life with tuyen

Perfect combination of Banana Bread and Cinnamon Rolls

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect mix between banana bread and cinnamon rolls. for these, i incorporated banana in three times: in the dough, in the brown sugar filling, and in the banana caramel glaze these cinnamon rolls sit in. these are warm, goey, soft, delicious and so good. paired with a cream cheese glaze and topped with brulee’d bananas. Hope you guys enjoy these ones!

i also posted this on youtube! you can check out the full video recipe here 🤎🍌

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls (makes 8 rolls)

yeast mixture:

• 2 tbsp (30g) of warm milk
• pinch of sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp (7g) of yeast

dough:

• 1/4 c (60g) of room temp buttermilk*
• 2 tbsp (28g) of melted butter + 1 tbsp 1 tsp (18g) of oil
• 1/4 c (50g) of sugar
• splash of vanilla extract
• 1 beaten egg, room temp
• 1/4 c (60g) of mashed ripe, brown banana*
• 2 c (240g) of all purpose flour (slightly more or less depending on texture)
• 1/2 tsp (2g) of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (3g) of salt

cinnamon filling:

• 1/3 c brown sugar
• ½ to 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3 tbsp softened butter
• pinch of salt & vanilla extract

Banana caramel glaze:

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 c mashed brown banana
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon powder

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:

• 2 oz. cream cheese softened
• ⅛ cup butter melted
• 1-2 tablespoons milk may need more or less
• ¾ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt optional

dough

• in a small bowl, combine your warm milk, pinch of sugar, and yeast. let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until it’s nice and bubbly/foamy — if it’s not foamy after 10 min, your yeast is dead and you’ll need to start over with a new packet!
• once your yeast mixture is ready, add it into your buttermilk, melted butter + oil, sugar, vanilla extract, ground vanilla, beaten egg, and mashed banana. give it a little mix to combine
• in a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt
• add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix until combined. you don’t need to knead this dough! if it feels a little too sticky, just add in an extra tbsp of flour at a time until it’s workable (it’ll still be a little tacky and that’s totally fine, don’t keep adding flour past that point)
• drizzle a little oil over the dough, wrap it up, and place it somewhere warm until it’s doubled in size

filling

• while your dough rises, mix up your cinnamon filling: softened butter, brown sugar, lots of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt

banana caramel glaze

• separately, mash up your bananas for the banana caramel glaze/filling along with the butter and brown sugar
  • i’ve tried mixing the banana directly into the cinnamon filling before and it just gets way too messy. it still tastes amazing if you want to do it that way, but for the sake of aesthetics i like keeping it separate and piping it in later (plus it doubles as the glaze on the bottom of the pan!)

assembly

• once your dough has doubled, shape it into a rectangle with your hands first before rolling it out with a rolling pin, it makes it so much easier
• spread your cinnamon filling evenly all over the dough
  • optional: sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top if you’re like me!)
• carefully and tightly roll it up into a log, then shape it so it’s nice and even
• use a ruler to measure out even cuts, then use a piece of thread or floss to cut your rolls — it makes the cleanest, most perfect cuts, so much better than a knife
• pour about half of your banana caramel mixture into the bottom of your pan, then place your cut rolls on top — while they rise and bake, they’ll soak up all that banana caramel and create the goey bottom
• let your rolls rise again until doubled in size, ~1 hour depending on temp of your room

before baking

• once risen, put the rest of your banana caramel into a squeeze bottle and trace it inside the spirals of each roll, really getting into the swirls so every bite is gooey
• lightly drizzle a little heavy cream over the tops to keep everything extra moist
• in a preheated oven set to 350f, pop into the oven and bake until golden for about 20 to 25 minutes, each oven is different so check according to yours

frosting

• while your rolls bake, make your cream cheese frosting — cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a splash of cream. i eyeball this one so add more or less to get it to the consistency you like
• once your rolls come out of the oven, while they’re still warm, spread the frosting right on top so it goes nice and melty and gooey
• to finish, cut up some banana slices, toss with a little brown sugar, and caramelize them, then place on top so you know it’s a banana bread cinnamon roll and not just a plain one!

NOTES:

• buttermilk substitution: if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can subsitute it for milk + a tiny splash of vinegar or milk + yogurt
• the bananas: don’t be scared of the ugly, spotty bananas here — the browner they are, the better the banana bread flavor
• cutting your rolls: thread or floss over a knife, every time. so much cleaner
• the banana caramel: it does double duty as filling AND glaze, so don’t skip pouring some into the bottom of the pan before baking, that’s what makes the bottom so goey
• frosting + fillings: i eyeball both of these, so go by taste and consistency rather than exact amounts!
• proofing dough until it’s double in size: this varies largely based on how warm your area is, I typically like to keep my dough in an oven (that’s not turned on) just to make sure there are no drafts. the warmer the space is, the faster it will rise and double in size!
• baking: each oven is different but just check in on your cinnamon roll once it hits ~20 minute mark (mine was perfect at 25 minutes) you can take it out and check the done-ness of it and pop it back in the oven if necessary

the original recipe for this cinnamon roll base is based off of diva’s can cook’s cinnamon rolls. i love her recipe and highly recommend you checking her original dough out here!!

HOPE YOU LOVE IT!! 🤍

i also posted this on youtube! you can check out the full video recipe here 🤎🍌

love,

tuyen 🍓