Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe (small batch)
Enjoy freshly baked, soft, and gooey Cinnamon Rolls without making a big batch! This small batch recipe makes 4 perfectly fluffy rolls ideal for a cozy breakfast or dessert for two. Make them eggless and/or made dairy-free. With an option to make them Overnight!
Yield: 4 servings
Equipment
- 8x8-inch (20cm) Square Baking Pan or use round 8-inch (20cm) Baking Pan
- Stand Mixer optional to speed up the process
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 150 ml Milk warm; see notes for options
- 15 g Cane Sugar or castor sugar
- 6 g Active Dry Yeast or use instant yeast
- 250 g All Purpose Flour or Strong Bread Flour/ Wheat Flour plus extra for dusting
- 30 g Cane Sugar or castor sugar
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 30 g Butter soft, see notes for options
- 60 ml Whipping Cream room temp; see notes for options
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 75 g Butter soft; see notes for options
- 75 g Light Brown Sugar
- 3 tsp Cinnamon Powder
Cream Cheese Icing
- 75 g Cream Cheese soft; see notes for options
- 40 g Powered Sugar or icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 80 ml Whipping Cream room temp; see notes for options
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Roll Dough
- In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer combine warm (not boiling) milk (110°F/ 43°C), 15g sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 10 min until yeast is activated. It will appear foamy and bubbly.
- To the same bowl and half of the flour, 30g sugar and mix with a dough hook attachment. (You can also mix and knead the dough by hand because it's a small batch.)
- Once the flour is mixed in then add the remaining flour, salt and mix until flour is absorbed.
- Add soft butter in small pieces mix on medium speed until dough forms and doesn’t stick on the sides of the bowl for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it lightly by hand.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size or about 60 minutes.
For Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- In a bowl, combine soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon powder. Mix until it is combined into a thick paste and set aside.
For Assembling Cinnamon Dough
- Lightly flour the surface, rolling pin and the dough on both sides. Use a rolling pin and roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 7-inch x 17-inch (17cmx43cm).
- Spread the cinnamon sugar filling all the way to the edges for even flavor.
- Roll tightly from one long edge to the other to create a neat log and cut into 4 equal pieces using a sharp serrated knife or dental floss.
- Grease a 8x8-inch (20x20 cm) square baking pan.
- Place the rolls in the baking pan, leaving a little space between them. Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let them proof in a warm area for 45 minutes - 1hour until they are doubled in size.
- (If you wish to make one day ahead then at this stage wrap the pan loose with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for overnight slow proof and next day take the pan out 1 hour before baking.)
- Pour whipping cream over the rolls before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the rolls bake, Prepare the cream cheese icing by whisking together soft cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Once the rolls are baked, spread the cream cheese icing over the warm cinnamon rolls.
- Store leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven at a low temperature as needed.
Notes
- Cup vs weighing scale: The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it's recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams. Baking often requires precision and accuracy.
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with for accuracy.
- Milk: You can use any dairy-free unsweetened milk (like almond, soy, oat) or dairy based whole milk.
- Butter: You can use Dairy-free salted butter sticks or any salted butter of your choice
- Sugar: Cane sugar can be substituted with granulated sugar or castor sugar. Ensure the sugar is vegan-friendly (some sugars are processed with bone char) or organic cane sugar
- Cream Cheese: You can use Dairy-free cream cheese or any plain full fat cream cheese of your choice.
- Flour: You can use either all-purpose flour or bread flour for this recipe. Using all-purpose flour will give you softer, delicate crumb structure. Using bread flour will give chewier texture with a slightly more structured crumb.