Carrot Cake Style Cinnamon Rolls

Carrot Cake Style Cinnamon Rolls 
Topped with Cream Cheese Cake Batter Frosting
and garnished with Marzipan Baby Carrots!

This year for Thanksgiving dessert I made a variation on the standard Cinnamon Rolls. That's what I do. I took my favorite carrot cake recipe which includes pineapple and spun it into the yummiest, tastiest cinnamon roll. And because of the carrots it was healthy, too! Ha ha ha ha.

Anyway, the funny things is all the guys at the table passed up this delicious treat. They turned their noses up to the carrots... their loss - because these were darn right tasty.

Here is how I made them: 

Dough:
Proof yeast, in a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons warm milk with 1 1/2 teaspoon yeast with 2 teaspoons brown or regular sugar. In a larger glass bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm milk, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot with 2 cups flour. Once the carrots are evenly distributed throughout the flour, add it to the wet ingredients. Add in the proofed yeast and up to another 1/2 cup of flour if necessary. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 5-10 minutes. Shape into ball. Put back into oiled glass bowl and turn to oil top of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (oven, if available - probably not available on Thanksgiving day though - I put mine right next to the oven to receive heat from the baking turkey) and let rise till doubled - usually takes about 1-2 hours. 

Meanwhile, prepare filling. I used 1/2 a large carrot for the shredded carrot above in the dough. The other 1/2 carrot I cut into small pieces and put in a small pan with water to boil till soft. Then I added brown sugar - about 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and about 2 tablespoons butter, also 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and mixed it all together. Remove pan from heat and blended this mixture till smooth with my immersion blender. 

When the dough has doubled remove to prepared surface to roll out into rectangle. I like shortcuts and easy clean up so I roll out the dough on baking parchment paper. Spread with carrot puree mixture and roll up into long log shape. Pinch seams if possible. I always have a hard time because this liquid fillings make such a mess. Do your best. Then cut into 8-12 equal slices. I got about 10 good size slices out this time. Put the slices into a prepred glass baking dish or if like me - I shape the slices into a circle and then pick up the parchment paper by the corners and lift into my pie tin and then I arrange the slices again evenly in the pan. Why, because I don't want to clean any extra pans or dishes... "shortcuts" remember!

Now let this rise for another 1/2 hour or so - until doubled. Right before I bake it I push down an indentation in each roll and spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of pineapple jam into each roll. (Because my favorite carrot cake recipe includes pineapple... this made the rolls so yummy, too).

Now, bake them in pre-heated oven 175-C degrees for 10-15 minutes. It seemed like my oven was taking forever to cook them, I thought it quit working after being on all day baking the turkey, that I turned the heat up to 200 and switched it to hot air oven - and after 2 minutes they were done.

Remove from oven. Prepare frosting. Whip together 1/3 cup butter and in 1/4 cup cream cheese. Mix in 1 cup powdered sugar. If it's not thick to your liking, mix in 1/2 cup yellow cake dry mix. Taste and adjust to your liking. Scoop large spoonfuls of frosting onto each roll. 

At some point while the rolls where rising, second time, I made the marzipan carrots. I bought some reddish orange colored marzipan, opened the package and took off pieces of marzipan and roll them in my fingers till they were the shape of little carrots. Topped the rolls with them... and I don't really like marzipan but they did taste really good with this frosting. It was a nice touch to add them to the rolls. I would do that again!

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At the end of Thanksgiving meal and a long day - it may seem like these rolls are a lot of work, but really, there is just a lot of waiting while they rise and stuff. It's not that bad to be the treat maker. I didn't have to make any of the other side dishes... so I got off easy :) It's good to be me!

What is your favorite sweet treat at Thanksgiving?

African Honeybush Tea - Banana, Vanilla, Pineapple and Cinnamon Sweet Rolls

Gosh - that's a mouthful - the name... and normally I like to do - that less is more when it comes to flavors... but I have been drinking some African Honeybush Tea in this variety and it's really yummy. So, I decided to do something with it in regards to sweet rolls. I was concerned that the flavors would compete each other and cancel each other out but actually they all came together really well and it worked. The "tea" taste was subtle, the pineapple was the most notable but it didn't overpower the other flavors and they all complimented the cinnamon and they were quite yummy.

I was in the sweet rolls mood this afternoon and I was trying to decide which ones to re-make. The Rooibos vanilla was were quite good and so were the Polynesian Pineapple rolls... so I went to the tea cupboard and looked for a new variety to try and that is when I saw that little bag of African Honeybush... and it has pineapple in it and then I just new exactly what to do. It all worked out so wonderfully.

Dough: 
1/2 cup hot "Oat Dream" or water with 1 bag of the above mentioned tea seeped in for 5-10 minutes (longer yields more flavor) [Use about 3/4 cup liquid and then set some aside for the glaze]
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 small ripe banana, pureed smooth (about 100ml)
2 1/4 cups BASIC ROLL MIX

Filling:
+/- 1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 - 2 tablespoon butter, softened

Topping:
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits in syrup, pureed till smooth like apple sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons "Oat Dream" (tea seeped - see above)

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm seeped tea (Oat Dream or water). Add in banana puree and melted butter. Mix in 2 cups of the BASIC ROLL MIX and up to 1/4 cup more until dough is smooth and elastic. Butter bowl, put in the dough and turn to cover all sides. Cover bowl with damp cloth or plastic wrap and put in warm place to double in size. For example, the oven on the lowest temperature is a good place. I usually heat it for a few minutes and then turn off the heat and let it sit in the oven with the door closed for at least an hour to let it double in size. Punch down dough. Let rest a few minutes. 

2. Roll out dough on clean surface dusted with flour and shape into rectangle flat form. Spread softened butter over top and sprinkle with generous amount of sugar - up to 1/2 cup and then with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon - about 1 tablespoon. Roll up jelly-roll style and slice into 8 equal slices. Put into pie dish prepared with parchment paper and let rise a second time 30-45 minutes in warm place as above.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and pineapple and whisk until blended, bring to boil over medium heat; cook and stir about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Make an indentation with the back of a spoon or with your thumb into the center of each roll and then place a teaspoon or two of the topping in the center of each roll. Bake at 175-C degrees (350-F) for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

4. For glaze, combine sugar and extract and enough "milk" seeped Oat Dream to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over warmed rolls.

Related Posts:
Rooibos Vanilla Sweet Rolls
Polynesian-inspired Pineapple and Bacon Sweet Rolls
Banana Date Mango Sweet Rolls
Coco-Nana-Nut and Dulce de Leche Sweet Rolls
Pineapple Upside Down Cinnamon Rolls

Pineapple Upside-Down Cinnamon Rolls

Last month I bake my first ever Pineapple Upside-Down Cake... in honor of my Grandma Betty - view post here.


This month I decided to make some cinnamon rolls upside down with pineapples and some fresh Cherry Rhubarb Jam - which I had just whipped up.


So, next time you plan on baking up your favorite cinnamon rolls - consider doing this:

Melt butter and put into cake pan or glass casserole dish. Arrange pineapple slices, cherries (which is traditional in Pineapple-upside down cake) or in my case, I used the Cherry Rhubarb Jam. Add some chopped nuts to fill in the gaps. I used a combination of pecan and hazelnut. When you make cake you also put in brown sugar, but I left that out since it is rolled into the cinnamon rolls.

Use your favorite dough recipe - enough for about 8 large rolls - (I'll include below the awesome recipe I used), roll out dough, fill with melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and cut into 8 equal slices.

Place these 8 slices right side up evenly over pineapple layer. Place into warm oven (not hot) just warm enough to get the dough to rise a second time. Should take about 30 minutes or less.

Here they are just risen and ready to bake, adjust oven temperature... (but beware - see I used this pan, and if you use one just like it - put some foil or another baking sheet below it to catch the drippings - other wise you are gonna end up with smoke and the loud annoying beeping of the smoke detector!)

Remove from oven and cool about 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove sides of cake pan (spring form) and put a large platter or pizza plate over the top (inverted) then flip it over or turn it over or whatever - you know what I mean. Then you may or may not need a spatula to slide everything back onto the rolls. I needed a spatula because it was a bit sticky... and I just rearranged the slices into place.

Ta-Da!

Now, grab a plate and fork and enjoy!

The Awesome Recipe:

Using this recipe adapted from uTry.It Philly Friendship Braided Bread

TangZhong Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Boiling Water
1/4 Cup Bread Flour


Bread Dough Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Warm Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Tablespoon Melted Butter
1 1/2 Cup Bread Flour
1 1/3 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast 

Filling Ingredients:

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Pineapple-Upside Down ingredients:

1 can pineapple slices

Cherries or Cherry Jam

Chopped Nuts

2 tablespoons melted butter

To Make The TangZhong:
Place bread flour in a small bowl, pour boiling water over the bread flour and stir quickly with a fork to combine until no lumps.
Wrap mixture (it'll be a very wet dough) with plastic wrap, form dough in ball/round shape and leave in refrigerator overnight.


To Make The Rolls:
1. Take out the TangZhong from the fridge at least an hour before use (I usually leave it on countertop until it's room temperature).
2. In a bread machine, pour in ingredient in this order, warm milk, TangZhong 湯種, salt, sugar, butter, bread flour and yeast. Set bread machine to dough setting according to its user menu.

In the meantime, prepare cake pan or glass casserole dish: melt 1 tbsp butter and coat the bottom of the pan. Place one pineapple slice in the center. Then place the other slices around. If the other 7 slices don't fit evenly in the pan, as it was with me, then slice them in half and arrange as pictures. Put a little cherry or jam in the hole of each pineapple. Chop some nuts and fill in the gaps. I used a combination of pecan and hazelnut but pecan is just fine.

3. When dough is ready, take it out from bread machine and punch it a few times to deflate it. Roll out into large rectangle. Spread with melted butter. Then spread brown sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Roll it up into a log and cut equally into 8 slices. Place these slices over and evenly into the prepared pan. Place in warm oven for about 30 minutes to rise a second time.

5. After it has risen, bake at 175-C degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Then take out and cool till pan is easy to handle. Put a large plate over the pan and invert the pan over, flip it - turn it. The cinnamon rolls and pineapples should come out easily but if they don't, just arrange everything back as it should look. 

Makes 8 - serve warm!

Polynesian-inspired Pineapple and Bacon Sweet Rolls

Paul Arden writes: Do not covet your ideas. Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you.... They're not your ideas anyway, they're someone else's. They are out there floating by on the ether. You just have to put yourself in a frame of mind to pick them up.

This is what I was thinking about recently when I decided to put bacon - the sweet meat in my sweet rolls. Am I the first to use bacon in a sweet treat? Absolutely not. It seems this idea was out there floating through the air and many foodies picked it up about the same time. I think I had the idea to use bacon in my sweet rolls back in August. I didn't do anything with it until September - I'm just now reporting on it. Since then, I've seen bacon in cupcakes, cookies, ice cream and even fudge (via tastespotting.com among other sites). One of the more interesting cupcake ideas I saw bacon in - was to make pancake cupcakes - top it with maple buttercream icing and sprinkle it with bacon bits. A very dessertish type breakfast. I like that idea. I don't remember who's blog I saw it on because I follow so many - but I think it was the Brown Eyed Baker. I should give credit where it is due, right? But was she the first? I don't know - and since we all influence each other and alter each others recipes - I thought I would let my bacon treat leave it's mark here in blogdom.

I've paired the bacon with pineapple and with a maple glaze. These are some what adult tasting... that's how my husband often describes my food fusion - new and bizarre twists on sweet rolls... but they are so yummy - especially the pineapple topping... it's so good in fact, that I must make a pina colada sweet roll next time.

This is my first trial making the Polynesian-inspired Sweet Roll. Certainly, the next few times I shall try ham instead - and putting the bacon in the filling instead of in the dough. I took these yummy rolls to church with me one Sunday morning and all my tasters said: Bacon! What bacon - I don't taste it. Once I told them, yes there is bacon in them... a few replied - oh I taste it.

So, for trial 2 we will put the bacon in the filling - I think this will bring out the flavor more without it being too dominating or not noticable at all. I may even try honey, ham and apple next time - that sounds good.
Oh yeah, and we will bake them at a lower temperature for more time - so about 175-C for 20 to 22 minutes - that's the time and temp I bake most my other rolls at - and I should have followed my instinct with these as well - some of them burned a bit on the bottom - and I know everyone's oven is different - so bakers - beware!

Polynesian–inspired Sweet Roll (Trial 1)

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com (Bernice Morris – Pineapple Sweet Rolls)

Servings: 24

DOUGH:
1 - 2 bacon slice(s) (about 60 grams), fried, drained, and crumbled into pieces
1 1/8 teaspoon (.25 ounce or 7 grams) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
½ cup brown sugar

TOPPING:
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 (8 ounce or 226 grams) can crushed pineapple, undrained
¼ teaspoon pineapple extract (optional – for extra flavor)

GLAZE:
1 3/4 cups (about 250 grams) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon each maple and vanilla extract
3 tablespoon milk

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add milk and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Add the crumbled bacon pieces, eggs, 1/4 cup butter, salt, remaining sugar and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Roll each into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Spread melted butter over top and then sprinkle brown sugar evenly over. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Pinch seam to seal. Cut each into 12 slices. Place, cut side down, 2 in. apart on prepared baking sheets.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and pineapple until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Make indentation with back of spoon or with your thumb in the center of each roll and then place a teaspoonful of topping in the center of each roll. Bake at (220-C) 425 degrees F for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

3. For glaze, combine sugar, extracts and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over warm rolls.