Cinnamon, Cardamom & Vanilla Scrolls

Ingredients

2 hours 30 minutes preparation time + 20 minutes baking time

12

Dough

• 250ml (1 cup) full cream milk/whole milk, lukewarm
• 12g (2 1/2) teaspoons dry active yeast
• 45g (3 tablespoons) brown sugar
• 500g (4 cups) plain/all-purpose flour (best to measure in grams for most accurate result)
• 6g (1 teaspoon) sea salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 85g salted butter, melted and cooled
• 5g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Filling

• 100g (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened
• 10g (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 175g (3/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
• 8g (1 1/2 tablespoons) ground cinnamon
• 8g (1 1/2 tablespoons) ground cardamom
   
• 200ml (3/4 cup) pouring cream/heavy cream, slightly warmed (for pouring over the scrolls prior to baking)

Frosting

• 60g (1/3 cup) salted butter, room temperature
• 150g (1 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
• 10g (1 tablespoon) vanilla bean paste
• 130g (1 cup) icing sugar
• Zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
   
• Flakey sea salt for finishing (optional)

Method

Dough

1. Combine the lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and set aside for a few minutes to activate. NOTE: It is important that the milk is lukewarm - not too warm or hot. If the milk is too hot, it can cause the yeast to die off.
2. Next, add the flour and salt and stir with a spatula or spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Now, add the cooled melted butter and eggs and mix to combine.
4. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes (Kitchen Aid speed 4). The dough should be smooth and elastic. You could also do this process on a floured surface by hand.
5. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, cover the bowl with cling wrap or a damp towel and allow it to rise in a warm space for roughly an hour and until the dough has doubled in size.
    

Filling

1. While the dough is rising, add the filling ingredients to a medium-sized bowl - the softened butter, vanilla, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground cardamom, then mix to combine.
2. Keep mixing until it becomes lighter in colour and fluffier in texture, then set aside.

Frosting

1. Now let's make the frosting. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or using hand beaters, whip the butter until smooth.
2. Now add the cream cheese and whip until smooth.
3. Next add the vanilla, lemon zest, and icing sugar, and whip until super smooth then set aside in the fridge.

To assemble

1. Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, turn in out onto a well-floured surface.
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangular shape roughly 40x30cm in size and roughly 1cm in thickness.
3. Now dollop the filling over the dough and gently spread it to the edges. This step is a little tedious but I find mixing the sugar and spices into the butter creates a better end result rather than spreading the butter and then sprinkling the sugar and spices over it.
4. Carefully and tightly roll the dough away from you to form a log.
5. Now slice the log into 12 even pieces. I find slicing in half, then halves again, and then into threes is the easiest way to divide it.
6. In a butter-greased baking dish 12x9 inches in size and at least 2 inches in height place the scroll dough pieces spiral side up.
7. Set aside in a warm space and allow to rise for 45 minutes and until visibly fluffy and puffed up.
8. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
9. Just before baking, pour the warm cream over the scroll dough.
10. Bake the scrolls at 180°C/350°F for 20 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before frosting.
12. Once the scrolls have slightly cooled, dollop the frosting over the scrolls then smooth the frosting out with the back of a spoon.
13. Sprinkle with a little flakey sea salt (optional) and serve warm.

How to make the scrolls the night before and bake in the morning

If you're after freshly baked cinnamon scrolls in the morning but don't want to wake up super early to make them, here's a tip on how to make them the night before and bake them in the morning (great when entertaining).

• After slicing the dough, place them in a butter-greased baking dish and cover with plastic wrap.
• Pop them in the fridge overnight and take them out in the morning.
• Allow the dough to come to room temperature and rise for 30-45 minutes and until visibly fluffy and puffed up.
• Continue along with the recipe from here.
• If you find that the scrolls aren't rising as expected during the second rise, it could be due to a cold environment. To help them rise, warm up a dry tea towel in the oven for a few seconds, then place it over the scrolls to create a warm environment.
   

NOTES

• For those who love a gooey scroll, take them out of the oven after 18 minutes to enjoy the deliciously gooey centre. For a more traditional fluffy texture, bake for the recommended 20 minutes.
• If you have leftovers, simply wrap them 'frosting and all' and freeze. Defrost and reheat them in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 10-15 minutes or 30 seconds in a microwave to keep the perfect pillowy texture. To make things easier, you can even prepare the scrolls the day before and bake them in the morning for a delicious breakfast or brunch (I've included how to do this in the method).

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