Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

Name: Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose flour; 240 ml milk; 60 g sugar; 7 g instant yeast; 6 g salt; 2 eggs; 85 g unsalted butter, softened; 85 g unsalted butter, very soft; 150 g brown sugar; 2 tbsp cinnamon; 115 g cream cheese, softened; 30 g unsalted butter, softened; 120 g icing sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Big, soft, gooey spiral rolls filled with buttery cinnamon-sugar and spread with tangy cream cheese frosting while warm. The American bakery classic.

Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting is an American pastry from United States, ready in about 3 hours 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, cinnamon and cream cheese. It serves 12 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep: 45 min
Cook: 25 min
Rest: 2 h 15 min
Total: 3 h 25 min
Serves: 12
Level: Intermediate
Calories: 441

About this dish

Origin: United States · Commonly attributedCinnamon buns have Northern European roots; the large frosted pan-baked roll is an American style.Also popular in CanadaMore food from United States
Dish: Breakfast · Brunch · Snack · Pastries · Sweets & confectionery
Cooking method: Oven-baked, Fermented
Taste: sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced, buttery, tangy
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Festive & celebration · Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Child-friendly
Cook more with: All-purpose flour · Cinnamon · Cream cheese · Milk · Sugar · Instant yeast
Techniques: Baking · Kneading · Fermentation

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter, cream cheese
Contains: Eggsfrom egg
Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

441 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 117 g · recipe makes 12

Where the energy comes from

Protein 6%
Carbohydrate 56%
Fat 38%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	441 kcal	378 kcal
Protein	7 g	6 g
Carbohydrate	62 g	53.1 g
Net carbohydrate	60 g	51.4 g
Sugars	28.5 g	24.5 g
Added sugars	26.9 g	23.1 g
Fibre	2 g	1.7 g
Fat	18.7 g	16.1 g
Saturated fat	11.1 g	9.5 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	79 mg	67 mg
Sodium	251 mg	216 mg
Salt equivalent	0.6 g	0.5 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 129 mg
Calcium: 71 mg
Iron: 2.3 mg
Magnesium: 16 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 167 µg
Vitamin C: 0 mg
Vitamin D: 0.4 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.2 µg
Folate (DFE): 141 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Floss cuts clean rolls without squashing the spiral.

Common mistakes

Melted (rather than soft) butter in the filling leaks out and burns on the base.

Serve with

Serve warm with coffee for brunch.

Food safety

Refrigerate frosted rolls if keeping beyond a day, as the frosting contains cream cheese.

Storage

Covered at room temperature 2 days or refrigerated 4 days; freeze unfrosted up to 1 month.

Reheating

Microwave 15–20 seconds or warm covered at 160 °C for 8 minutes.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

All-purpose flour500 g
Milk240 ml · 247 g
Egg2 piece · 100 g
Unsalted butter, softened85 g

Used in steps 1, 2, 5

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 45 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 15 min
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 45 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 25 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 15 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
Start to finish: about 3 h 25 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
Ingredient	Role	Weight	Baker’s %
All-purpose flour	Flour	500 g	100%
Milk	Other liquid	247 g	49.4%
Egg	Egg	100 g	20%
Unsalted butter	Fat	85 g	17%
Sugar	Sugar	60 g	12%
Instant yeast	Yeast	7 g	1.4%
Salt	Salt	6 g	1.2%

Total flour: 500 g
Hydration: —
With milk, eggs…: 58%
Wholegrain: 0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

Salt 1.2% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
Sugar 12% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
Fat 17% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

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Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

Ingredients

For the filling

For the frosting

Equipment

Method

About this dish

Allergens

Nutrition

Good to know