A while back I saw a picture in a Christmas catalog of a very cool looking pastry/coffee cake and I asked here on TFL [url=http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26248/help-how-did-they-do]How did they do this?[/url] I got the help that I was looking for from this great community.
I've been experimenting with Cinnamon Rolls now for a while. I am using the term Cinnamon Rolls very loosely here, I guess that a better term would be "Stuff rolled up in dough", however that just does not sound as good.
So basically what I did was to take my Cinnamon Roll Dough recipe and made it into Nut Rolls using the Potica filling. I used JoeV's recipe for the filling (see link above). You might want to follow JoeV's Dough recipe as well, this makes a lot so you may want to make a half batch.
I've now made this twice, once with Almonds and once with Walnuts (Pecans will be my next test and then maybe Hazel Nuts).
So I made my dough as I always do and rolled it out very thin. I put the Potica filling on top. I began rolling up the dough (stretching it even thinner as I roll). I got a big surprise here. The Potica filling was wet where as my Cinnamon Roll filling is dry and things were behaving a lot differently. It was a bit harder working with the dough and rolling it up. When I got all done it felt like I had a tube sock full of mush.
I was stuck with the challenge of trying to slice the rolls and to place them in the pan. I made the cuts quickly and then using the knife blade as a spatula picked up the roll and placed it on the pan. I usually like to make my rows all nice and straight but there was no way that I could do that. I was just happy to be able to scoop them up and place them as best as I could in the pan.
I let them raise in the pan for a while and then baked them the way I usually do for Cinnamon Rolls. Again another surprise, they took longer to bake because of the wet filling. (I know, I'm a slow learner) I left them in until they looked done.
I let them cool for 10 minutes and made a Powered Sugar/Milk frosting. I put this in a zip lock baggie and trimmed off a corner and then just went back and forth over the rolls squeezing out the frosting.
The last surprise was the way that they tasted. They were a lot lighter and moister than my Cinnamon Rolls. The nut filling gave the rolls a great flavor. Beware: these are very rich.
What I will do differently next time:
1. Hold back the milk from the filling and make it less wet. I want to be able shape these like I do my Cinnamon rolls.
2. Bake a bit longer.
3. Make a smaller batch or I won't get any smaller.
Happy Baking, Dwayne
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These look delicious! I feel like this would be something you would walk by a bakery window on the street and then stop and drool over before they drew you inside. The icing was a terrific touch. However messy the process might have been, they definitely look worth it! yum!
-Rachel
I grew up eating these, and the more traditional way to make them would be to just roll up the dough with the nut filling and bake it as a whole loaf, then slice into pieces once it's done baking. It would probably be a lot easier and not as messy also. I made this at Christmas this year, but I don't have any pics. Try it with poppyseed, or slightly sweetened ricotta cheese mixed with raisens, vanilla and orange zest as a filling also. It's great.
Terry
Terry,
While look into this a bit I did see that the traditional way to make these was in the shape of a loaf, I've just been experimenting (aka Playing Around). Thanks for telling me about the other fillings that are used. I'll do some more searching for these other types.
Thanks, Dwayne
I think I might have to try your method also. Those pics of yours sure look tasty.
Terry
Wet filling or not, these look fantastic! I recently had a softer sweet roll dough (new recipe) plus a slightly wetter filling (miscalculated increasing my usual filling). Next time I'll add some ground nuts. I could tell slicing rolls for overnight fridge proof would be a mess, and put the sheet tray with the filled roll (on Silpat) in the freezer for 15? minutes. It stopped the roll spreading & helped firm up everything enough to cut slices so I could go to bed. The rolls baked up beautifully in the morning. Can't wait to try these recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the idea, I had not thought of that. That might have made this job much easier and the end product look much nicer.
Dwayne
a half hour to make slicing perfect and easy easy as pie but not as tasty! These have to be about as tasty as they get too. I like a bit of lemon in the glaze to cut the fat a bit. Learned that for the 3 grandmas that sadly are down to 2 now. I miss them.
Happy baking Dwayne