Cinnamon Roll Cake
A unique, fun way to serve cinnamon rolls - and easier to make!
I haven’t met a soul on this planet who doesn’t like cinnamon rolls - even those not teethed on them! Yes, some would like more or less frosting or glaze….some like them with raisins….some with nuts…some with cream cheese frosting….some abstain due to dieting…… But let’s face it, the individual who DOESN’T like cinnamon rolls are few and far between.
Some of us even love to make them ourselves, but if you are one of those who suffer from “yeastaphobia” - fear of yeast - you may not yet have had the pleasure. My first venture into making cinnamon rolls were those featured on the Bisquick box, which is a bit of a short-cut version, leavened by baking powder instead of yeast, but my mother was one with the phobia of the dreaded “YEAST” and so I had to take baby steps to teach myself.
I would love to be able to work with each of you afeared individuals for a few minutes to help you overcome this fear and lead you to experience how easy and rewarding it can be to work with this “fungus monster” (yeast) - which really, when stroked just right is a mere kitten and will purr to you with wonderful aromas and flavors from your kitchen. (In fact, we have a term in our family that involves the yeast that goes wild and leavens our dough to pouring out of its container and down the shelves when neglected - that is what we call the bread “monster”.)
This is a slightly easier rendition of the typical cinnamon roll, in cake form, which eliminates some of the more tedious techniques of making cinnamon rolls, which is nevertheless fun in its own right. (Look for upcoming posts on the actual cinnamon roll and deliciously yummy adaptations.)
cinnamon cake roll
(This recipe makes 2 cakes, a total of 16 servings.)
1 package dry yeast = 2 1/2 tablespoons
1/2 cup water
1/2 cups sugar, (or down to 1/3 if you want to eliminate some of the sugar)
1 1/3 cup water, lukewarm
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cups shortening (or 1/3 c. butter and 1/3 c. shortening)
1 tablespoons salt
1 cup cooled, instant mashed potatoes mixed with water
2 eggs
6 - 7 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk (or more for a thinner glaze)
dash of salt
cookie or cake sprinkles or confetti
-In mixing bowl, pour 1/2 cup lukewarm water and add 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the water, give it a stir and allow to sit about 8 minutes to prove yeast. (If the yeast is dissolved and somewhat foamy on top that means your yeast is living and is ready to go!)
-Add the remaining 1 1/3 cups water, sugar, salt, eggs, cooled potatoes, shortening/butter and 3 cups of the flour. Mix with the whip on your mixer until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining flour a cup at a time, mixing after each until mixture becomes too thick for the whip. Change the attachment to the dough hook on your mixer and mix at low speed until smooth. (or knead by hand about 7 minutes). Mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer and balls up around the hook, adding more flour a bit at a time as necessary to achieve this. Continue kneading on low speed for about 7 minutes.
-Remove hook from the dough. Pour a small amount of oil into a large bowl and swirl it around. Form the dough into a ball and place in bowl, moving it about until it is oiled on the bottom surface, then flip it over in the bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place in your kitchen or in the oven set on bread-proofing. Allow to rise at least an hour or till risen just about double in size. Test to see if it has risen enough by poking a finger into the center of the risen dough. If the hole remains, it is ready to shape.
-Punch down the dough by kneading it by hand a few times. Roll dough out on floured counter or surface to a rectangle, approximately 30 inches by 8 inches. (You can only coax the bread dough to roll out - it takes some time as most yeast doughs have to ease into a new shape. Roll it to as large a rectangle as it will stay, walk away for 5 minutes then come back and roll again. Repeat. By the 3rd time or so it should be willing to stay in just about the shape you want it to be.)
-Spread softened butter over the surface of the dough then sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Add walnuts, raisins or other goodies as desired at this point.
-Starting with a long edge fold the dough 1/3 of the way over the filling. Repeat from the other side in the style of a tri-folded letter.
-Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly to create a large coil clear to the end. It will look like a giant snail. Lay it flat in a well-greased round 9-10 inch cake pan. Cover loosely and let rise about 30 minutes.
-Bake in 350-degree oven until puffy and golden, 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Pour or spread glaze over the cake and decorate with candy sprinkles or edible confetti. Cut into cake wedge pices. Serve warm or cold. Warm with ice cream is delicious as well. Serves 8
Roll dough out to a 24 inch by 8 inch strip and spread with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Fold dough along one long edge, 1/3 of the way over filling.
Fold the other long edge over by a third to completely encase the filling. A letter tri-fold. Press edges together.
Roll dough from one short end to the other, tightly, creating a spherical coil.
Place coil on its side in greased baking dish and let rise until double.
A moist, tender serving of a classic favorite - Cinnamon Roll Cake!
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**When working with yeast, make sure none of the ingredients are HOT when you add them. The water to prove the yeast should be just barely, not cold. Yeast will still bloom in cold water, but slightly warm water works faster. When in doubt, err to the cold side. (“Prove” means to make sure the yeast is still active. You will rarely have trouble with this, but if close to the expiration date on the package, you may occasionally find your yeast is dead.)
**For a thicker, richer frosting you can try the Cinna-Bon type frosting, a cream-cheese frosting. Combine 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 8 ounces softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup softened butter until smooth, adding a few drops of milk if mixture is too thick, working it to your desired consistency. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and beat until smooth. A pinch of salt creates yummy contrast.
**From the photos you will see that we liberally drizzled frosting over cake. Some prefer a thinner glaze or just a shimmer of glaze, resulting in a less sweet version. As you like it!
