I love cinnamon rolls so much that I once baked nine different recipes in a day to find my all-time favorite. I conducted a blind tasting with my friends and family, and together we found a recipe that is so perfect that I’ve hardly strayed from it over the past five years. The rolls have a pillowy, soft doughy texture and a balanced ratio of dough-to-filling-to-icing.
During the cinnamon roll bake-off, there was a recipe (it took second place) that included a surprising ingredient, and as it turns out, it can take any cinnamon roll recipe—even store-bought and frozen rolls—from great to amazing. I'm always open to tweaks that enhance even my favorite recipes, so I've been using this easy one-ingredient upgrade whenever I make cinnamon rolls: heavy cream.
The idea behind adding heavy cream to cinnamon rolls comes from Tastes of Lizzy T's. Julie Clark, the blogger behind the website, notes that after years of research, she discovered that the key to getting perfectly gooey rolls is to “pour heavy cream over the cinnamon buns before baking. THIS is the secret ingredient and what makes the rolls rich and gooey.”
Cinnamon rolls rely on sugar and fat in the dough to keep it plush. Adding a little more fat in the form of heavy cream serves two purposes:
The heavy cream is a hydrating liquid that will soak into the rolls as they bake and create steam, making them just a little softer and preventing them from drying out.
The heavy cream absorbs the cinnamon, sugar, and butter that leaks from the insides of the rolls as they bake to create a glorious cinnamon sugar syrup for the bottom of your rolls.
How To Use the Heavy Cream To Upgrade Cinnamon Rolls
Start by preparing the cinnamon rolls, either from scratch or from a tube. Once they are assembled in a pan, risen, and ready to bake, heat half a cup of heavy cream (about 3/4 tablespoon per roll) in the microwave or on the stove just until warm to the touch but not hot.
Because yeast is sensitive to temperature and the rolls have likely been rising in a warm or at least room temperature atmosphere, it’s important that the heavy cream is not cold so it doesn’t inhibit the rolls from continuing to rise as they bake. Never ever add heavy cream that is cold straight from the fridge.
Pour the warmed heavy cream evenly over the top of the rolls. Bake following the recipe or instructions on the packaging, and enjoy! You'll get the most pillowy and delicious cinnamon rolls.
Can You Use Milk Instead?
Yes, but you won't get the same results. Heavy cream or whipping cream are ideal for this trick. In a pinch, you can use milk, but since milk is lower in fat the rolls won't be as rich. Whole milk or any higher-fat milk is the best—I’d avoid using skim milk.
A Bonus Tip for the Gooiest Cinnamon Rolls
If you’re willing to put in just a little more effort for the gooiest cinnamon rolls, take a cue from the restaurant chain KYU. After their cinnamon rolls are baked, they pipe additional filling made with creamed butter and cinnamon sugar into the swirls for a cinnamon roll that explodes with filling goodness.
Watch me talk about my favorite cinnamon rolls HERE.
Unfortunately, adding too much flour can result in chewy and dense cinnamon rolls that just aren't fluffy and soft. This is because too much flour weighs the rolls down, preventing them from rising and becoming soft. Even if you use bread flour for cinnamon rolls, this can still happen if you use too much flour.
Heavy Cream: Using heavy cream will produce the most deliciously gooey cinnamon rolls (think Cinnabon level gooey) so this is recommended. However, half and half, coffee creamer, whole milk or coconut cream will also work. Brown Sugar: Maple sugar or regular granulated sugar will also work well.
There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity. But the most common reason cinnamon rolls don't turn out fluffy is because the dough didn't have enough time to rise.
Just before baking your cinnamon rolls, pour a bit of heavy cream over them in the pan (use ¼ cup to ½ cup for every 6 cinnamon rolls). The cream absorbs into the rolls as they bake, making them ultra moist and gooey (in a good way!).
Bread flour: to help keep these cinnamon rolls soft and fluffy, we're using bread flour, which has a higher protein level to help lighten the cinnamon roll texture. The higher amounts of protein help to produce more gluten, which gives cinnamon roll the chewy, soft texture you know and love.
Overbaked cinnamon rolls are tough and chewy instead of light and pillowy. Since it can be a bit tricky to know when rolls are fully baked, use a digital thermometer. Bake cinnamon rolls until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches between 190°and 200°F.
We want to leave the lid (or foil) on so they don't over-brown. Baking them from frozen keeps that soft and gooey texture. Glaze the warm cinnamon rolls and serve.
It might not shock you to find out that the cinnamon used in the Cinnabon offerings is the key ingredient. But this isn't just any cinnamon. This special Indonesian cinnamon, called Makara, is trademarked by Cinnabon. And because of that trademark, you won't find this product in your local grocery store spice aisle.
The Caramel Pecanbon, while a delicious treat from Cinnabon, is considered an unhealthy choice due to its high calorie, sugar, and fat content. A single serving packs a hefty caloric punch, often exceeding the daily recommended sugar intake in just one pastry.
The smooth, Ooey-Gooey™ topping of Cinnabon® cream cheese frosting adds another depth of flavor. Painted all over our rolls, it's a final layer to perfection.
Julie Clark, the blogger behind the website, notes that after years of research, she discovered that the key to getting perfectly gooey rolls is to “pour heavy cream over the cinnamon buns before baking. THIS is the secret ingredient and what makes the rolls rich and gooey.”
Cinnabon's creators set out to find the most flavorful and aromatic cinnamon possible, and settled on "Korintje" or "Makara," a variety that can only be harvested from cassia trees in the mountains of Indonesia. It's considered the gold standard of the spice.
Your cinnamon roll dough should be tacky to the touch, but not so sticky that it's messy. If you add too little flour, the dough will be gluey and eventually result in dense rolls. If you add too much flour, the dough will be tough, resulting in dry rolls.
According to our very own “Prince of Pastry” Chef Eddy Van Damme, heavy cream has 36 to 40 percent milk fat and will whip up firmer with stiff peaks that hold their shape longer than whipping cream peaks do. Heavy cream is a good choice when decorating pies or cakes, or for thickening sauces and ganache.
Can cinnamon rolls rise for too long? Yes definitely! If you let your cinnamon rolls rise for too long you can over-proof them. This can lead to dense rolls or rolls that collapse after baking.
Heavy cream and whipping cream are two similar high fat dairy products that manufacturers make by mixing milk with milk fat. The main difference between the two is their fat content. Heavy cream has slightly more fat than whipping cream. Otherwise, they are nutritionally very similar.
Introduction: My name is Horacio Brakus JD, I am a lively, splendid, jolly, vivacious, vast, cheerful, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__simply_recipes__uploads__2017__08__2017-08-30-Bakery-Cinnamon-Rolls-16-4412d8d93b9548a0bf672ed629a27f0c.jpg "The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Cinnamon Rolls (Works Every Time) (1)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Simply-Recipes-Apple-Cinnamon-Rolls-LEAD-09-dc1a26c7370f42ffb65e8ad3a99dcaca.jpg "The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Cinnamon Rolls (Works Every Time) (2)")
