When we make cinnamon buns, we teach the children where cinnamon comes from. We show them photos of how it is harvested from the bark of a tree, and show them the cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon. We roll out our dough, then cut it into rectangles, brush some melted butter on them and put a cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. A lot of skill is involved such as rolling the dough, cutting, learning about rectangles, rolling our buns and then cutting them into cinnamon buns- all done in a playful and fun way.
A very important part of this recipe is sense of smell, taste and also general knowledge and vocabulary.
Ingredients
Dough
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cups butter , fridge temperature, cut into small blocks
4 tbsp butter , melted, to brush over the dough during rolling
1 extra large egg
1/2 cups buttermilk , or plain yoghurt
4 tbsp water
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
3/4 cups soft brown sugar
1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves, or nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter , melted
Lemon icing
1 cup icing sugar
1 lemon, zested
3 tbsp lemon juice
Method for cinnamon buns
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.
Scone base
Butter a 22cm cake pan really well and line the base with baking paper. Sieve the dry ingredients and cut the butter in. Add the egg, buttermilk and water. Mix to a softish dough with a knife. Knead 5-6 times.
Roll the dough out on a well-floured board to a 35cm x 25cm rectangle. Brush the dough with 2 tbsp (30ml) of melted butter. Sprinkle and level cinnamon sugar with a 1cm border all round.
Roll dough into a tight log. Wet exposed end and seal. Keep the seam side down. Cut the log into 8 even slices. Flatten them with your hand. Place one in the centre and others around the perimeter.
Brush the remaining 2 tbsp (30ml) of butter over the flattened slices. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned.
Turn out on a cooling rack and flip right-side-up. Stand the rack on some greaseproof paper to catch any drips when spooning or piping the icing over.
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) melted butter and stir with a fork until it looks like wet sand. Set aside.
Lemon icing
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Mix in the lemon rind and lemon juice for a slightly runny icing.
Different variations of cinnamon buns
Cinnamon and pecan filling:
Add 1⁄2 cup (125ml) finely chopped pecan nuts to the basic filling
Cinnamon and raisin filling:
Add 1⁄2 cup (125ml) seedless raisins to the basic filling.
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