Gargantuan Cinnamon Roll

How….

How did….

How did I get this far in life and not know such a thing existed?

An outrageous gi-gundo cinnamon roll?!  Holy cats and dogs, people. 

 

This post is sponsored by the Cinnamon Roll Eye Candy Commission.

Ok it is a bit embarrassing, this thing. In its over the top-ness.  It’s….it is a bit nuts.   Ok probably a lot nuts.  Ok way nuts.  But hey, this blog is all about baking for the fun of it!

So how did this wonder come into our lives?  I was on a site where someone had posted this recipe.  Loosely quoting here, “stop what you’re doing and make this immediately.”

Rubbing my eyes in awe then slo-mo wiping the drool off my chin, I robotically typed a reply, “I think I will.”

Knowing I was stopping at the grocery store later (yet again, I mean, is there ever a time when I’m not stopping at the grocery store?!), I quickly scanned the ingredient list noting I only required one item and an enormous cinnamon roll would be ours, all ours, bwah hah hah hah!

Normally this is not my jam, trip over a recipe and make it same day. But Mike scheduled an extra day off work (two days off in a row! Such a rarity!) so I wanted to bake up something special to celebrate with and have around for munching. 

Plus I know how much he loves cinnamon rolls. And I know how much I love them too. And so hey, why not?!  Plus I was in dire need of a baking break. 

As a stopgap, years ago we’d buy the tubes at the grocery store. Growing up my mom would buy them too for special occasions.  I know, I know, who knows what those ingredients really are.  I mean, the rolls aren’t bad, don’t feel guilty, no shame here people, but the ingredient list is a hair speculative.  I admit, they do fix a cinnamon roll crave.  *shrug*

I’ve made cinnamon rolls and/or sticky buns and/or related nummies from scratch in the past and it’s always seemed a complicated affair. Come to think of it, I’m wracking my brain, I may not have made them for Mike yet. Oooh, ouch, criminal, yikes, bad wife. 

There’s no recollection on my part of the prior success or failure of aforementioned rolls, I merely remember making them. 

This particular recipe is not necessarily complicated nor difficult so please don’t be intimidated.  And seriously, don’t be afraid of the yeast either.  It’s been idiot-proofed, you’re good, you’ve got this!  It does require a block of time so plan accordingly but note most of it is non-working. 

Start by melting the butter and warming your milk. An instant read thermometer* here is definitely your friend (and some are really not expensive and it’ll come in handy again, I swear).  Get the sugar dissolved in there, test the temp for 100° to 110° F, then sprinkle on the yeast and wait a minute. 

 

This does seem an odd start, yes. I used a glass bowl in case I needed to re-warm everything prior to yeast sprinkles, fyi.

I know, so far you’re kinda wondering how this is gonna work.  It does, trust me. 

Pour this into four cups of flour, bring it all together with a nonstick spatula,* cover and let it rise to almost double, about an hour. My kitchen is cool so near the end I popped the oven on for a few secs, turned it off, tossed the dough in there for a boost o’ yeast pumping warmth. 

The dough is all mixed up and ready to par-tay!

Easy peasy so far, yeah?  Yeah. 

Here’s the dough after the rise. Not a super boisterous party I guess.

Next liberally grease up your baking pan with butter and flip on the preheat (unless again, your kitchen is cool like mine and need the above tip a second time as I did) then add the remaining flour and dry ingredients.  I found it not working to incorporate in the bowl as my dough was on the drier side so I turned it out and kneaded it all in. 

 

Yeah.  Looks pretty all right, huh?

Knead some more and once you’ve got your dough smooth and mostly not sticky, roll it into a rectangle about a half inch thick or so. You’ll have trouble squaring up the corners so keep letting it rest a moment between squaring then give a stretch, pull, and shape. 

Mmk, now the goodies!  Soften the butter to super easily spreadable and slather it evenly around.  

In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and brown sugar then sprinkle evenly over the butter.  Or mix the three together and spread.  To gild the lily I sprinkled on about three quarters to a cup of chopped pecans which are totally optional.  Highly highly recommended but optional for sure.

My butter wasn’t softened enough to spread easily so I cut the brown sugar into it, ending up with crumbles. Lesson learned: soften up that butter, girl.

Slice the dough into four strips, three cuts lengthwise, accomplished easily with a pizza cutter.*  Next roll the piece closest to you lengthwise into a typical cinnamon roll roll.  Set that roll onto the end of the next piece and roll the first piece into that next one, repeat ‘til all rolled and place in your baking pan. 

 

Try for even strips here. Roll that first strip then keep on a-rollin’.

Let the behemoth bugger rise a half hour then bake that goodness up.

Here’s how close to the edges mine got in its half hour nap. Close, not quite but don’t panic, it is a-ok if it doesn’t get there. Just get close.

Near the end of the first chunk of baking time I peered into the oven and holy freakin’ crap did this thing Blow The Heck Up!  Yeowza!  So much for worrying about it rising, myyyy goodness!!

After the first portion of baking time. Poof, huge! Whoa!

Lastly whisk up your topping, and once the roll has cooled, smear on that not-cloyingly sweet icing.  I found I needed more milk to get it gloriously drizzly; FYI, add it in tiny tiny amounts lest your icing turn runny in no time flat. 

Ok.  Now stand back, chuckle, shake your head, hands to face, and ogle at what you just did. Holy crap, right?!  Utter lunacy. 

Is this getting to be too much for you?

Heh so as you can see, given the darn thing’s size, it’s fantastic for entertaining, a conversation starter no doubt, a show stopper, and it will feed a gaggle of giddy guests. 

Mike, coming in the door from work that evening, the beast fresh from the oven, “boy it smells good in here what… …,” and upon spotting the madness, his mouth dropped slightly agape, a drooling stare, no more words uttered. “Oh, yeah, babe, by the way, I made you an excessively large cinnamon roll.”

A taste later for dessert and, mmuurrrph, maow, nom, “oh babe, this is terrible.  Yeah, oh boy, no, yeah no, don’t worry, I’ll take care of the rest of it for you. nom nom nom slurp, yeah, don’t ever make that again, wow.”

The wisecracking runs thick with this one. 

Lookie at them cinnamony sugary layers with the pecans….ugh….

And then….

Oh!

Add insult to injury if you will, jeez louise, Mike made freakin’ French Toast for breakfast with the darn thing!  Talk about foolishness and gluttony, whooooo. 

Now the mutant is nearly gone which a.) is a major shock, b.) is ragingly sad news, and c.) something I never thought possible considering its mammoth size. 

I think if I make this again, which I believe I am now required to do, I may roll the dough out thinner to create narrower layers and up the filling of butter and brown sugar to a cup each, notes I already accounted for in the recipe below.  Maybe do dark brown sugar instead.  Whoa.  I mean, what could go wrong?  

Back down to earth next time folks, heh!  Nom nom, enjoy!

 

This concludes our Cinnamon Roll Torture Reel for the day, thank you for joining us.

Note: This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Gargantuan Cinnamon Roll

Yield

12 slices

Prep time

1 Hour

Cook time

1 H & 20 M

Inactive time

1 Hour

Total time

3 H & 20 M

A show-stopping gargantuan cinnamon roll guaranteed to please a crowd, or just you! Easy to make and even easier to enjoy!

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 tablespoons, 113 g) unsalted butter (melted)
• 2 cups (473 ml) whole milk (warmed to 110° F/43° C)
• 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
• 1 pack (7 g, 2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 5 cups (600 g) flour (divided)
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
• 2 teaspoons (12 g) fine sea salt

Filling

• 3/4 cup (170 g) butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup (160 g) light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (16 g) ground cinnamon
• 3/4 - 1 cup (86-114 g) chopped pecans (optional)

Frosting

• 4 ounces (114 g) cream cheese (softened)
• 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter (melted)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) whole milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar

Instructions

1. With butter, generously grease a 9” cake round or cast iron pan.
2. Into a large bowl, add the warmed milk, the melted butter, and the sugar, stirring to combine. Make sure the mix is warm enough, in the range of 100° to 110° but no warmer.
3. Without stirring, sprinkle the yeast atop the liquid and let stand for about a minute.
4. Either pour the mix into another bowl containing 4 cups of flour or add the flour to the bowl, mixing it in until just combined with a nonstick spatula.
5. With plastic wrap or a towel, cover the bowl and set it aside in a warmer place for about an hour to rise.
6. After the dough has risen which will be almost to double, add in 3/4 cup of flour along with the baking powder and salt. Either mix in with a spatula or turn everything out and knead. Once the remaining ingredients are incorporated, knead the dough until it loses its stickiness. You will need additional flour for kneading to reach the point of a smooth dough.
7. Start the oven preheating to 325° (160° C).
8. Roll the dough into a rectangle a bit less than 1/2” thick, squaring the corners as best you can. Mix the filling ingredients, the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon then spread evenly across the dough, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle on the chopped pecans if using.
9. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half lengthwise, then slice the two halves in half so there are four strips total.
10. Begin rolling the dough lengthwise from one end to the other then set the roll onto the end of the next strip. Continue rolling until all the pieces become one gigantic roll.
11. Set the roll in the pan, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and set aside for a half hour to rise again. The goal is for the roll to reach the edges and fill the pan.
12. Bake the roll for 45 minutes and remove. Cover the roll lightly with aluminum foil to prevent burning and continue baking for 35 minutes more.
13. Remove the pan from the oven and let the roll cool for about 20 minutes, after which turn the roll out onto a cooling rack until cool, then onto a plate or your serving platter.
14. Whisk the icing ingredients together until very smooth. You may need additional milk to thin the icing to your desired thickness; add in tiny quantities to avoid the icing turning runny.
15. Once the cinnamon roll has cooled, pour on the icing and serve.

Notes:

Adapted from Tasty.

Calories

1040.17

Fat (grams)

81.08

Sat. Fat (grams)

48.08

Carbs (grams)

73.34

Fiber (grams)

2.84

Net carbs

70.50

Sugar (grams)

31.42

Protein (grams)

8.89

Sodium (milligrams)

596.51

Cholesterol (grams)

201.97

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

cinnamon roll

recipe

American

Created using The Recipes Generator

*The silicone spatulas and pizza cutters are Amazon affiliate links. Happy baking, thanks! Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.