Recipes

Easy cinnamon buns with cream cheese

Got three hours? That’s all you need to make these easy homemade cinnamon buns, including proving time.

Made using our basic bread recipe, these soft and fluffy cinnamon buns are filled with cinnamon sugar and finished with a simple vanilla cream cheese frosting. They look impressive, but they’re surprisingly straightforward to make at home.

Makes: Approx. 12 cinnamon buns
Prep and proving time: Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 25 minutes
Total time: Around 3 hours
Oven: 180°C / 160°C fan

Ingredients

For the basic bread dough

500g strong white bread flour
7g dried yeast
10g fine salt
325ml warm water
25ml olive oil

For the cinnamon sugar

120g dark brown sugar
60g caster sugar
30g ground cinnamon

Our chefs use a simple ratio for their cinnamon sugar: one-part dark brown sugar, half that amount of caster sugar, then half the amount of caster sugar in cinnamon.

Dark brown sugar is our preference here as it gives the filling a deeper colour and richer, almost molasses-like flavour. Light brown sugar works too.

For assembling

75g unsalted butter, melted

For the cream cheese frosting

150g full-fat cream cheese
75g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make easy cinnamon buns

1. Activate the yeast

Mix the dried yeast with a little of the warm water and leave it in a warm place for around 5 minutes. It should begin to bubble, which tells you the yeast is active.

Add the remaining warm water and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer, followed by the salt.

Add the flour and activated yeast.

Chef’s tip: Avoid putting the salt directly onto the yeast when adding your ingredients.

2. Knead the bread dough

Using a dough hook, mix the dough on a low to medium speed for around 8 minutes, then check its consistency.

It may need up to 12 minutes of kneading in total.

To check whether it’s ready, take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it. You should be able to stretch it until it’s thin enough to almost see through without it immediately tearing.

No stand mixer? You can knead the dough by hand until smooth and elastic.

3. Leave the dough to prove

Place the dough into a bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for around 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Once risen, lightly dampen your hands to stop the dough sticking and gently knock it back to remove the excess air.

Leave it to rest for another 10 minutes before rolling.

4. Make the cinnamon sugar

Mix the dark brown sugar, caster sugar and ground cinnamon until evenly combined.

You can make extra cinnamon sugar at this stage and store it in an airtight container, ready for your next batch of homemade cinnamon buns.

5. Make the cream cheese frosting

Beat the cream cheese, sifted icing sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Chill until you’re ready to decorate your cinnamon buns.

Feeling indulgent? Our chef recommends folding a little cooled beurre noisette, or brown butter, through the frosting for an extra layer of nutty flavour.

6. Roll and fill the dough

Roll the rested bread dough into a large, even rectangle.

If the dough keeps springing back, don’t fight it. Leave it to rest for another 10 minutes before trying again. Once the gluten has had a chance to relax, it’ll be much easier to roll.

Brush the dough generously with melted butter before scattering over plenty of cinnamon sugar. Finish with another little drizzle or brush of melted butter.

7. Shape your cinnamon buns

Fold the dough over and gently press it together. If it sticks to the work surface, carefully release it using a dough scraper or knife.

Cut the dough into approximately 12 portions.

Shape each piece into a bun, tucking the end underneath and gently pulling the dough taut. This will help the cinnamon buns retain their shape as they prove.

And don’t worry about the end pieces having a little less filling. They’re the chef’s treat.

8. Prove again

Arrange the cinnamon buns in a lined baking tray, leaving some room between them so they have space to expand.

Cover and prove for around 1 hour, until they’re almost doubled in size.

Gently press one of the buns with your finger. If the dough slowly springs back, rather than bouncing straight back into place, they’re nearly ready for the oven.

9. Bake the cinnamon buns

Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the buns have risen and are beautifully golden.

Our chefs use steam when baking them in a professional kitchen. At home, you can place a small ovenproof dish of water at the bottom of the oven while they bake.

Leave the freshly baked cinnamon buns to cool slightly before adding your frosting.

10. Add the cream cheese frosting

Spread the vanilla cream cheese frosting generously over the cinnamon buns.

Leave for another 10 minutes, then get stuck in.

How long does it take to make cinnamon buns?

These easy cinnamon buns take around three hours from start to finish, including proving time.

Most of that time is hands-off while you let the dough do its thing. The first prove takes around one hour, followed by another hour once the cinnamon buns have been shaped.

Can you make cinnamon buns from bread dough?

Absolutely. In fact, this recipe starts with our basic bread recipe.

Once you’ve mastered a reliable bread dough, it can become the starting point for plenty of different bakes. Here, we turn it into something sweet by layering the dough with melted butter and cinnamon sugar before shaping and baking.

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