Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake

Well, we are home from the cabin. It did just what it was supposed to, gave me a break from people and gave Stephen a break from life. And Bracken got to pretend she was some kind of wild Jack London dog, wandering around our cabin, and the boys... well, they did the same things they always do, just outside. Lately their favorite "pretend" involves one of them being a pet of some kind (anything from a spider, to a kitty, to a Nom Nom) while the other is their Master. Their word, not mine! For more on our family adventures, and lots of pictures, visit here.

Half of the fun of coming to the cabin is COOKING at the cabin. It comes with it's own set of obstacles, considering all the utensils and dishes and pots and pans are an odd conglomeration that has developed over twenty years, and there is no stand mixer (gasp!!) but the SPACE, my dears, the SPACE. See, here is my kitchen:

Yep, that's what I'm working with, folks. My Kitchenaid lives under the sink and if anything needs to be rolled out, I must go to my table. Which is in the living room. Ack. And here is the cabin kitchen!

Ahhhh, glorious SPACE!! There's a whole other counter to the left. And the VIEW!

So it should be pretty obvious why I LOVE cooking up here! My next three recipes were all made in that wonderful kitchen. Sigh... I miss it already. 
I've had my eye on this recipe for a few weeks now, but it is hard to get up early and make a special breakfast for these boys. I love my sleep too much. The feeling of vacation that is a constant at the cabin just begs for special breakfasts though. Yet another winner from The English Kitchen! It's a good thing I have a few other recipe sources, and some of my own, or you would have no reason to read my blog, you could just read hers.  :) But please keep reading mine! 

Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake (from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

200g of plain flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 TBS sugar
110g of white vegetable shortening, cut into bits (1/2 cup)
156ml of buttermilk (2/3 cup)
4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
50g of soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup, packed)
50g of white sugar  (1/4 cup)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the vanilla glaze:
130g of icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
4 TBS heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Melt half of the butter in the bottom of a pie dish.  Stir in the brown sugar to combine.  Spread all over the bottom.  Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and soda into a bowl.  Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in the sugar.  Add the buttermilk all at once and stir with a fork, just until the dough comes together.  Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Pat out into a 12 by 6 inch rectangle.  

Spread with the remainder of the softened butter.  Mix the white sugar and cinnamon together.  Sprinkle this evenly over top.  Roll up tightly from the long side.  Cut into 8 slices with a sharp knife.  

Place them, cut side down into the prepared pie dish.

Bake for  15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and the brown sugar butter mixture on the bottom is bubbling up.  Remove from the oven and tip immediately onto a serving plate. (I held a plate on the top and flipped them over, worked like a charm!) 

Now, that looks yummy enough, but oh no! You aren't done quite yet! We must elevate this from simply yummy to fan-flipping-tastic!

Whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze until smooth.  Drizzle  half of this over top of the whole cake, reserving the rest for serving.  Serve warm, cut into wedges with the remainder of the glaze spooned over top.

If cinnamon rolls and coffee cake had a baby, this is what it would look like.

Using a buttermilk biscuit dough was positively GENIUS for this cake! It's tender, almost flaky, sooo buttery and rich...

With plenty of cinnamon swirled through... the middle turns into a soft pile of frosting-y, brown sugary, cinnamony decadence.

Eight perfect pieces, two for each of us...

PERFECT with an ice-cold glass of milk! And I hardly ever drink milk, so that's sayin' somethin'.

Very, very, very much kid approved. 

I kept taking bites of the one piece left over (I couldn't eat both of mine!) throughout the day. It's even good cold!

Find an excuse. Set an alarm, get up before your kids or your sweetheart, amaze them with a special breakfast, for no reason at all. It's worth it, I promise!!