Giant Whiskey Cinnamon Roll Cake

giant whiskey-glazed cinnamon roll
Lately I’ve had a fierce craving for cinnamon rolls, which is weird because I can’t even remember the last time I had one. The ~~heart~~ stomach wants what it wants, though. I tried to resist, and then the other day I was at Ikea, and I figured I’d just give in and have one of theirs, and then my craving would be fulfilled. Yeah, that didn’t really work out. Their idea of a good cinnamon roll and mine seem to differ wildly. So I found it totally unsatisfying, and realized I’d just have to make my own. And cover it with a whiskey glaze. Oh darn, what a tragedy, right?

Giant Whiskey Cinnamon Roll Cake

Adapted from here.

Dough
2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour, divided
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package instant yeast (1 packet = 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/4 cup (60ml) milk (cow’s milk – I used skim)
3 Tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature

Filling
3 Tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

Whiskey Glaze
1 cup (120g) powdered (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk or cream
1 Tablespoon (15ml) whiskey (I used Bulleit Bourbon)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Make the dough: In a large bowl, stir together 2 and 1/4 cups flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast together until evenly mixed. Set aside.

Heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to the touch, about 115-120F degrees. (If you get it too hot you’ll kill the yeast, so make sure to check the temperature with a thermometer if you’re unsure.) Stir the butter mixture and then the egg into the flour mixture. Add the reserved flour a few tablespoons at a time, until a soft dough forms. You may not need the full 1/2 cup. When dough gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency, it’s ready to be kneaded. Knead with a dough hook on your electric mixer, or by hand on a lightly floured surface, for about 3-4 minutes. (Check the gluten window to test whether your dough is ready.) Form a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. The dough will slightly rise.

Make the filling: After 30 minutes, roll the dough out in a 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it all over the dough.

Spray a 9-inch round pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Cut the dough into six 2-inch wide strips using a pizza cutter or knife. Loosely roll up one strip and place it in the center of the pan. Make sure to keep it loose so the dough has room to expand as it rises. To keep the filling from coming off the dough when you pick up the strips, coil them before you pick them up, then wind them around the center roll, starting each strip at the end of the previous one to make one giant roll. You can crimp the ends of the dough together or just overlap them. Continue until you’ve used all six strips. The dough shouldn’t fill the whole pan, which is fine since it needs room to expand.

**If you want to make your cake the night before you’re going to bake it, stop here, cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight, and then proceed to the next rise in the morning. Or, you can skip the 60-90 minute rise by allowing the cake to rise at room temperature for 12 hours/overnight, but food safety experts wouldn’t recommend it because of the egg in the dough. If it rises too much overnight, gently press down a bit before baking the next morning.**

Loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 60-90 minutes. To give your dough a nice cozy place to rise, you can heat your oven to 200F degrees, and turn it off. Put the dough inside the oven and allow to rise until it has nearly doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the oven and preheat to 350F. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. After 20 minutes, loosely cover with foil to avoid heavy browning. Remove from the oven.

Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes. Right before serving, drizzle with glaze.

Make the glaze: Sift the powdered sugar and salt into a bowl, then whisk in the milk/cream, whiskey, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over rolls.

Cake is best enjoyed the same day, but will remain fresh covered tightly for up to 4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

For the glaze, the possibilities are endless. You can leave out the whiskey and salt and replace it with milk to make it a standard vanilla glaze. Increase the vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon. Or you can replace the whiskey with maple syrup to make a vanilla maple glaze. If you like almond, replace the vanilla extract with almond extract.

giant whiskey-glazed cinnamon roll