The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (265 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

A tender, fluffy bun with a sweet cinnamon filling and rich glaze is a treat no one can turn down. Most recipes, though, require yeast, which makes cinnamon buns time-consuming to make. We went into the kitchen to find a shortcut to a good-tasting homemade version. Eliminating the yeast would reduce the prep time substantially, so we started with the assumption that our leavener would be baking powder. A cream biscuit recipe, which could be mixed all in one bowl, was our starting point; buttermilk rather than cream (plus baking soda to balance the acidity of the buttermilk) made the interior of the biscuits light and airy. A small amount of melted butter restored some of the richness we had lost by eliminating the cream, and a brief kneading ensured that the rolls would rise in the oven. We patted out the dough rather than rolling it and covered it with a filling of brown and granulated sugars, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; melted butter helped the mixture adhere to the dough. We rolled up the dough, cut the buns, and put them in a nonstick cake pan to bake. When they were done, we topped the buns with a quick glaze of confectioners’ sugar, buttermilk, and cream cheese.

See “PREPARING QUICK CINNAMON BUNS” illustrations that follow recipe.

MAKES 8 BUNS

Melted butter is used in both the filling and the dough and to grease the pan; it’s easiest to melt the total amount (8 tablespoons) at once and measure it out as you need it. The finished buns are best eaten warm. For our yeasted cinnamon rolls, see
“CINNAMON SWIRL ROLLS”
.

FILLING

DOUGH

ICING

1.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour 1 tablespoon melted butter in 9-inch nonstick cake pan; brush to coat pan. Spray wire rack with vegetable oil spray; set aside.

2. FOR THE FILLING:
Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in small bowl. Add melted butter and stir with fork or fingers until mixture resembles wet sand; set aside.

3. FOR THE DOUGH:
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and 2 tablespoons melted butter in measuring cup or small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed (dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy.

4.
Pat dough with hands into 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with filling, leaving ¹⁄
₂
-inch border around edges and press filling firmly into dough to adhere. Using bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen dough from counter. Starting at long side, roll dough, pressing lightly, to form tight cylinder. Pinch seam to seal. Arrange cylinder seam side down and cut into 8 equal pieces. With hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal open edges and keep filling in place. Place 1 roll in center of prepared pan, then place remaining 7 rolls around perimeter of pan. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.

5.
Bake until edges are golden brown, 23 to 25 minutes. Using offset metal spatula, loosen buns from pan; without separating, slide buns out of pan onto prepared wire rack. Let cool about 5 minutes before icing.

6. FOR THE ICING:
While buns are cooling, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set rack with buns over baking sheet. Whisk cream cheese and buttermilk together in large bowl until thick and smooth (mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Sift sugar over and whisk until smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoon glaze evenly over buns; serve immediately.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The original crumb cake was brought to New York by German immigrants; sadly, the bakery-fresh versions have all but disappeared. Most modern recipes use butter cake rather than the traditional yeast dough, which made our job that much easier. The essence of this cake is the balance between the tender, buttery cake and the thick, lightly spiced crumb topping. Starting with our favorite yellow cake recipe, we realized we needed to reduce the amount of butter or the richness would be overwhelming. We compensated for the resulting dryness by substituting buttermilk for milk, which also helped make the cake sturdy enough to support the crumbs, and we left out an egg white so the cake wouldn’t be rubbery. We wanted our crumb topping to be soft and cookielike, not a crunchy streusel, so we mixed granulated and brown sugars and melted the butter for a doughlike consistency, flavoring the mixture only with cinnamon. Broken into little pieces and sprinkled over the cake batter, our topping held together during baking and made a thick layer of moist crumbs with golden edges that didn’t sink into the cake.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Don’t be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, as doing so will make a dry, tough cake. If you can’t find buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of plain low-fat yogurt. When topping the cake, take care to not push the crumbs into the batter. This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. If doubling, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes.

CRUMB TOPPING

CAKE

1.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with vegetable oil spray and fit parchment/foil into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides, allowing excess to hang over edges of dish.

2. FOR THE TOPPING:
Whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter together in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. FOR THE CAKE:
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time. Continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed.

4.
Transfer batter to prepared pan. Using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-size pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.