“There’s a tortoise right behind us and he’s treading on my tail!” - Lewis Carroll
That’s right, I drew that amazing display of artwork, down to every stripe on the whiting’s fins - awe and wonder at my graphical prowess!
(I can see that giant question mark hovering above your head, you know!)
Okay, so what food item could this blog post possibly be about, you ask? Well, there are three animals featured, so it could be anything involving any one of them. Perhaps a warm and hearty turtle soup? Maybe pan-fried whiting with a dry spice rub? If you chose either of those two, then you’d be wrong - today’s featured animal is the snail! Or, rather…
The almighty escargot!
That question mark is still there, right?
Cinnamon and sultana scrolls are a common treat here in Melbourne and can be found in almost every bakery and cafe, however the name of these treats always seems to differ. Cinnabun, cinnamon scroll, snail scroll, or escargot, they all refer to the same thing (unless, of course, you happen to be at Vue De Monde, but we’ll ignore Shannon Bennett for now).
After seeing Ange and Jenjen, two Aussie food blogging counterparts, both try the same recipe for these scrolls from Bill Granger’s “Sydney Food” cookbook, I thought I’d try my own hand at them, as I’ve always been a fan of getting these fluffy treats and devouring them down to the last sultana.
Now, anyone who has been following this blog for awhile is aware of my last attempt at the almightly cinnamon scroll. The problem that I had last time was that after the first proofing, the dough just was not interested in rising anymore and I could not figure out exactly what had gone wrong. That attempt so deflated me that I haven’t tried making any yeasty product other than pizza since then, and it has taken awhile for me to build up my courage to the point where I feel I can tackle the yeastie beastie once again.
Yeast sounds much less terrifying when you refer to it as ‘yeastie’. Even more so if you say it in baby-talking tones, however I’d stop short of actually baby-talking it and trying to scratch it under the chin. Mostly because I’m not sure if yeast bits have chins, but also because it might not like it and take revenge on you in some awful fashion.
At any rate, I’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to making anything involving yeast, but feel I’ve definetely improved a little as these little buns rose like nobody’s business. I’ll put the adapted recipe with notes from this experience for anyone who wants to give these a go. My technique is far from perfect, so I don’t know if it’s me or the recipe, but the scrolls I turned out were actually a bit firm and chewy and nothing like the soft and fluffy cloud-like things purchased at the bakery. I might give them another try in the future, I’ve got a few other things I need to make before then 
They rose perfectly and were golden and gorgeous, but the texture definetely left something to be desired.
Cinnamon Scrolls recipe (adapted from Bill Granger’s in “Sydney Food”)
Ingredients
DOUGH
2x 7g sachets dried yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
125g unsalted butter, cubed
4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sultanas *
*to have even plumper sultanas (and this goes for any dried fruit), you can soak them overnight in some orange juice or boil them for 3-5 minutes. However, for this recipe you need to make sure to dry the fruit afterwards to ensure that you don’t add any extra moisture to this already sticky dough
FILLING
95g unsalted butter, creamed
20g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
ICING
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp warm water
½ tsp vanilla essence
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Place milk and butter in a saucepan and heat over a low heat till butter has melted. Make sure that the milk is not boiling, if it is too hot then put aside till it is just warm.
3. Sift flour, then add salt and caster sugar and mix to combine properly. Make a well in the centre and add eggs, milk and yeast mixtures and stir till just combined.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes till smooth, working in more flour if it remains too sticky. Try to refrain from adding any more than 1/4 cup flour as adding too much will make it bready and tough.
5. Add the sultanas in the last 2 minutes of kneading, then place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave to proof for 30 mins - 1 hr. The dough should double in size.
6. Punch down the dough then turn onto a floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 23cm x 60cm (9″ x 24″) and about 5mm thick. Brush with the creamed butter, then generously sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the buttered side.
7. Roll up the long side and make sure the seam is on the bottom of the log, then slice into 2cm lengths and place them on a lined baking tray 5cm apart. Brush the tops with the melted butter, cover loosely and leave to proof again in a warm place for 30 minutes or till almost doubled in size.
8. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and bake rolls for 20-30 minutes or till tops are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely before mixing together icing ingredients and drizzling over the top.
Enjoy with a hot cup of tea whilst fresh, as these are definetely best consumed within 1-2 days of being made 
Oh, and in case you’re wondering - those rolls actually don’t have any sultanas in them as my brother cannot stand them. However, I found that without the sultanas, they are very bready and a bit plain, so I don’t recommend leaving them out.
Technorati Tags: cinnamon scroll, yeast, baking, bread, snail roll, cinnamon roll
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Comments
ilva Ellie, this is sooo Swedish to me! ALL (well almost all) mums bake kanelbullar as it is called there so we grow up on them! You should try them with ground cardamom instead of cinnamon, that’s my favourite version! I’ll try to put your icing on mine next time I make them!
Brilynn Those scrolls look scrumptious, yes, scrumptious, (it’s a fun word to say, a friend of mine hates it, maybe that makes it even more fun).
Yeast is my nemesis too, especially when I forget to add it to what I’m making, ARGH!
I’m currently trying my hand at bagels, we’ll see how that goes…
Ellie Kat - thanks hon I was wondering if anyone would spot it as the overall design and colour scheme are the same as before, so good job! 
Ilva - LOL, isn’t it fantastic how the same foodstuff can appear across different cultures, just bearing a different name? It may not be for awhile, but the next time I bake these I’ll try your suggestion for the cardamom
Brilynn - hehehe, I love saying scrumptious too (it’s very willy wonka, isn’t it?) Glad to know that there are others out there who have just as much trouble with yeast as I do, it makes me feel like less of an idiot! 
Can’t wait to see your bagels!
ilingc hey ellie
first thing i spotted when your page loaded up was the new look. looks pretty neat
i like the drawings too esp the fish w/ the legs haha
i have bill’s books too, i must not have read it properly because I don’t remember seeing it in that book.
Must go check it out again tonight.
neil They look all right to me, would be very happy to have one with a cup of tea. Glad to see that the yeast worked for you this time, I couldn’t imagine anything more frustrating than proving, then nothing happening at all.
jenjen Woohoo! Go the snails!
Glad that the scrolls finally worked out for. I know what you mean about working with yeast, I hardly ever do because i’m so terrified by it. But when you call them yeasties, you might be able to coax me back into making some bread!
Ellie Iling - cheers, glad you like the new look! I hummed and hawwed over it for a bit, but it’s definetely grown on me now And I’m most proud of that fish with legs too
I haven’t actually got that book (or any of Bill’s, to be honest), but both Ange and Jenjen quote it so I’m pretty sure that’s the one
Neil - they looked marvellous and were wonderful fresh out of the oven, but the day after were quite tough which made me quite sad. You should’ve seen me when the yeast came through on all three occasions (2 proofings and oven), I was dancing like a looney
Jenjen - Definetely go the snails And I think that giving a cutesy name to anything your scared of helps to make it a little less scary
Lis Fantastic! Although I love fluffy and light - I love chewy just as much.. so next time you make these, if they are still on the chewy side, by all means, stick ‘em in a box and send to me please!! hehee I’m glad you tried again and posted because now I will always picture yeast as lil critters with chins. teee!
Mary I love a good cinnamon roll - I’m sure your kitchen must have smelled amazing while they were baking!
Ellie Lis - I like chewy as well, but after having eaten these for years from bakeries and always having fluffy ones, I was a tad disappointed…but will definetely bear yourself in mind if it ever happens again And chinned yeastey critters are v. cute, will draw you one!
Mary - cinnamon rolls are superb, and the kitchen definetely smelt beautiful whilst they were baking away in the oven
Only Me As it was a picture of a tortoise I actually thought it was going to be a warm and hearty tortoise soup rather than turtle…
Ellie Only Me - Good point I often forget that they’re different animals…I wonder if they’d actually taste any different though? Oh, that’s a naughty thought!
Netti Hi Ellie,
I came across your blog whilst googling a recipe for cinnamon and sultana scrolls and am so glad I’ve made the discovery. I made these on the weekend and they were delicious - definitely a recipe for the patient though! I’ve earmarked a few other recipes on your site so no doubt I’ll be in touch.
Netti
love the new look of your blog and these snails (scrolls)!