Puff Pastry Orange Cinnamon Rolls

I absolutely love making cinnamon rolls - the whole ritual that comes with making the brioche dough, proofing it, rolling it out filling etc.. It’s a process, but one that is worth it.

I found myself one day with a roll of puff pastry sitting in the fridge and wanted something sweet. I thought of maybe making a tart, pie, galette.. but I wanted something quick. The idea of cinnamon rolls came to mind and I decided to experiment with that idea; that’s how this was created. The result is like a cinnamon roll meets a palmier - you get the layers of filling, but also the caramelised sugar that crisps up when cooled creating an amazing texture.

This is by far the easiest dessert I’ve ever made, and also one of the most satisfying.

Makes: 12-14 rolls

prep/cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

1 rectangle puff pastry sheet 

2 tbsp softened Butter, and extra to brush onto the rolls

1 tbsp Cinnamon 

1 tbsp Granulated sugar

3 tbsp Light brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Zest of 1 orange 

2 tsp orange juice

3 tsp powdered sugar 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to fan 205℃

2. In a small bowl mix together the softened butter, cinnamon, both sugars, salt, and 3/4  of the orange zest. 

3. Take out the puff pastry from the fridge, unroll it.  Spread the butter mixture evenly onto the pastry sheet. From the longest side, tightly roll the pastry like you would cinnamon rolls. Proceed to cut pieces of 4 cm. Place the cinnamon rolls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 5 minutes or until you are ready to bake them.

4. Take the cooled cinnamon rolls out the fridge and brush the sides with some melted butter. Place in the oven, after 5 minutes, turn the heat up to 220 and bake until golden, 15-17 minutes.

5. Take the rolls out the oven, and let them cool on the tray. The caramelised sugar that pools out will harden and become crispy. 

6. In a small bowl, add the orange juice, the leftover orange zest, vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix everything together and drizzle on top of the slightly warm rolls. Serve them cold. They are best eaten the day of but can be stored for the next day in an airtight container.