Pumpkin Rolls with KGM
- Details
Take your cinnamon rolls from simple to sensational with the addition of pumpkin and Kashmiri Garam Masala. When I started looking for a pumpkin dessert, because it is that time of year, the thought of pies, cookies and loaves just seemed…boring. Enter the pumpkin rolls. I was SOLD as soon as I saw this post on Smitten Kitchen, and in making them found the recipe spot on! I barely adapted it, just a little spice make-over with one of our secret ingredients, Kashmiri Garam Masala, and some maple in the frosting. The results should be illegal. I know I say that about all the desserts, but this one is seriously irresistible.
We opted for maple syrup and buttermilk in the glaze to round out the flavor profile. Next time I think trying coconut oil in place of some of the butter could be tasty, and orange in the frosting. Stay tuned! This one will definitely be back.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- ½ cup whole milk, warmed
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
- ¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground Kashmiri Garam Masala
- 2/3 cups pumpkin puree, canned or homemade
- 1 large egg
- Oil for coating rising bowl
For the Filling
- ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground Kashmiri Garam Masala
For the Glaze
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine the warmed milk with the yeast in a small bowl. Cover, and allow the mixture to sit 5-7 minutes in a warm place, until foamy.
- While the yeast is developing, melt the butter over medium-low heat and allow it to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugars, salt and Kashmiri Garam Masala. Add 3 tablespoons of the melted butter, yeast-milk mixture, pumpkin and egg. Mix until just combined.
- Change the attachment from paddle to dough hook and run on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture into a large oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place; the volume of the dough will nearly double.
- While the dough is rising, prepare your pans and assemble the filling.For the pans, line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the sides of the pan and the paper. For the filling, stir the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- When the hour is up, transfer the dough onto a well floured surface and flour the top as well. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 11"x16" and brush the top with the remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter. Then spread the filling evenly over the top. It will seem like a lot of sugar. It is. Trust me, just do it.
- Roll the dough into a tight spiral, starting with the long edge. Some stuff will fall out, and that's okay. This is not a tidy process. It all ends up in the pan one way or another.
- Cut the spiral into 1" slices with a heavy serrated knife using a back & forth motion but no downward pressure at all. Let the weight of the knife do the work and there will be less tearing. Try to keep the slices uniform and no wider than an inch. If you cut them too thick it is hard to get them done in the middle without overcooking the top and bottom.
- Place the rolls into the pan so they are touching but not overly tight. I included the cut off tips of the spiral in the pan so every gram could get into the oven. Top them off with the sugar that has fallen out of the rolls during assembly.
- Cover the pans with plastic and allow to rise again, about 45 minutes more.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- After the rising time is up, bake the rolls for 25 minutes, until the smell is irresistible.
- While the rolls are baking, create the glaze. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Continue mixing, and add the powdered sugar, buttermilk and maple syrup. The glaze should be thin enough to brush on. You can thin it by adding more buttermilk one teaspoon at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
- Brush the glaze on warm rolls right out of the oven and stand back for the stampede.
Notes
If you'd like to make ahead, refrigerate the rolls in the pan after the second rising and bake them the next morning. Remove from the refrigerator one hour before baking.
While the glaze does put them over-the-top, these beauties are so delicious they could stand alone…or with butter…or with maple syrup.
I made the recipe for the noncinnamon rolls over the weekend. They are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten. They are fantastic in taste and texture. Really worth the time. If you use a breadmaker to do the dough it goes so fast and easy.
Thank you – we couldn’t stop eating them. Love the idea of using a bread machine to make it even easier.
this should be tagged “Asia” as well. especially with “Kashmiiri” in the actual name of the recipe.
Thanks. Most people wouldn’t consider this recipe to be “Asian”, but geographically, the Kashmiri name would qualify. It’s added in now.
I am going to have to try these. I recently made cinnamon rolls using quatre epices in place of the cinnamon and they were so good!
What a great idea! A few years ago, Sunset Magazine used our Quatre Epice to make a cake that was really good. (https://www.silkroaddiary.com/quatre-epices-cake/) So, why not cinnamon rolls?
I also used it in place of the spices in a dark moist gingerbread recipe… amazing!
I’ve been looking at this recipe for quite a while and finally, late one Saturday night, started in on it. late being the key word here…. I reached in the drawer and pulled out Kashmiri Curry by mistake, but didn’t realize it until after the first pan was out of the oven! They still tasted pretty good, but I can’t wait to make them with the Garam Masala!
It’s an easy mistake…especially late at night. One of our Spice Merchants put Kashmiri Curry (on purpose) in her pumpkin pie last year, and it was wonderful, so…
Your story reminded me of an amusing story. At the FireStation some years ago, I had made some oatmeal for breakfast and sprinkled some good cinnamon on it. One of the guys commented on the aroma that was drifting around the kitchen and asked what I was eating. I told him what it was and he proceeded to make himself a bowl. Only problem is, he grabbed the cumin instead of the cinnamon! Unlike your mistake, his was totally inedible. Was a great joke around the Firehouse for a while!
Hah! Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh…
These rolls look soooo delicious! Love your thorough descriptions – you make it so much easier for culinary handicaps like me 🙂 Cheers!
Thank you! We do love to play with our food.
Just made these and they are amazing! Really wonderful flavors-perfect sweet roll. Made them exactly as the recipe directed except for an additional approx. 1/2 cup more flour as the dough seemed overly moist during the initial kneading. My husband and I just spoiled our dinner eating too many of these fresh out of the oven! Completely worth it:)
I’ve made these a few times over the last couple of years and they have made me look like a kitchen genius every time. They’re decadent, but amazing. I skimp a bit on the icing, in my opinion they don’t really need much. I do notice me esposo and our adult sons dipping theirs into the left overs in the fridge, though. 🙂
Kashmiri Garam Masala is my favorite of your blends, it’s wonderful in so many things. Thank you for so generously sharing your recipes.
Thank you! They are delicious, and Kashmiri Garam Masala is one of our favorite blends for baking. It’s also great with chocolate – such as in brownies or cookies – and makes a wonderful gingerbread or spice cake, too. We love to play with our food and share the tasty results with everyone. Thank you again!
I made carrot cake with Kashmiri Garam Masala for my birthday last year and it was hands down the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. So moist and decadent!
It is wonderful in carrot cake – Kashmiri Garam Masala is one of our favorites to use in making it. Always a winner…