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Cinnamon Rolls with Mocha Maple Icing

By backtoherroots · From Open Recipes · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 30,777 recipes mention both. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

The recipe

(54 medium-sized rolls)
Prep1 hr 30 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Warm the skim milk to about 110°F (43°C), then stir in the oil, 1 cup sugar and yeast. Let it sit about 10 minutes until foamy.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk the 8 cups flour, 1 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1 tablespoon salt. Add the milk mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

  3. Knead the dough on a floured surface about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding a little flour only if very sticky.

  4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot about 1 hour until doubled in size.

  5. Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Roll each half into a rectangle about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.

  6. Brush each rectangle generously with melted butter, then sprinkle with plenty of sugar and plenty of cinnamon. Roll up tightly from the long side and cut into rounds.

  7. Arrange the rolls cut side up in greased pans, cover and let rise about 30 minutes until puffy.

  8. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 12 to 15 minutes until golden. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes.

  9. For the icing, dissolve the instant coffee in the 1/2 cup milk. Whisk in the powdered sugar, maple flavoring, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt until smooth.

  10. Spread or drizzle the mocha maple icing over the warm rolls and serve.

By backtoherroots. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together30,777 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together81,222 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Safflower + sunflowertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together20 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).

  4. Milk + coffeetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,201 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  5. Milk + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together12,647 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the safflower

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sunflower, sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, coffee):

  1. Nutmegbetter flavor fit
  2. Gingerbetter flavor fit
  3. Clovebetter flavor fit
  4. Safflowerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sunflower, sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, coffee. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).