The sweet almond flavour of a Cherry Bakewell combined with the soft and gooey texture of a cinnamon bun is a combination worth getting out of bed for in the morning.
One of my favourite sweet treats is a Cherry Bakewell. Anything Bakewell to be honest so when baking a recent batch of Cinnamon Buns I decided to try a combination of both flavours.
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HOW TO CREATE THE CHERRY BAKEWELL FILLING
The filling of these cinnamon rolls is essentially a blend of a standard cinnamon bun and a cherry bakewell. A standard cinnamon filling includes brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, but to make these bakewell I added ground almonds and almond extract. The almond flour adds texture and the extract gives that instant hit of bakewell flavour.
TIPS FOR BAKING SUPER SOFT CINNAMON BUNS
Warm wet ingredients
Yeast thrives in warm environments so to get it activated ensure your butter and milk is warm before adding it to the dry mixture. The word warm is important though as too hot and you’ll kill the yeast instead. The best way to test this is to stick a clean finger into the warmed mixture; if you can keep it in there comfortably then you’re good to go.
Don’t add to much flour
The right amount of flour is vital to the perfect texture and structure of the bun. Too much and it’ll be dry and and tough, too little and it won’t be enough for the dough to rise properly. The best way to manage this is by gradually adding the wet ingredients until you have a dough that is soft and sticky. Then when you knead the dough, be mindful of how much flour you’re using on the surface so there isn’t too much being mixed into it.
Chill the dough before shaping
Chilling your dough before shaping will give you more control when rolling it up and give you a much tighter swirl. You can choose to chill your dough overnight during an overnight prove, or you can let it prove at room temperature, then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes before tipping it out and shaping it. Read more about overnight proving below.
OVERNIGHT CINNAMON BUNS
If you have time and are looking for a more robust and enhanced flavour then overnight proving your dough in the fridge is definitely recommended.
You can overnight prove during the first or the second rise but in this recipe I opted to prove once the rolls had been cut and placed in the baking dish. I simply covered them in a damp tea towel and left them in the fridge overnight ready for baking first thing in the morning which is perfectly timed for breakfast.
If you love the flavour of cherries then try out these Cherry Brownie Cupcakes.
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make these Cherry Bakewell Cinnamon Rolls. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. Happy baking!
Cherry Bakewell Cinnamon Bun
Equipment
- 20cm Cake Tin
Ingredients
For the dough
- 270 g strong bread flour
- 2½ tsp fast action yeast
- 40 g caster sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- 60 ml milk
- 85 g cold unsalted butter
- 1 egg
For the filling
- 85 g melted butter
- 50 g ground almonds
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 25 g soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
For the glaze
- 150 g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 6 Glace Cherries
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together in a bowl
- Heat the milk until warm then add the butter and stir it together until it melts
- Make a well in the dry mixture and pour the wet mixture into it, followed by an egg.
- Bring the mixture together to form a dough, then tip it out onto a floured surface and knead it together for 5-10 minutes until smooth and soft.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to prove for an hour or until doubled in size (TIP: During the colder months an oven with just the light on is the perfect proving environment)
- Whilst the dough is proving prepare your almond cinnamon filling but mixing ground almonds, almond extract, brown sugar and cinnamon together and combining it with melted butter to form a paste. If it’s too loose don’t worry as it will thicken as the butter solidifies.
- When proved tip it out onto a floured work surface, knead it together into a smooth ball then roll it out to a rectangle around 30x20cm.
- Spread the almond cinnamon paste across the dough then roll it up from the shortest end into a log.
- Cut into 6 even rolls then lay into a prepared greased 20cm round cake tin leaving a space between them all to expand. Cover and leave to prove in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the buns for 20 minutes until golden.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes and make the icing glaze by mixing the icing sugar, milk and vanilla together.
- Pour the glaze across the top of the buns then top each piece with a glace cherry and serve.
- These are best baked and eaten on the same day but will last up to 2 days if kept in an air-tight container
