Hello Dear Ones! I hope you all had a fantastic week! Ours was a bit busy, our oldest little man turned 4 on Tuesday, but he chose to wait to celebrate until Friday so that his cousins could join us! It was so incredibly sweet of him to choose to wait but it made for a busy week!
I love making special days even more special, and birthdays are no joke! I love cinnamon rolls, both the making, and especially the eating :), and in my learning of sourdough, I chose to make these ones with natural leavening. I had never made these before with sourdough starter, and the birthday cake filling was my first try, as an altogether different recipe I had tried in the past just had not stuck out to me!
I have to tell you that for being a first try, these cinnamon rolls struck gold! My husband does regularly give compliments when he likes the food that I make, but these cinnamon rolls were “Unbelievable” and he literally could not stop eating them. For a man that does not always care for sweet things, I believe that was the highest compliment I could ever receive!
These are a full day process, I have to warn you, as with all sourdough.However I have found the sourdough process to be so entirely relaxing instead of burdensome! The process of working with the natural flow of things, and allowing it to do its work, as opposed to having to stick to a strict 1 hour schedule is just awesome, and I can almost guarantee that you will fall in love too!
I have chosen to give you the recipe first, and if you would like to see pictures of each step, you will find them after the recipe. I personally many times will only need the recipe, and I hope to make your visit more enjoyable by setting it up this way!
Sourdough Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls
For the Dough (original recipe found here):
- 3/4 Cup Sweet Sourdough Starter, stirred down
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/4 Cup Butter
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- 3 Cups AP Flour
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
For the Filling:
- 1/3-1/2 Cup Butter, softened
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 recipe Birthday Cake Crumble
- Sprinkles
For the Frosting (original recipe here):
- 1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter, melted
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- 2-3 Tbsp Milk
For the Dough:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, butter, and honey and heat until just melted. Remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter, egg, vanilla, and milk/butter/honey mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined, as well.
Switch to the dough hook and knead on low for 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth.
Shape dough in a ball and place in a bowl with room to rise. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 6 hours, with a few stretch & folds as it is rising.
After 6 hours, and the dough has visiby risen (if there is no rising after 3-4 hours, boil some water in a pot and place the covered bowl as well as the pot of water in an unheated oven, and it will aid in rising),gently roll out the dough into a large rectangle, approx 20 inches wide, and as long as it will go!
For the Filling:
Spread the softened butter over the dough in a very thin layer. Sprinkle brown sugar, then cinnamon over top of the butter. Finally, sprinkle the Birthday Cake Crumble generously over top of the sugar and cinnamon, along with additional sprinkles, if desired.
Roll up tightly into a log, started at the 20 inch long side. Cut 1/2 inch off of the ends, then cut into 12 – 1 1/2 in long pieces.
Line a 13×9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and place rolls in pan with equal distances between each one.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until they are doubled in volume.*
When rolls have reached appropriate size bake **at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
For the Frosting:
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Frost rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy!
*It took overnight for my rolls to reach baking size.
**At this point, rolls may be covered and refrigerated to be baked later, and they may go straight from the refrigerator to the oven with no adverse affects.
The morning sun is a killer!!
- Combine milk, butter, and honey in a saucepan on the stove and heat just until melted together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter, egg, and vanilla, then add in the milk mixture and mix until just combined. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl and add to the sourdough mixture all at once, mixing only until just combined.
2. Switch attachment to dough hook and knead on low for 6-8 minutes, until dough is smooth. Shape into a ball and place in a medium bowl. Cover and allow to rise 6+ hours, stretching & folding a few times in between.
3. When dough has risen considerably, transfer to a well floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle, approximately 20 inches wide, and as long as it will go. Spread with softened butter in a thin layer, then sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, Birthday Cake Crumble, and sprinkles, in that order.
4. Roll tightly into a log, beginning and ending at the 20-inch ends. Cut 1/2 inch off the ends, then cut into 12- 1 1/2 inch pieces with dental floss. Line a 13×9 cake pan with parchment paper and place pieces in it, at equal distances from each other.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until they are almost the size they will be when they are baked. At this point, if you do not want them to be baked, they can go into the refrigerator, covered, and then straight from the refrigerator to the preheated oven.
Otherwise, you may bake them immediately in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
6. While the rolls are baking, combine all of the ingredients together and mix until smooth.Frost rolls when they are still warm!
Enjoy!!
impassionedkitchen 