Friday 21 December 2018

Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Rolls.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Happy Friday everyone!
I hope you are well and hopefully, on holiday.
Mine started on Wednesday but I know that many of you will be working throughout this Christmas season. I really hope you get a few days off throughout so you can enjoy all the food and plenty of rest.

One of our family favourites at this time of year are cinnamon rolls. We love to bake them for a leisurely holiday breakfast or to have with tea at teatime. This year, I thought I would add two of my favourite flavours into the rolls - chocolate and orange!
You can use your favourite cinnamon roll dough for this recipe and I went with an enriched one packed with butter, milk and eggs. Once the dough has risen, I roll it out ready to fill. The filling gets its main flavour from cocoa powder and plenty of warming spice. It is spread over the rolled dough before I throw over plenty more chopped chocolate and grated orange zest.
The dough is rolled up, sliced and sent to rise before being baked. Chocolate loves to burn so be sure to keep a close on it. As you'll see in the post, I got a little distracted and my rolls caught slightly on top. Thankfully they still tasted good and a generous spread of cream cheese glaze on top hid a multitude of sins underneath. Serve the rolls hot and fresh from the oven. Happy holidays!



A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Dough:
1. Plain Flour
2. Dried Yeast
3. Sugar
4. Salt
5. Eggs
6. Butter
7. Milk

For the Chocolate Orange Filling:
1. Butter
2. Cocoa Powder
3. White Sugar
4. Soft Light Brown Sugar
5. Honey
6. Ground Cinnamon
7. Ground Allspice
8. Salt
9. Milk Chocolate
10. Orange 

For the Cream Cheese Glaze:
1. Cream Cheese
2. Butter
3. Icing Sugar
4. Salt
5. Vanilla Essence
6. Double Cream

Bismillah, let's begin!

We start with the dough. Because this is a sweet bread, the dough will need time to rise. Sometimes I make it on the day we want to eat and other times, I leave it to slowly rise in the fridge overnight.
More on the rising later. First, let's make the dough. Measure out 380g Plain Flour in a mixing bowl. I used my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.

Add in 1 tablespoon (15g) Dried Yeast.

Mix the flour and yeast together.

Then, add in 3 tablespoons Sugar.

And, 1 teaspoon Salt. This much salt in a sweet bread may seem strange but it'll help bring out all the sweetness that we'll have going on.

Crack in 3 large Eggs.

Add in 112g Butter, at room temperature.

Finish by pouring in 60ml warm Milk. Heat it in the microwave for around 40 seconds to get it warm.

We're ready to mix!

Mix the dough on a low speed with the dough hook until everything has come together in a rough dough.

Then, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until you have a smooth but sticky dough.

Use a spatula to scrape the dough out into a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 and 1/2 hours or until it has nearly doubled in size
You can also leave it overnight in the fridge to get ahead the next morning. I usually do this and then let it rise a bit more at room temperature.

Once the dough is nearly ready, we can make the filling.

The chocolate orange filling starts in a mixing bowl with 112g Butter, at room temperature.

Add in 40g Cocoa Powder, sifted if you can be bothered. This will be the main chocolate flavour in our rolls.

Add in 3 tablespoons White Sugar. I used caster but granulated would work fine too.

Also, throw in 3 tablespoons Soft Light Brown Sugar.

Pour in 1 tablespoon Honey. Golden syrup would work just as well here.

Here comes the cinnamon! Add in 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon.

For more spice, add in 1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice.

Finally to balance all the sweetness, 1/2 teaspoon Salt.

Mix well with a spatula until fully combined.

For the filling, we will also need 50g Milk Chocolate, finely chopped.

Plus 1 Orange. We will use its finely grated zest in the roll filling.

Once the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl. Using floured hands, place onto a floured surface. Roll out to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the chocolate filling over the dough, leaving a border all around the edge.

Sprinkle over as much chopped milk chocolate as you'd like. I don't add too much because it can make the rolls difficult to cut.

Then, finely grate over Orange Zest. I used 1 large orange for this.

Starting from the horizontal side, roll up the dough into a tight log.

Put the log onto a tray or board and freeze for 10 minutes. Freezing will make the log easier to cut.

Cut the log up into 10 slices or into equal-sized pieces.

Put the rolls, swirl-side up, into a greased and lined 9x13 inch (22x33cm) rectangle baking tin. I didn't line mine with baking paper and regretted it which is why I advise you do.

My 2-year-old niece turned up at this point and I forgot to take a picture of the rolls before they went to rise.

Cover the rolls and leave them to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until they have doubled in size. Just before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4.

Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown. I was busy with guests (4 aunts, 1 cousin and 1 niece to be precise) and the rolls burnt a bit on top. Be sure to keep an eye on them as chocolate loves to burn!

While the rolls bake, let's make the glaze. In a mixing bowl, measure out:
60g Cream Cheese, at room temperature
25g Butter, at room temperature

Add in 160g Icing Sugar, sifted if you can be bothered. I couldn't! 😁

Beat together with an electric whisk until smooth.

Add in 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence and a Pinch of Salt.

Finally, 1 tablespoon Double Cream.

Beat the glaze together until well combined and creamy.

Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread over all the glaze. The glaze will soak into the warm rolls adding even more deliciousness!

The rolls are great as they are but look even more festive with a grating of orange zest and a sprinkle of chopped milk chocolate on top.

Serve the rolls immediately with tea or coffee.

That chocolatey centre! 😍

Hope you have a great holiday!

Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Rolls.

cinnamon rolls with my favourite flavour combination.

Prep Time: About 3 hours.
Bake Time: About 35 minutes.
Serves: Makes 10 large rolls.

Ingredients

For the Dough
380g Plain Flour
1 tablespoon (15g) Dried Yeast 
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
3 large Eggs
112g Butter, at room temperature
60ml Milk, warm

For the Chocolate Orange Filling
112g Butter, at room temperature
40g Cocoa Powder, sifted if you can be bothered
3 tablespoons White Sugar
3 tablespoons Soft Light Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice 
1/2 teaspoon Salt
50g Milk Chocolate, finely chopped
Finely Grated Zest of 1 Orange

For the Cream Cheese Glaze
60g Cream Cheese, at room temperature
25g Butter, at room temperature
160g Icing Sugar, sifted if you can be bothered
Pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 tablespoon Double Cream

To Decorate
Finely grated Orange Zest
Milk Chocolate, finely chopped

Make the dough and let it rise:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the plain flour and yeast. Add in the sugar, salt, eggs, butter and warm milk. Mix with a dough hook on low speed until you have a rough dough. Then, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until you have a smooth but sticky dough. Put the dough into a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Let it rise for 1 and 1/2 hours until nearly doubled in size. You can leave the dough in the fridge overnight at this point too.

Mix up the filling:
In a mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the orange zest and chopped chocolate.

Assemble the rolls and let them rise:
Grease and line a 9x13 inch (22x33cm) rectangle baking tin.
Using floured hands and rolling pin, roll the dough out to a rectangle - about 1/4 inch thick. Spread over the chocolate filling, leaving a border at the edge. Sprinkle on the chopped chocolate and orange zest.
Starting from the horizontal side, roll up into a tight log. Freeze for 10 minutes to make cutting easier. Cut the log into 10 pieces and place into the baking tin. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour or until the rolls have doubled in size.

Bake the rolls:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4. Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown. Towards the end of the baking time, keep an eye on them so that they don't get too dark - chocolate loves to burn!

Whilst the rolls bake, make the glaze:
Beat the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar together until smooth. Add the salt, vanilla and cream before beating again until well combined and creamy.

Glaze the rolls:
Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread over the glaze. Finish with chopped chocolate and orange zest.

Serve:
Serve with coffee for breakfast or with tea at teatime. 

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your chocolate orange rolls!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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