Dulce de Leche Pecan Rolls

Friends! I am back! I know it has been quite a while, and this last year has been poor for posts. To which I feel I owe an explanation. This last year has been a whirlwind with starting to run my own baking business. It was growing and I had great customers and was building a great following and support. Unfortunately a few things happened that left me having to take a big step back and evaluate the business. 

One reason is well I hurt my arm, you kind of need your arms to do baking. I was a wild child growing up and managed to break my left arm twice, both times badly, and I also partially dislocated my left shoulder twice. Yup I was one of those kids. A little over a year and a half ago my car got stuck in a snow drift that went above my wheel wells, so I dug it out and pulled my muscles bad in my... you guessed it... left arm. Well because I think mentally I am still super young, I didn't rest it properly or do any therapy, fast forward to this past summer where I re-injured it while doing a stupid move from the Body Beast (Beachbody) program. Needless to say all the baking has permanently aggravated my messed up arm and I was strongly advised to properly take care of my arm. 

Another reason was, fiscally it was really sucky. I did a lot of work and at the end of the day wasn't getting much back. It was taking a lot of time away from my family and every weekend I was doing deliveries. All in all I was missing out on my family and not getting much in return. Plus I was also losing that love of baking I had, I felt burnt out and needed to step back. 

Recently a good friend had their birthday and I like to bake treats for friends on their birthday. I got some inspiration and it was the best feeling ever, I felt like myself again and was able to feel the love back into it. 

I came up with these because I like the concept of cinnamon rolls but often find myself disappointed in them. They are often way too dense, or dry, or has raisins in them, or there isn't enough icing!! Then it came to me! Why not use brioche dough, which is so rich and amazing, add dulce de leche, and pecan. Best. Decision. EVER! 

​The brioche recipe is altered from the Duchess Bake Shop cookbook. There is a simple way to make Dulce de Leche. You can take two cans of sweetened condensed milk, remove the paper, place in a slow cooker, completely submerge in water and cook on low for 12 to 18 hours. Place in the fridge for 1 day. Another simple way is to go to a grocery store and buy already canned dulce de leche. 

Hope you get a chance to make the rolls!

Dulce de Leche Pecan Rolls

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon of quick rise yeast
4 Tablespoons of 2% milk
3 cups plus 2 Tablespoons of all purpose flour
4 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
6 large omega 3 eggs, or regular large eggs (I like to colour of the yolks in the omega 3 eggs)
1 1/3 cups of salted butter, cubed and room temperature
2 large egg yolks
pearl sugar or regular sugar for sprinkling on top
2 - 250 ml cans of Dulce de Leche or 2 cups of homemade 
2 cups of crushed pecan pieces

Directions:

In a small bowl dissolve yeast into the milk and set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and yeast/milk mixture. 

On low speed slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides at least once. Once the dough is well combined, slowly add the butter a few cubes at a time. I like to add the butter right into the center where the hook is, stopping with each addition.

Once all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to a medium speed and mix until the dough becomes smooth and shiny and has pulled away from the sides. This can take between 10 and 20 minutes. 

Once the dough is done, remove from the bowl and shape into a ball, lightly oil the bowl and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in a warm spot in your house for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Once doubled in size, punch down and cover and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

After 4 hours or overnight, remove the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a 26 by 20 inch rectangle. Spread one can of the dulce de leche onto the dough, be careful as you are doing this because the dough can easily tear, if you need to slightly warm up the sauce then only do it for 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave. Once the dulce de leche is spread, sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the crushed pecan pieces on top of the dulce de leche. 

Start at the left-hand corner of the edge closest to you. Working from left to right, tug the lip of the dough up and over the filling, keeping it tight. Roll up the dough, tightening the log as you go. Pinch and seal the seam.

Using a sharp knife or a piece of string, cut the dough into 3 inch pieces. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet with 1/2 inch space between each. 

Fill a deep baking dish with the hottest water you can get from the tap, place on the bottom rack of the oven. Place your rolls on the baking sheet in the oven, shut the door and let proof for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. 

Once proofed, remove the water and rolls from the oven and preheat the oven to 385F. Using a pastry brush, brush gently the tops of the rolls with the egg yolks and sprinkle with the sugar and remaining crushed pecan pieces. 

Once oven is heated, place the rolls in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rolls are a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven once done baking and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

While they are cooling make the cream cheese icing. Instructions below. Drizzle with the last can of dulce de leche and place the cream cheese icing in a piping bag and pipe lines of cream cheese icing on top. 

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Icing

1 - 8 ounce softened block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
4 cups of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cheesecake extract (makes it so much better)

In a bowl with a hand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter together, add the extracts and icing sugar. Beat until smooth. 
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Honestly I am never eating a normal cinnamon bun again. The brioche dough and dulce de leche has ruined me to eat a regular one!

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Happy eating!

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