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Home » Breads » Sweet Enriched Breads and Pastries » Danish Pastry Cinnamon Rolls.

Danish Pastry Cinnamon Rolls.

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This Cheat’s Danish Pastry recipe is a complete game changer for my kitchen. Most importantly it allows me to bake the BEST Danish Cinnamon Rolls that you can imagine.These babies are my signature bake and the recipe that brings me the most fill your face joy.

danish cinnamon rolls on a wire rack
Easy Danish Cinnamon Rolls

These beauties are off the scale. They are all I need to make me forget the extensive administrative trials of this festive season.

To be frank with you they are one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. This recipe delivers in a way that would make my house  Santa's first port of call come Christmas Eve, of that I have no doubt.

Easy Danish Pastry Recipe

This is a recipe that allows these special Cinnamon Rolls to be not far off a doddle. I kid you not.

It completely cuts out the squashing and rolling of the butter into the pastry just calling for some pastry rolling after the fact.

The key to this elimination of the laborious middle man is a food processor.

Just a couple of blitzes is all that is required before mixing and leaving overnight or at least 6 hours before serious, melt in the mouth baking heaven!!!!!

danish cinnamon rolls on a plateChristmas Morning Breakfast

Such is the extreme deliciousness of these Danish Pastry Cinnamon Rolls that I intend to always make them a Christmas breakfast tradition. I make them two ways.

The day before I want to bake them I place them in their large muffin tray covered overnight in the fridge before getting them out early to come up to room temperature before brushing with egg wash and baking.

The other way is that I freeze them loose in a tupperware container after I have sliced them from their cinnamon sausage.

I get them out the night before and place them in a muffin tray covered with oiled clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave them out at room temperature to thaw and puff up ready for the morning and again quick egg wash and instant baking.

Obviously this method is for life not just for Christmas.

Ingredients

250 grams ( 8.8 oz) unsalted butter

60 mls warm water

125 mls warm milk

7 grams (0.25 oz) instant yeast

30 grams (1 oz) caster sugar

1 large egg

350 grams (12 oz) strong white flour

1 tsp salt

1 egg for egg wash.

Icing

100 grams icing sugar

2 tbsp milk

Method

STEP 1 - Making The Dough

  • First there is a blitz in the food processor of the dry ingredients so that the butter is left in 1 cm chunks. Tip this pebbly mixture into a mixing bowl.
  • Tip in the wet ingredients and stir with a fork until the mixture is mixed well and you can see no more flour. It is a sticky wet dough.
  • Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight or for 6 hours.

STEP 2 - Rolling Out The Dough

  • Tip out the mixture onto a heavily floured work surface. Flour the top of it too and your rolling pin. Sprinkle over more flour if any butter breaks through the dough.
danish pastry dough rolled out
Danish Pastry Dough
  • After rolling it out to roughly about a 25 cm x 45 cm rectangle you fold it into three like a business letter and turn the dough so that the closed fold is vertical and on your left.
danish pastry dough folded into three.
Danish Pastry Dough Folded
  • Repeat the process another three times before spreading the rectangle with your cinnamon paste.
sugar and cinnamon paste spread over danish pastry dough
Sugary Cinnamon Paste

STEP 3 - Rolling Up The Dough

  • Roll up length ways tightly into a fabulous Cinnamon Sausage.
danish pastry dough roll
Danish Pastry Rolled
  • I cut into equal sections (about 4 cm) and place each one in the muffin's greased/oiled nests. I get about 11 of them. But don't worry if you get less. I always just guess my measurements. Sometimes it's 9! Size doesn't really matter too much here.
danish pastry cinnamon rolls in a muffin tray
Danish Cinnamon Rolls Ready For Final Prove

STEP 4 - Proving The Dough

  • If you are baking them straight away then cover with oiled clingfilm and leave somewhere warm to puff up and almost double in size.
danish cinnamon rolls at the end of the final prove in their muffin tray
Ready For The Oven
  • If you are wanting to bake them the next morning then cover the filled muffin tray with the oiled clingfilm and put them in the fridge and if you are freezing them then freeze the slices on a flat baking tray loose for an hour before putting in a stout plastic/tupperware container and freezing for up to a month.
  • In the morning you can grab them out and leave them somewhere warm for about an hour to puff up a little more and come back up to room temperature. They will have been slowly rising in the fridge.
  • If you have previously frozen them take them out of the freezer and place in your oiled muffin tray. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave at room temperature to thaw and prove overnight.
  • Brush gently with egg wash before baking.
cinnamon danish rolls baked
Baked And Ready For Icing

STEP 5 - Baking The Cinnamon Rolls

  • I thought of the idea to bake each one in a muffin tray because I was fed up of burning the outer ones when baking the usual way in one baking tray/dish.
  • This idea, although I say it myself, is genius. However you don't have to at all. I bake them freestyle if it suits. Bear in mind that different ways of baking them will alter the baking times. Those baked all together in a baking dish/tin will take longer and those baked apart on a flat baking tray will take a shorter time. You are looking for a deep golden colour.
  • Bake them in an oven for about 20 minutes. Wait for 5 minutes for prising them out with a knife and placing on a wire rack.
  • Make up the icing and drizzle over them generously while they are still warm. AMAZING.......AMAZING.....AMAZING.

Can You Freeze Danish Cinnamon Rolls?

Yes you can. I freeze them at stage 11 (recipe card) before putting them in the muffin tray or baking them.

I freeze them on a plate or baking tray for an hour before putting them in a tupperware container or two freezer bags to protect them from freezer burn.

I get them out the night before I want to bake them and place them in the container I am going to bake them in and cover with oiled clingfilm. They will then thaw and come up to room temperature. I brush gently with egg wash before baking. I do find that they come up huge if your kitchen is warm. You do want to bake them straight away so that they don't over prove.

BEWARE, one is never enough......

Equipment Required

  • Large Muffin Tray
  • Food Processor
  • Rolling Pin
  • Measuring Tape or Ruler
  • Wire Rack
  • Cling Film
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Sharp Knife
  • Measuring jug
  • Tbsps measure
  • Small bowls for mixing icing and cinnamon paste

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE THEN YOU MAY LIKE THESE

Easy Danish Pastry Dough

Cinnamon Bundt Cake

Yum Yums

Pain au Chocolat

danish Pastries piled up on a plate
Danish Pastries
Danish Pastry Cinnamon Buns.

Danish Pastry Cinnamon Rolls.

Apply To Face Blog
Such is the extreme deliciousness of these Danish Pastry Cinnamon Rolls that I intend to make them a Christmas breakfast tradition. For a long time I have been searching for something special that requires minimum effort and almost no thought processing. This recipe is the answer.
5 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Proving time 11 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine French
Servings 11
Calories 437 kcal

Ingredients
 

Processor Danish Pastry

  • 250 grams unsalted butter cold and cut into 4 cm ish chunks
  • 60 mls warm water
  • 125 mls warm milk
  • 7 grams instant yeast 1 packet
  • 30 grams caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 350 grams strong white flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg for eggwash

Cinnamon filling

  • 2 tbsps ground cinnamon
  • 85 grams unsalted butter soft
  • 85 grams light muscovado sugar

Icing

  • 100 grams icing sugar
  • 2 tbsps milk

Instructions
 

  • Tip the 350 grams/12 oz flour, 250 grams/8.8 oz butter, 1 tsp salt, 30 grams/1 oz sugar, 7 grams/0.25 oz yeast into your food processor. Blitz a few times until the butter is cut into 1 cm butter chunks. Empty out into a large bowl and pour in all the liquid ingredients. Mix together with a knife until all the liquid has been absorbed and it resembles a gooey mess.
  • Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
  • When you are ready to begin, heavily flour the work surface and tip out the dough. Flour the top of the dough too as well as the rolling pin. The dough is very sticky at first.
  • Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 25 cm by 45 cm.
  • Fold the dough into three like a business letter.
  • Repeat all of this another three times. Cover in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • Grease/oil a large 12 hole muffin tray
  • Mix all the cinnamon filling together into a paste. 2 tbsps ground cinnamon, 85 grams/3 oz unsalted butter, 85 grams/3oz light muscovado sugar.
  • Roll out the chilled dough into the same size rectangle again. Spread the paste evenly all over the dough.
  • Roll up into a giant cigar.
  • Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 2 inch sections. Gently place each one in the muffin tray. About 11 of them.
  • Pre heat the oven to 180 C. Cover with clingfilm and wait until they have beautifully puffed up and almost doubled in size. Brush carefully with eggwash.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
  • Wait for five mins before gently prising them out to cool on a wire rack. Mix 100 grams/4 oz icing sugar and 2 tbsps milk together. When half way cool drizzle the icing sugar all over these beauties.
  • Apply to Face and Xmas time will stand still for a moment.

Notes

If you find the butter gets too soft when you're rolling out and gets tacky then cover with a good dust of flour and maybe put in the freezer for five mins and go again.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 829IU | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg

All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.

Keyword Danish Cinnamon Rolls, danish pastries
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HELEN

    December 06, 2017 at 10:44 pm

    omg Jenny, they look bloody amazing! I'm a sucker for cinnamon buns but avoid them like the plague or they would sit on my ass forever, but making them at christmas is a genius idea because we all know that christmas day calories don't count. We usually have croissants baked with cheese n 'am in, but I think we might have these too!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 06, 2017 at 10:47 pm

      Do it Helen,these bad boys are off the chart.Santa would so approve xx

      Reply
  2. Kat (The Baking Explorer)

    December 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    They look so delicious!

    Reply
  3. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

    December 11, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    'Extensive administrative trials of this festive season' YES THIS!!! I can barely keep track of where my kids are supposed to be and when, and especially what outfit they should be wearing...tennis? dance? school uniform? Christmas jumper? Jedi knight day? Sheriff/Saloon Bar Girl (they are in a panto)? Seriously losing the plot over here. One of these days I am going to get it horribly wrong!! I could do with a few of these scrumptious cinnamon buns to get me through...and maybe a drop of the hard stuff 😉 Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      January 07, 2018 at 9:47 pm

      Crazy Christmas shenanigans ?? I can't believe I didn't drop one.Already missing it though!Mine go back to school tomorrow-the whole thing seems ages ago already!xx

      Reply
  4. Angela / Only Crumbs Remain

    December 14, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Mmmm! Absolutely heaven Jenny! I just love your cheat's version... and that swirl of cinnamon is just the bee's knees!
    Angela x

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      January 07, 2018 at 9:43 pm

      Honestly Angela they are to die for!xx

      Reply
  5. Tamara Parmar

    August 29, 2018 at 6:35 am

    5 stars
    I know it's not Christmas but the little people coming tomorrow... have to make these again , they can't stop eating them ????

    Reply
  6. Rugaya Jakoet

    November 14, 2019 at 7:58 am

    Hi Jenny

    Thanks soooooo much for this fantastic recipe! I gave up on making Danish Pastry: too laborious. Until I came across your recipe - what a find!! It is EVERYTHING you say it is and more.

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      November 14, 2019 at 11:47 am

      You have made my day!! It is so good isn’t it. Especially when you have made them a couple of times. So easy and so divine!! Thank you twenty times over for letting me know with your comment xx

      Reply
5 from 6 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Hi, I'm Jenny Walters. A mother of two and passionate filler of bellies with stress free, simple and delicious recipes that gladden the soul. I am at heart a home cook.

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