Cinnamon Roll Cake - January 2017

Ingredients-

Cake-

• 2 ¾ cups flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package Red Star Platinum Yeast or Instant Yeast
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large egg @ room temp

Filling-

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

Vanilla Maple Glaze-

• 1 cup sifted confectionary sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Make the dough, set aside ½ of the flour. In a large bowl, toss the 2 ¼ cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast together until evenly dispersed. Set aside.
• Heat the water, milk, butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch (about 115-120F degrees).Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. *I only needed 1/3 cup, but you may need the full ½ cup. The dough will be ready when it gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes. Form a ball and place in a slightly greased bowl. Cover tightly and let rest for 30 minutes. The dough will slightly rise.
• Make the filling- After 30 minutes, roll the dough out in a 15x12 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it all over the dough. Spray a 9” round pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
• Using a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into six 2” wide strips. Loosely roll up one strip and place it in the center of the pan. You’re rolling it loosely so the dough has some give while it rises. Coil the remaining 5 strips around the center roll, starting each strip at the end of the previous one to make one large rolled cake. Some of the filling may spill out as you pick up the strips, sprinkle that on top of the cake after spiraling.
• Loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place for 60-90 minutes. (I heated my oven to 200F degrees, turned it off and placed the cake in there for the full 90 minutes to rise)
• After the cake’s dough has nearly doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. (I covered the rolls with aluminum foil after 15 minutes to avoid heavy browning). *While the cake is baking, some spots may rise up more than other spots. That is normal. I simply removed the pan from the oven and pressed down the sides with the back of a spatula that were rising more than others.)
• Remove the cake from the oven when it’s done. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Make the glaze- Mix the sifted powdered sugar, milk, maple syrup and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle of the cake right before serving.

-Bianca