that I have adjusted each one of them to suit my needs, the flavour I like most or even my measurements.

Have I made you hungry yet? Let's go do some baking!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

For the pumpkin butter (the original recipe is this one but I adjusted it to my needs)

1 cup (or aprox. 250gr) pumpkin puree (I made mine from scratch because no local store stocked it and I find it pretty easy but very time consuming, the recipe I used is this one)

3/4 cup (or 90 ml) apple juice (I used fresh but you can always use canned one)

1/2 cup (or 110 gr) white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For the dough (I used the recipe Akis Petretzikis has done which I cannot find anywhere on the web anymore)

1/4 cup (or 50 gr) granulated sugar

1 satchel instant active dry yeast

1 cup (or 250ml) milk in room temperature (don’t try almond or hazelnut milk, it doesn’t work with the yeast)

3 eggs

4 3/4 cups (or 580gr) all purpose flour divided in half

1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon (or 90gr) butter in room temperature and more for buttering the pan

For the filing

1 cup (220gr) pumpkin butter

1/3 cup (or 50gr) dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the icing (I found the best icing recipe here) 

5 tablespoons (or 70gr) cream cheese

3 tablespoons (or 45gr) butter in room temperature

1 cup (or 120gr) icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon (or 5gr) vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons of milk (or more according to how watery you want your icing)

1.  Let’s make the dough first. In a stand mixer bowl you pour the milk, sugar and the yeast and beat them on medium speed with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes. It will start bubbling up which means that the yeast is now active. Then add the eggs one at a time waiting for them to get absorbed in the mixture.

2. Replace the paddle attachment with the kneading hood of your electric mixer. Add the butter to the mixture and half the flour (250gr). Knead until it all comes together and keep adding the rest of the flour slowly. After that you need to keep kneading on medium speed for about 8 minutes until you can see no dough touching the sides. It will look like a ball attached to your kneading hook.

3.    Place your dough into a bowl coated with vegetable oil. Cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow to rise until it gets double in size. This should take about 1,5 to 2 hours depending on how warm your house is.

4.    While you are waiting for the yeast to work its magic you can make the pumpkin butter. I’ve personally made a big jar (just triple the quantities above) which I store in the fridge and use every time I want to make this recipe. You just add all the ingredients in a saucepan on high heat and bring to the boil. You then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to keep an eye on it and stir frequently. You will notice that it will start thickening and that’s the desired consistency.

5.    Now that your dough has risen and is very puffy and soft place it on a lightly floured surface or a silicone baking mat. You might need to knead it a bit to form a smooth dough. If you feel that it is too sticky add more flour so that it is easy to manage. Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 16x10in (or 50x30cm). Preheat your oven to 200°C (or 350F).

6.    Spread the top with the pumpkin butter and then sprinkle your brown sugar evenly. Roll it up tightly and cup it into 12-14 pieces with a sharp knife. Arrange rolls into a buttered round or rectangle pan. Leave them to rise for about 30 minutes. You will notice that no matter how far away from each other you put them they will end up touching so don’t worry about how you will arrange them! Bake your rolls for about 20 minutes or until they become slightly golden on the top.

7.    While your rolls are baking it’s time to make your icing. Using your electric mixer once again with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar slowly so that it won’t end up all over your kitchen! Add the vanilla extract and milk if you want it more watery. Personally I always put 2-3 tablespoons because I believe that’s the perfect consistency.    

8.    Let your pumpkin rolls cool for about 10-15 minutes and then pour the icing over them.

And you are done! It seriously tastes amazing! I have taken it to work twice and my colleagues keep asking for it. My fiance thinks it is the best breakfast he can have and me? I just think it's perfect for any time of the day! You can definitely make a simpler version like Cinnabon just by skipping the pumpkin butter and only putting melted butter, cinnamon and dark brown sugar as a filling. However, I believe the pumpkin twist is amazing for fall!

I hope you liked this post which is out of the ordinary and I really hope you make it. If you do, please tweet or instagram me a picture. It will make my day!

P.S. If you are in a hurry and already have the pumpkin butter you can also make it with Pillsbury's dough for big croissants. You just knead them into one dough and roll it out as in step 5! 

Good Luck! 

Georgina x x x