Baking for Beginners: Cinnamon Whirls

So, on the downside, it's January, we're skint and it's freezing. On the upside, it's an excellent excuse to stay in and bake, and then pummel in as many hot carbs as possible before slipping into a delicious, yeasty coma. Mmmm. These cinnamon whirls are comforting, cheap and easy to make, and ideal for breakfast. Or brunch. Or, you know, lunch and dinner. Make a trayful, invite your friends over, expect to have done left.

This is a Nigella recipe, of course. No-one does comfort food like her.

Recipe slightly adapted from Nigella's Norwegian Cinnamon Buns recipe

Cinnamon Whirls - makes about 20

You will need:

For the dough:

• 600g plain flour
• 100g sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 21g dried yeast. Yes, 21g, as in 3 sachets. Honest.
• 100g butter
• 300ml milk
• 2 eggs

For the filling:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 230C / gas mark 8.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter, whisk it into the milk and eggs, then stir it into the flour mixture. Mix it to form a soft dough, then knead it until it's soft and springy, adding more flour if it's too sticky. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for about 25 minutes.
3. Line a roasting tin or large brownie tin with baking paper. Take a third of the dough and stretch it to fit the base of the tin - this will form the base of your buns.
4. Roll out the rest of the dough into a rectangle of roughly 50 x 25cm. Mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl and spread it evenly over the rectangle.
5. Roll it up from the longest edge into a giant sausage. Cut it into 2cm thick slices which should make about 20 rounds. Sit them on the dough in the tin, swirly cut-side up. Don't worry if they don't fit snugly as they will puff up (thanks to all that yeast). Brush them with egg and let them rise for about 15 minutes.
6. Bake them for 20-25 minutes, until they're risen and golden-brown. Don't worry if they slightly burn in places. Leave them to cool slightly on a rack, then tear them off to eat warm.
   

Add whatever you want to the filling; I'm tempted by trying raspberry jam, ground almonds or hazelnuts next time. So what are you waiting for - why not give them A WHIRL? (Sorry. I tried not to make that joke but the temptation was too great. It won't happen again.) (It almost certainly will.)