Cinnamon Rolls

I have read that Vietnam is a producer of cinnamon and so when I know that somebody is going there, I can't help but ask that some authentic Vietnamese ground cinnamon be brought back.

Now, the best way to finish a bottle of strong and fragrant ground cinnamon before it expires is to make cinnamon rolls! So far, I made 3 batches and more are coming up.

The rolls chill pretty well and are as tasty as freshy-made ones with just a few minutes in the oven.

Dough:

140g of water

20g milk powder

35g egg (beaten)

20g caster sugar

125g bread flour

125g plain flour

4g instant yeast

38g butter

Filling:

Margarine

Caster sugar

Ground cinnamon

1) Place the dough ingredients in a breadmaker and set to Dough. My breadmaker takes 90 minutes to knead and rest dough.

2) Remove dough from breadmaker and press out the gas.

3) Roll dough into a rectangle and lightly spread on the margarine. Then sprinkle caster sugar and ground cinnamon (as much as you like it)

4) Roll up and cut into 8 pieces.

5) Arrange them into a greased baking tin and let them rest for 30 minutes.

6) Brush with leftover egg, sprinkle with some castor sugar and baking at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Lemon Cake

Quite a satisfactory lemon cake from All Recipes! Crispy outer skin; fine & moist crumbs when eaten warm. Definitely worth baking again.

Here's the recipe with some adjustments:

226g unsalted butter (i used 200g vegtable oil)

200g white sugar (i used 180g fine sugar)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (i used pure vanilla extract)

Zest of 1 lemon

260g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

60ml fresh lemon juice

1) Whisk oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest still smooth

2) Fold in dry mixture (sieve and mix flour, baking powder and salt)

3) Fold in lemon juice. The batter is quite runny.

4) Bake at 180 degrees for 40-45 minutes in grease tin or paper cups.