Cinnamon Roll Pie

So much roll play

Little did I know when I popped into the supermarket a couple of weeks ago I’d be gifted such a bounty of reduced brioche hot dog bun / finger rolls. I was powerless to resist their cut price charms and so they all came home with me. From that point I knew they were all destined to be soaked, sprinkled and flavoured with cream, sugar and spice and turned into some form of hacked cinnamon roll. I’m all for taking your time and spending a few hours making a beautiful dough to be turned into a lusciously fragrant, warm batch of cinnamon rolls, but sometimes it’s ok take a shortcut. Here I’m starting with readymade brioche rolls and readymade, ready rolled puff pastry to make a quick, simple and completely irresistible cinnamon roll pie.

If cinnamon rolls are your thing, you might like the chapter devoted to them in Bake Your Sweet Time. This brioche hack arrived too late to be included, instead there’s a quick dough version you can bake in the oven or squash in a waffle maker, a traditional yeasted version with options for filling and topping, and a not-for-the-faint-hearted laminated version. Just pick the one you’ve got the time and inclination for!

Thanks to you all for supporting me and Bake Your Sweet Time, if you have the time, and you haven’t already, maybe you would consider leaving an Amazon review for it? You don’t have to have bought it through Amazon and positive reviews really help other people find it. Thank you!

And so to the pie…

PIE

320g pack of ready rolled puff pastry (you’ll need approx 225g of it)

3 & 1/2 to 4 brioche hot dog buns / finger rolls (approx 300g)

65g white granulated sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

150g double / heavy cream

TOPPING

15g icing / confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

75g full fat cream cheese

HOW TO

• Line an 18cm cake or pie tin with baking paper.

• Set the oven to 175ºc.

• Roll the pastry slightly thinner than it’s pre rolled to, approximately 2mm, and lift into the lined tin. Cut the excess away and crimp the top edge to give it a bit of stability.

• In a small bowl, mix up the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle about a dessert spoon of it over the pastry base.

• Give the brioche a light squash and cut each one, length ways, into 3 to 4 strips depending on how fat the rolls are. Starting at the outside edge of the pastry case, working your way round in a spiral into the centre, sit the strips of brioche in until the tin is filled but not tightly packed.

• Saving 2 to 3 tsp for a final dusting, spoon the cinnamon sugar over the top of the spiralled brioche strips. Help it into all the small gaps so the whole pie will be generously sweetened and spiced.

• Weigh the cream and use a pastry brush to moisten the surface of the brioche with it, cinnamon doesn’t like to mix with liquids so you’ll have work to get the cream to stick to the rolls. When it has you can slowly pour the cream over so it soaks in between the strips of brioche.

• Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the top and bake in the oven middle of the oven at 175ºc. Bake for 40 minutes until the edge of the visible pastry is richly golden brown and the top of the brioche has coloured a deep amber.

• If using, make the topping. To a small bowl add the icing sugar and vanilla and mix to a smooth paste. Add the cream cheese spoon at a time and gently mix until it’s all been added and smoothly combined.

• Serve straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream or, as soon as the pie is baked, spread the topping over and eat either warm or room temperature.

• Enjoy!

Tat x