Soft and Gooey Single Serve Cinnamon Roll
This small batch single cinnamon roll uses minimal ingredients to make one epically tasty treat. It bakes up with a crisp crust, gooey pull-apart center, and is so good slathered with with a small batch cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
the dough
- 160 grams all-purpose flour (1⅓ cup, loosely scooped and leveled off)
- 36 grams whole milk (2½ tablespoons, around 95°-100°F)
- 28 grams unsalted butter (2 tablespoons)
- 20 grams granulated sugar (a scant 2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 3 grams diamond crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon / use half as much if using a different brand of salt)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
cinnamon sugar filling
- 42 grams brown sugar (3½ tablespoons)
- 24 grams granulated sugar (2½ tablespoons)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 56 grams melted butter (4 tablespoons)
small batch cream cheese frosting
- 14 grams brick-style cream cheese (1 tablespoon)
- 14 grams softened unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- 60 grams powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream (you may need an additional 1 teaspoon)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
the dough
- Whisk lukewarm melted butter, room temperature egg, lukewarm milk, and vanilla bean paste together in a large liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. The liquid will be absorbed but the dough will still be quite dry and floury.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop and knead by hand for 3-5 minutes until the dough smooths out. There shouldn't be any visible dry bits of flour, and it may feel slightly sticky to the touch. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot (72°-75°F) for about an hour. The dough will not double in size, but will grow slightly and smooth out in texture. If your kitchen runs cool, you may want to let it rise for another 30-60 minutes.
A shaggy dough is when the liquid has been absorbed, but the dough itself is still kind of dry and crumbly. But if you squeeze it, it should hold together.
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- While the dough rises, mix all the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling in a bowl until smooth. Cover and set aside at room temperature. The melted butter will start to firm up as the mixture cools, for a soft, spreadable consistency.
Assembly
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and roll into a large rectangle about ⅛" thick. Use a bench scraper to square off the dough as you roll to keep a rectangular shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. Dust the counter lightly with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Arrange the dough rectangle so one of the long edges is facing you. Brush off any excess flour, then spread about ⅔ of the cinnamon sugar filling onto the surface of the dough. Leave about an inch along the top edge clear of filling.
- Roll the dough into a log starting with one of the bottom corners closest to you. For a tighter roll with more layers, gently lift and stretch the dough slightly toward your body before each forward roll.
- Gently flatten the log against the counter using your hands or a rolling pin. Be gentle but firm — you don't want to tear the layers of dough and filling inside it. You just want to flatten it into a wide strip.
- Flip the dough over so the seam side is facing up. Spread the remaining cinnamon sugar filling along the top of the dough.
- Starting from one end of the dough, roll the the strip up into a coil and tuck the open end underneath it. Place inside a well-greased 5" oven-safe baking dish. Cover and set aside to rise for 1 hour in a warm spot (or 8-12 hours in the fridge) until just slightly puffy.
- During the last 30 minutes of rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake 35-40 minutes, until the internal temp at the center registers 190°F on an instant read thermometer. The top will be deeply browned and feel hard to the touch. If the top seems to be browning too quickly, after 15 minutes, tent the cinnamon roll with aluminum foil.
- Remove from oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then spread generously with frosting.
This second rise is super important for giving the cinnamon roll a soft, pillowy interior. Just like the first rise, the dough won't double in size. It will grow by about 25% and look slightly puffy in appearance.
Small Batch Cinnamon Roll Frosting
- Cream softened butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer on low-to-medium speed. Be patient; with such small quantities, this can take 2-3 minutes. You want the two to be fully combined, so you aren't seeing individual streaks of yellow butter and white cream cheese.
- Add the powdered sugar in two batches, mixing on low-medium speed after each addition for at least 2 minutes. The mixture will look quite crumbly.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and mix on medium speed until a very thick paste forms. Again, be patient. It will happen, but it can take a few minutes.
- Add the heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time and mix well until you have a smooth, thick consistency. Scrape down the bowl after each addition and mix again. If needed, you can continue adding additional heavy cream ½ teaspoon at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Spread frosting on the cinnamon bun while it's still warm. The heat will help loosen up the frosting so it spreads evenly.
RECIPE NOTES
- Lukewarm milk and melted cooled butter: Ideally a temp of 95°-100°F. It should be lukewarm or warm, not hot.
- If your kitchen is 70°F or cooler, you may find you have trouble getting the dough to rise. Put it in your off oven with the oven light on to give it a warm spot to rise. If after an hour it still hasn't grown by 50-75% or more, let it sit for another hour with the oven light on.
- For an extra gooey cinnamon roll, pour 2-3 teaspoons of heavy cream over the top right before it goes in the oven!
- The first and/or second rise can also be done overnight in the fridge (8-12 hours) if that fits your schedule better. You can bake the cinnamon roll right out of the fridge, no need to let it come to room temperature first.
- Get creative with the filling! You can dress up the cinnamon sugar filling however you want. Add pinches of cayenne, ginger, cardamom, orange zest, finely chopped nuts... it's really up to you! Just remember, this is a small batch recipe so a little goes a long way when you're adding new flavors.
- If you don't have a hand mixer for the cream cheese frosting you can microwave the cream cheese until soft and the until just barely melted and whisk them together vigorously by hand. Then proceed with the recipe as written!