Sweet Rolls that Rock: March 2011

Thursday 31 March 2011

Toblerone-filled Honey and Almond Sweet Rolls

Coarsely chop one Toblerone bar - and try not to eat too much of it - you'll want it on for the rolls.

I've been going through a fun little cookbook called My Best Friend Named Chocolate. It's inspired me to use chocolate more freely in other areas as well. And not just baking chocolate or cocoa - but Toblerone as well. The other day I whipped up a batch of these:

Check out those melted pieces of Toblerone bursting out... now comes the good part... the glaze!

I used my simple BASIC ROLL MIX. Filled the dough with a slightly spicy yet sweet honey spread. Then I divided the chopped Toblerone evenly over and rolled it up, sliced... and baked 'em. Next came a second helping of more yummy goodness:

One wicked sweet roll exploding with goodness!

A shiny sweet glaze and toasted almond pieces make this one awesome taste experience. I'm sure to enjoy them again and again.

For 12 rolls use BASIC ROLL MIX or other hot roll mix for your basic dough. So, I do this:

Combine in a mixing bowl 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, 3/4 cup warm water - let sit to become foamy. Then add 1 egg, beaten and 1/4 cup melted margarine or vegetable oil. Mix in 3 cups BASIC ROLL MIX and extra flour if needed to make a soft, not too sticky elastic ball of dough. Put into a bowl buttered with oil and turn to coat. Place someplace warm like the oven on it's lowest setting for at least an hour to rise, covered with plastic wrap.
Then prepare filling. Stir together in a small bowl 2 Tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder, 2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine and 1/2 cup agave syrup or honey (I like honey).
After dough has doubled in size, punch down and let rest 10 minutes. Then roll out on floured surface to good size rectangle shape - about 1 centimeter thick. Spread with filling and coarsely chopped Toblerone. Roll up and slice into 12 equal pieces and place on prepared baking sheets to rise again (about 30 minutes in oven on the lowest setting).
Prepare frosting and toast almonds, if using. For frosting combine in a mixer 1/4 cup butter or margarine at room temperature, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon almond extract and 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar. Mix well, continue mixing and adding in powdered sugar up to 2 cups total and 2 tablespoons water or milk to thin as desired. Keep beating up to 10 minutes. This makes the frosting nice and fluffy. Great for topping your rolls if you like your frosting piled high - then wait till they cool a little while before you do that otherwise the frosting turns to glaze as it melts all over the place on hot rolls (but I like it this way, too).
After rolls have doubled a second time, bake in oven at 175-C degrees for 15 minutes or so. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. All ovens are different so really - keep your eye on them. If it needs to go longer - go ahead but I noticed if I tap the top of the bun or lift it a little with the spatula you can see if it's cooked well enough on top and underneath.
Top with frosting/glaze and toasted almonds. They are very sweet so I suggest serving them with a nice tall and cold glass of milk :)

Thursday 17 March 2011

Shamrock Sweet Rolls

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I really loved this combination of chocolate filled sweet rolls with minty frosting. The dough was moist and not too dry. It was excellent.

I used the BASIC ROLL MIX and then filled it with chocolate mousse filling from Wilton.com and then used up some left over minty frosting we had from a Birthday party at the beginning of the month and just had those sprinkles in the cupboard as well.

Baking sweet rolls just comes naturally to me :)

Simply put four sweet rolls together in the shape of a shamrock or 4-leaf clover and then frost as desired. Serve warm!

Linked to:

Monday 14 March 2011

Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts with Warm Vanilla Glaze and Sprinkles

Two things I love combined into one delicious ~~threat~~ treat. Okay, okay - it is threat to my diet and my hips. But they are so yummy!

C'mon, who doens't love a crispy and creamy donut dipped in warm vanilla glaze? And who doesn't love cinnamon rolls?

I haven't met a person, yet!

They are real easy to make. Just put together your most favorite cinnamon roll recipe and when it's time to bake - you simply fry them. I have a tip here though - do not include butter in the filling. It's gonna have enough of that fat when it's fried.

I actually used a donut recipe for the dough found here. It turned out beautifully. I tried these out twice - once making them with a cinnamon roll recipe dough and once with the doughnut recipe dough - and I liked them better with the recipe at said link. They were just a lot more fluffy like a doughnut should be.

I used a slightly different glaze - using only powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.

And for my filling using just dark brown sugar and cinnamon.

So, if you want yours to turn out like mine, then make your dough according to these directions. After the dough has risen, roll out into a large rectangle. Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

I used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon. Roll up and cut into 24 equal slices. Place on prepared baking sheets (parchment paper works like a charm - or a buttered and flour dusted pizza pan) and let rise a second time in warm place (like a warm oven - on the lowest setting).

Meanwhile, heat up your deep fryer. I realize some people don't own deep fryers. That's a pity. You may do it like this awesome blogger did it then. Which is where I originally found this most delicious doughnut and which inspired me to do cinnamon rolls in the deep fryer. She also has a nice step-by-step tutorial. And she also made chocolate cake doughnuts. I also made chocolate cake -cinnamon roll doughnuts. And I'll post that chocolate lovers delight another day ;)

On a side note: did you know that most Dutch households own a deep fryer? They do not, however, own a slow cooker like most American households.

Okay, when you fry the cinnamon roll, let it slip into the oil off the spatula. Then flip it over. Let it fry about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes before flipping it again. For a total of about 4 minutes. It can go longer, but I like them lightly fried - just like store bought donuts. Remove and allow excess oil to soak into paper towels.

When they are cool enough to handle, dip into prepared warm vanilla glaze. I used about 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons milk. Heated in small saucepan over low flame. After it started to gently boil, I turned the heat off and left the pan on the burner. Now, stir in about 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - and if you have any 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract.

After dipping cinnamon roll in glaze, let the extra glaze drip back into pan and then place back on wire rack to cool completely. If using sprinkles - use those first before the glaze sets.

And that's it!

I discovered that I like my doughnuts at room temperature and my cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. That's kind of a funny quirk about me.

Do you like to eat your doughnuts warm or cool?

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Sweet Rolls-O-Rama - Linky Party!

Lately, I've been noticing that I'm not alone in my love for sweet rolls. So, I thought it would be really fun to start a Sweet Rolls that Rock - linky party.

Do you visit other food blogs? Do you know what this is?

I'm still very new to this whole food blogging thingy - but I'm catching on quickly.

Lisa over at Sweet as Sugar Cookies hosts a linky party every Saturday. There are many treats to drool over.

I've participated many times. It's great to discover other food bloggers that you might have a lot in common with. It's nice to see what other people are making and baking.

It's also nice to leave comments and receive comments. I love the comments :)

So let's do this thing! (<-- movie quote from Disney's Ratatouille)

How to submit:

Link up your sweet roll creation and include link to specific post URL (not the main page).
So that everyone can find us from your blog and get some linky love - please link back to Sweet Rolls that Rock with either a text link or a link button.
Leave a comment below.
Would be nice to give all participants some traffic, do visit at least 2 other blogs in the party. Browse around. We all like comment love - so give some and get some :)
Suggestion: Bookmark or keep link button to this blog so you can easily link up your future sweet roll creations.