Cinnamon & Currant Scrolls

Recipe courtesy of Fresh by Stephanie Alexander, Macmillan Publishers, RRP $49.99

These cinnamon scrolls are prepared in moments and bake in just under 30 minutes. Best eaten on the day they are made, they are the perfect afternoon tea treat. Not only are the scrolls delicious and very easy for young cooks to perfect, but in a class situation this is an excellent recipe to demonstrate the common instruction in recipes to ‘make a well’.

When you mix plain yoghurt with self-raising flour (which has bicarbonate of soda in it) or flour plus baking powder, the acidity in the yoghurt reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to assist with rising. The direction to ‘make a well’ in a mix of flours and other dry ingredients (sugars, spices etc.) means to tip the ‘drys’ into a bowl and to give them a quick mix to make sure they are evenly dispersed. Then you make a hole in the middle large enough to hold all the liquids. The liquids must be mixed together before being added to the drys. Then you need to steadily draw the flour etc. into the liquids, until you cannot easily mix any more in. Some cooks prefer a fork, others a wooden spoon. Then you may have to complete the process by tipping the mix onto a work surface and giving it a short knead until it is well mixed and supple.

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 300 g (2 cups) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 500 g (2 cups) plain Greek-style yoghurt
• 80 g butter, melted

Filling

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons currants

Glaze

• 60 g (1⁄2 cup) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon warm milk
• 2 teaspoons melted butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Mix all the filling ingredients together in a small bowl.

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour all the yoghurt in. Using a large fork, mix the yoghurt into the flour, working the fork to the bottom of the bowl to pick up as much of the flour as possible. Once you have mixed as well as you can with the fork, you will want to use your hands.

Tip the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and gently knead to a soft and slightly sticky ball. Flatten and roughly shape into a rectangle.

Flour a rolling pin, then gently roll the dough into a rectangle about 40 x 15 cm and 1 cm thick. Brush generously with most of the melted butter, leaving 2–3 teaspoons for the final glaze. Sprinkle the filling over the dough, right to the edges. Immediately roll up the rectangle from the longest side to form a long cylinder. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 pieces, each 3 cm wide.

Arrange the pieces, cut-side up, on the prepared tray, close together but not squashed up. Slide the tray into the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the glaze. The icing sugar may need to be pressed through a sieve to be sure there are no lumps.

Remove the scrolls from the oven. Spoon the glaze over them whilst they are hot. Allow to cool before enjoying them.

Swap

For those who love nuts, 2 tablespoons roughly chopped toasted walnuts could be added to the filling.