Better Than Cinnabon: Soft Apple & Cinnamon Rolls With a Dreamy Cream Cheese Frosting

Try naming at least one person who has never had an idea of making those famous Cinnabon rolls at home, and you’ll most likely fail.

Ever since the brand’s popularity spread all over the world, those fluffy cinnamon rolls with creamy filling have become a pure phenomenon, leading to the creation of numerous recipes that tried to come as close as possible to the original one.

If you haven’t so far braved yourself enough for baking those delicious rolls, this recipe for the dreamy dough and perfect topping might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Here’s what you need: 11 g of dry yeast, 115 g of sugar, 185 ml of milk, 180 g of butter, 1 egg, 450 g of flour, a bit of vegetable oil, 4-5 apples, cinnamon and ginger, 150 g of cream cheese, 120 g of powdered sugar.

Start by preparing the dry yeast. You will need three times as much pressed yeast. Put it in the bowl you will use to mix the dough. Add sugar. Next, add warm milk (60 g) and stir the mixture well. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place. You can place it near the radiator for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter (115 g) and milk (125 g) in the microwave. Try not to overheat the mixture so that it works well with the yeast. Add one egg and mix well with a whisk. At this stage, you can add more sugar if you want sweet dough.

Pour the milk mixture into the dough. Set the hook attachment and mix the mixture. Then add the flour in 2 parts. Stir with a mixer for 4-5 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball and easily comes off the sides of the bowl.

Take a larger bowl, pour in a little bit of vegetable oil, and spread it around the sides with a paper towel. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap again, and set aside in a warm place for an hour.

Peel 4-5 medium apples. Remember that apples will lose in their size, so take a little more apples than you think you need. Cut into small cubes of 6-7 mm. Mix with sugar (100 g, preferably brown) and spices (1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger). Melt the butter (25 g) gently in a frying pan. Add the apples and caramelize them.

After an hour, the dough will double in size and become very fluffy. Carefully take it to a work surface dusted with flour. Roll out a rectangular layer less than 1 cm thick. Spread an even layer of apple filling with caramel (keep a couple of tablespoons for decoration). Start turning the dough into a roll, pressing it well after each turn.

What you'll get should be a dense dough. Remember that, the more turns you make, the tastier and juicier the bun will be, so you can roll the dough into a thinner layer — up to 4 mm.

Find a thread. Carefully pull it through the bottom of the roll, wrap it around, and pull the ends of the thread apart with a sharp movement. A piece of dough will be cut off. Mark the cuts for the future buns and cut them.

Place them in a 20x30 cm baking pan so that the rolls are not put too close to each other (the dough will grow in size). You can use either a round pan or a long cake pan. Put it in plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 15 minutes.

At this time, preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, top and bottom. When the buns have become bigger, remove the plastic wrap and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Prepare the cream for coating the buns. Mix the cream cheese, 40 g of butter, powdered sugar, and spices with a mixer until smooth. Spread the cream on the hot buns, right in the pan. Distribute it well so that it gets into the apple filling.

Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.