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Orange Sweet Rolls

An absolutely beautiful breakfast treat. The soft, citrus-infused dough, buttery filling laced with brown sugar, cinnamon, and more orange zest, and sticky orange glaze are perfect together, while the method is an upside-down cake effect that's easy and fun.

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1/2 cup warm water between 105-110 degrees F
  • 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest from 1 medium-large Navel orange
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter very soft
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1-2 teaspoons orange zest

For the glaze:

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Instructions

  • Make the dough. Measure warm water into a small liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle yeast over the top and set aside briefly.
  • In a large bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Rub the mixture between your fingers for about 1 minute to infuse the sugar with orange flavor. Add the yeast and water, followed by the orange juice, egg, butter or coconut oil, and salt. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat well with either an electric mixer or by hand until the mixture is smooth.
  • Add the remaining 1 and 1/4 cups flour. Switch to the dough hook, if using a stand mixer, and knead the mixture until a dough pulls together, then becomes smooth and elastic. Add up to 1/4 cup more flour if necessary. The dough should cleanly clear the sides of the bowl and come together into a ball that is slightly tacky to the touch, but does not adhere to your fingers.
  • First rise. When the dough is ready, lightly coat a large bowl with cooking spray or oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn it to coat with the spray or oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. This usually takes 1-2 hours, depending on how warm your environment is.
  • Prep filling and glaze. While the dough rises, prepare your filling ingredients and the glaze. Set out butter to soften, and combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and zest in a small bowl; set aside.
  • Coat a 9” round pie plate or cake pan lightly with cooking spray.
  • To make the glaze, combine sugar, orange juice, butter, and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and let the mixture bubble rapidly for 60-90 seconds, then remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pie plate or cake pan. Tilt the pan gently so the glaze spreads evenly across the bottom.
  • Make the rolls. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out into a large rectangle, approximately 12”x16”. Spread evenly with butter, then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar.
  • Starting with the long side, roll the dough rectangle up into a tight log. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log cleanly into about 10 rolls of the same width. Arrange them over the glaze in the cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, until they are puffy and fill the entire pan.
  • (You can also wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to bake, remove rolls from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature to rise again. After 30-45 minutes, they should appear puffy and fill the pan.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden on top. (You can use an instant read thermometer, if you have one, to verify that they are baked through; the rolls should be approximately 190 degrees F.) If necessary, cover the pans with aluminum foil toward the end of the baking time to reduce browning.
  • Remove from the oven. Immediately turn the pan over onto a serving plate, one with a rim larger than the edge of the pan. Leave the pan upside-down on top of the plate for 5-10 minutes, then gently lift the pan. The rolls should fall out onto the plate, with the orange glaze right on top.
  • Serve warm, garnished with a final sprinkling of zest, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?Leave a review below, then snap a quick picture and tag @nourishandfete on Instagram so I can see it!