These fluffy, soft and quick-to-make sweet almond rolls are here to stay! Make way cinnamon rolls! … a new classic is here! A perfect dessert waiting to be enjoyed!
Most probably you all know about cinnamon rolls now! They have taken over the world by storm as they are truly delicious. However, let me introduce you to my new creation here: these sweet almond rolls! In Malta we are obsessed with anything almond. Actually most of our traditional desserts include, you guessed it, almonds! We can never get enough of that delicious almond flavour.
This year while making my yearly figolli for Easter, I was looking for inspiration for decorations and luckily everyone was posting their delightful creations. At the same time, I realised that some people complain that they end up having leftover almond filling (intrita). This can happen for several reasons as everyone has their unique way of making them at the end of the day. This leads people to ask, “what to do with the leftover almond filling?” Well, good news! I have the best answer for you! These sweet almond rolls!! However, of course, if you finished your almond filling, you can still make it from scratch just for the sake of enjoying these rolls, just like I did!
Sweet almond rolls
These rolls are made from the fluffiest of doughs that is packed with an almond filling and finally drizzled with chocolate on top and flaked almonds. For the dough I recommend that you use a strong bread flour so that you achieve that soft and fluffy inside that we want here. In addition, it is important not to kill the yeast by using milk that is too hot. One tip I’ve read this year which stayed in my mind and practice every time, is that you have to think like when you are preparing a bath for you to enjoy: you don’t want your bath to be scolding hot but gently warm that you can enjoy. That is what the yeast actually wants: a nice warm bath of about 32˚C-35˚C (90˚F-95˚F).
For the almond filling you’ll need to mix together ground almonds, icing sugar, an egg white, lemon zest and some extra almond essence for that flavour kick. Simple right? One important thing is that when smothering the almond filling on the dough, it’s important to spread it thinly! You don’t want a thick layer, as afterwards it will overpower the rolls.
Once baked I like to drizzle mine with a generous amount of melted chocolate and flaked almonds. You can also smother them with a thick icing!
Make them overnight!
One of the best things about almond rolls is that you can let the last rise happen overnight, which will make the best morning breakfast hassle free! All you need to do is prepare the rolls as instructed. However before, for the last rise, cover them up with plastic or beeswax wrap and place them in the fridge to rise slowly overnight. In the morning before baking, take them out for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven. Bake as directed and enjoy!
Sweet Almond Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 400 g bread flour
- 50 g butter room temperature
- 1 medium egg
- 5 g salt
- 7 g active dry yeast or 13g fresh yeast
- 25 g caster sugar
- 180 ml full fat milk lukewarm
Almond filling
- 100 g ground almonds
- 20 g whole almonds crushed into small pieces
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tsp almond essence
- zest of half a lemon
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 15 ml mlik 1 tbsp
Topping
- 75 g chocolate melted
- 30 g almond flakes
Instructions
Preparation of the dough and almond filling
- If using active dry yeast, in a small bowl mix the sugar and yeast in the lukewarm milk and let the yeast activate for about 15 minutes until foamy. If using fresh yeast, crumble the yeast in the flour before starting mixing the dough.
- To a mixer with a dough hook, add all the dough ingredients. Mix on a low speed for about 5 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and mix for a further 12 minutes until the dough comes away from the bowl. If you are kneading by hand, knead until you get a soft and smooth dough, which should be after approximately 25 minutes of kneading.
- Form the dough into a ball and let it rest in a warm place covered for an hour until it doubles in size.
- For the almond filling, add all the ingredients together and mix well to get a paste. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.
Assembly and baking
- Lightly butter a 33 x 23cm baking dish and set aside.
- On a floured work surface roll the dough into a rectangle, roughly 40 x 30cm.
- With a spatula spread the almond filling over the dough. Make sure to cover all the dough by spreading the filling thinly.
- Roll the dough tightly. Cut the dough with a serrated knife into 12 rolls. They should be about 2.5cm thick each.
- Place the rolls in the baking dish, cover and let the rest for half an hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake them for about 20 minutes, until golden.
- Let them cool slightly before drizzling the melted chocolate and sprinkling the almond flakes. Enjoy!
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!
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