Birthday Cinnamon Roll Cake
Instead of making a dozen standard sized cinnamon rolls, use the dough to make this 9-inch giant birthday cinnamon roll cake. This is what breakfast pastry dreams are made of!Yield: 9-inch cake
Servings: 12 slices
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- pizza wheel cutter or sharp knife
- stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Ingredients
Dough:
- ½ cup warm water, about 110°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup + 1 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened to the consistency of mayo
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch kosher salt
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese, cold
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- confetti sprinkles, as needed to garnish
Instructions
- Dough: In the bowl of stand mixer, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to allow mixture to bubble and activate.
- Add remaining ¼ cup sugar, milk, egg, egg yolk, and salt. Whisk until eggs are thoroughly combined. Add 2 cups of flour to mixing bowl. Use the hook attachment to mix dough together. Mix on low speed until flour is incorporated. Add another cup of flour.
- Continue to knead on low speed, adding softened butter one tablespoon at a time. Add remaining cup of flour and knead until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If dough is too sticky, add additional one tablespoon of flour.
- Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let dough rest at room temperature for about an hour until dough has doubled in volume.
- Punch down risen dough. Transfer to a lightly floured working surface. Roll dough into a 20x14-inch rectangle.
- Cinnamon Sugar Filling: Spread ⅓ cup softened butter over dough. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar filling over dough.
- Using a ruler and sharp knife (or pizza wheel cuter) divide the dough into 2 ¼-inches x 20 inches horizontal strips. Working from right to left, roll one strip into a snail like form. Align the tail of the snail roll with the the beginning of the next horizontal strip. Continue to roll into a larger snail. Repeat this with the remaining dough strips until you have one giant cinnamon roll.
- Place giant cinnamon roll into a 9-inch springform pan. Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let dough rest for 45 minutes at room temperature, until dough has expanded and risen.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Bake cinnamon roll for 20 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 20 minutes. At this point the top of the cinnamon roll should be golden brown. Place foil on top fo the cinnamon roll to prevent it from burning. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature of the cinnamon roll registers at 185 degrees F. Allow cinnamon roll to rest in pan for 10 minutes before unmolding from springform pan.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Continue to beat until smooth and thickened. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Spread over warm or room temperature cinnamon roll. Top with confetti sprinkles. All images and text ©The Little Epicurean.
Notes
Serving:
The cinnamon roll can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. If you decided to slice into the cake warm, the bread may be a little gummy. I suggest using a serrated knife for slicing.
Notes:
- Be careful of leaks! The buttery cinnamon sugar mixture may leak from the bottom of the springform pan.
- If your pan is prone to leaks, I suggest either wrapping the bottom of the pan with foil or simply placing the springform pan on top of a baking sheet in the oven.