In honour of upcoming Valentine’s day, a dozen {sweet} roses! I mean what says “I Love You” more than a dozen sweet and buttery roses covered in a warm, nutty caramel sauce to celebrate Valentine’s, right?
This recipe is my very loose adaptation of a classic Italian rose sweet bread (Torta delle Rose) The classic is traditionally prepared over several days and baked in a tall springform pan with the rolls filled with butter that is whipped with white sugar. I decided I want to do a quicker, more rustic version (read, how can I make this in my skillet?) and change it up a bit. I thought about making it red velvet (no, not really! :), but in the end, decided to fill my sweet rolls with mixture of brown sugar and butter, with a touch of cinnamon. And since I was on a brown sugar and butter roll (no pun intended), I decided to top it all off with a quick, warm brown sugar, butter and nut sauce after it was baked.
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There are a couple of points to pass along should you decide to make this recipe. They are made just like cinnamon/sticky rolls right up until the point you place them into your pan. Before you do, you need to pinch together the bottom of the slice. This serves two purposes – it keeps the butter/sugar filling from escaping out the bottom, and it pushes up and loosens the spiral a bit, making a fun “rose” shape as it bakes.
And speaking of the spiral shape, let me tell you, these rolls have a bit of trouble controlling their enthusiasm when not confined in a large pan, and have a tendency to grow exponentially in the oven. You may even encounter a rogue rose that will unravel itself and pop right out of the top or even right out of the pan. Of course, you’ll have less of a problem if you use a springform pan or at least a pan with higher sides than my skillet. If you use a skillet and you have any escapees, never fear, you can just pop it back in where it belongs and all will be well.
In any event, I strongly recommend placing a baking sheet under whatever pan you use, to catch any escaping butter/sugar mixture or the odd centre of a rose.
One last thing, the dough on these rolls is just lovely – a rich and sweet brioche-like dough. Despite that, they keep remarkably well and were moist and delicious the second day and beyond. And like all breads, these freeze well.
- 4 cups/500 g all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp./17 g yeast
- 1/3 cup/60 g milk, slightly warmed
- 1/3 cup/60 g water, slightly warmed
- 1/2 cup/90 g white sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 4 Tbsp./2 oz./60 g butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Filling:
- 2/3 cup/135 g brown sugar
- 1/2 cup/1 stick/4oz./115 g butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- Topping:
- 1/3 cup/67 g brown sugar
- 2/3 cup/135g butter
- Splash of heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans/walnuts)
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warmed water and milk and mix in 1 cup/125g flour. You will get a kind of batter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 45 minutes. After this time, add to the bowl the sugar, butter, eggs, salt and 2 cups/250g of the flour. With the kneading hook or by hand, mix dough, adding more flour in small increments until you have a smooth dough.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set it out again to rise for a couple of hours, or until the volume is doubled.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling by whipping together the brown sugar and softened butter. Set aside.
- Prepare your baking pan (8-10-inch springform pan or 8-10-inch cast iron skill) or skillet by greasing with butter. *Place baking pan or skillet onto a baking sheet to catch any drips and set aside.
- When dough is risen, turn dough onto a floured surface and deflate slightly, With a rolling pin, roll it out, forming a rectangle about 14 inches by 18 inches. Spread a thin layer of brown sugar/butter mixture all over the dough and then, starting with the long edge, roll the dough tightly jelly-roll style. Cut it into 12 slices about 1 1/2 inches wide. Before placing slices in baking pan, tightly pinch together the bottom of the slice, by pinching the edges towards the middle. Place in baking pan and repeat with all the slices. Allow to rise again for about 30 minutes, or until puffy and filled in within the baking pan.
- Preheat oven to 390° F. and bake for about 25 minutes. *Check at 15 and 20 minutes into cooking to check for browning. If top is getting too browned, cover loosely with a sheet of tinfoil.
- Remove from oven and set aside. Meanwhile, prepare topping. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sauce bubbles and sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add cream and salt. Stir to combine. Add nuts and stir. Pour sauce over cooked rolls. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
I love the shape of these rolls! And the caramel on top looks killer :)
Thanks Katrina. They were fun to make (and seriously delicious!)
These are so pretty. What a lovely way to wake someone up on Valentine’s Day morning!
Thanks so much, Maureen.
How amazing is this?! I could just shove my face in the entire pan!
Thanks Chung-Ah. I like your idea ;)
These rolls look like absolute heaven and that sauce is divine!
Thanks so much, Laura. Can never go wrong with a simple brown sugar and butter sauce.
Oh wow, I’d rather receive these than a dozen roses any day!
Thanks and I think the same way, Kate :)
Oh — reading food blogs when hungry — you know the rest! These look killer-good! Caramel anything, sign me up
Thanks Sophie. I do know :)
How completely ingenious to bake sweet rolls in a lovely rustic skillet! With caramel! This is my kind of cooking… I am thrilled to have discovered your blog, and look forward to following it!
Thanks so much, MB. You’ll find I don’t need much encouragement to stuff something into a skillet ;) It’s my favourite cooking vessel.
I had just about given up trying to find a decent caramel roll recipe. These look like they are definiteyl worth trying.
I think you would really enjoy these, Dana. The rolls are lovely and the caramel sauce, well…just delicious.
Wow these rolls look wonderful! And that sauce is lovely :)
Thanks so much!
These rolls are absolutely gorgeous, and I would never EVER say no to a homemade sweet roll, especially when it’s smothered in an incredible caramel nut sauce. Love this!
Thanks so much, Alexandra. I would never say no to a roll, either :)
These rolls are beautiful! So glamorous and comforting at the same time.
Thanks so much, Laura.
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was entirely right.
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So glad to hear!