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.
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.
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.”
Pouring heavy cream over cinnamon rolls before baking will add richness and moisture to the roll. As the cinnamon rolls bake, the cream will combine with the cinnamon and sugar to create a caramel-like sauce that will coat the rolls, adding a creamy texture with the fluffy roll.
This hack has gained a lot of traction on TikTok and is so simple: Just pour heavy cream in a baking dish to cover the bottom of the pan.Arrange the premade buns in the pan, cover with foil and bake according to package directions. The cream adds moisture to the rolls for extra tender and pillowy pastries.
If you find that you don't have a carton of heavy cream in the fridge, milk—especially whole milk—is a good alternative. The substitution might not give as rich of a flavor or make the cinnamon rolls rise as much, but it'll still leave you with a tasty breakfast treat.
According to the labeling standards of the Food and Drug Administration, heavy cream is a cream with no less than 36% milk fat.It may also be called heavy whipping cream (1). In contrast, whipping cream has a slightly lower milk fat content, 30–36%.
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.
Similarly to half-and-half, milk makes a good heavy cream substitute when it's combined with melted butter. Combine 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup melted butter for every cup of heavy cream. This mixture is not suitable for whipping. Best for: cooking and baking.
Your cinnamon roll dough should be tacky to the touch, but not too sticky so 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.
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.
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.
Step Four: take the cinnamon rolls out in time to come to room temperature and fully rise before baking. Usually that means the rolls need to have time to double in size from the original shape (for most recipes) before they go in the oven.
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.
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.
When cinnamon rolls turn out too hard and dense, the yeasted dough didn't rise adequately, according to Miss Vickie's Pressure Cooker Times. If the dough used in a cinnamon roll recipe hasn't doubled in size before being rolled around the sweet filling, too few air bubbles will form.
In the United States, heavy cream contains between 36- and 40-percent fat. In other words, it plays the roll of both a fat and a liquid, giving the dough tenderness and flavor from the fat, as well as moisture from its water content.
Pour approximately 1/4 cup of heavy cream (also known as whipping cream) on top of and in between the rolls. Bake as usual. Ill never skip this step again, they come out twice the size and fluffy.
Whether you leave them out at room temperature or refrigerate them, the most important thing is to store them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly with plastic wrap on a plate. This keeps the cinnamon rolls moist, fresh, and just as delicious as when they came out of the oven.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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