Baklava Cinnamon Rolls

Fluffy, soft and gooey cinnamon rolls filled with chopped nuts, topped with crispy and golden filo pastry, drowned in a spices honey syrup and finished with a cream cheese frosting. The only sweet treat recipe to make this Ramadan.

This recipe was inspired and created with some of the best ingredients you can find in UAE aka from Spinneys. Having said that, when I was thinking about what recipe to make it only seemed fitting to make something that was traditional but also with a twist. If you are new to this blog post, let it not be a secret that I am an absolute lover of cinnamon rolls. I have made quite a few versions and LOVE every single one of the recipes. This baklava version has to be on top of the list.

There are a few parts to this recipe and let us go through them: the dough itself, the cinnamon butter filling, the spiced sugar syrup, the cream cheese frosting, the crispy filo pastry. Each component combines to create the marriage of cinnamon rolls and baklava. Having said this, they are a little laborious but so worth every minute of the effort put in. I would suggest making some of the components ahead to save on time but that in completely up to you. They are perfect to take for irate to a friends house or serve them at shoot as well. Let us get to the recipe.

What is baklava?

Baklava is a pastry that is made from nuts and filo/phyllo pastry. It is layered, bake until golden and topped with a warm sweet syrup. It is very popular in the middle east and Mediterranean cuisine.

What are cinnamon rolls? Are cinnamon buns and cinnamon rolls the same?

Cinnamon rolls are a sweetened yeasted bread made with dry yeast, milk, sugar, all purpose flour, butter, eggs, baking powder, which is rolled out and spread with cinnamon butter, cut into slices and rolled into scrolls, baked until golden and risen. Which is topped with cream cheese frosting or glaze.I call them cinnamon rolls and cinnamon buns interchangeably but I have noticed that cinnamon rolls are baked in a large tray that bake into each other making it a pull apart yeasted bread once baked. Cinnamon buns could be baked with space between or in individual muffin moulds for a single cinnamon bun. There is no science to this but that’s the only difference I see in them as the ingredients and equipment needed to make both are the same.

What are baklava cinnamon rolls?

They are literally the flavors of baklava in a cinnamon roll that make for a gooey and soft but crunchy bun in every bite. They dough is layered with cinnamon butter sugar filling and topped with chopped nuts. Finish it with cream cheese frosting, spiced sugar syrup (just like you would with baklava) and crispy filo pastry.

What ingredients do you need to make these baklava cinnamon rolls?

For the dough – We need milk, yeast, brown sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, melted butter.
For the filling – We need butter, cinnamon powder, brown sugar.
For the spiced syrup – We need water, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods.
For the cream cheese frosting – We need cream cheese, whipping cream, vanilla, honey.
For the filo pastry – We need filo pastry sheets and butter.
Garnish – This is optional but I love topping the buns with pistachio powder and rose petals.

What equipment do you need to make these baklava cinnamon rolls?

To make the dough we need a large mixing bowl and rubber spatula. I have rolled out the dough with a rolling pin. I use a pizza cutter to portion out the dough and a 9×13 inch tin to bake them. To make the filling we need a mixing bowl and rubber spatula. To make the frosting we need a mixing bowl and whisk. To make the filo pastry we need a brush, 5 inch round cookie cutter or a glass approximately the same size, they are baked in lined baking tray in the oven until golden. The syrup is made in a sauce pot over the stove.

Pro Tips to make these baklava cinnamon rolls:

Allow the milk, yeast and sugar to bloom – this will ensure the dough will rise later.
Give the dough enough time to rise, this will depend on the environmental temperature where you live. The ideal time is 60 minutes but you want the dough to double in size.
Flour the surface liberally to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to the surface as it is a stocky dough. You can use a brush to dust off any excess flour the dough has picked up when rolling.
When portioning the dough and rolling it into scrolls use a pizza cutter to portion it and then roll it up, this gives you clean edges and a clean cinnamon roll.
Do not over bake these cinnamon rolls or else they will get dry and dense once eaten.
I would make the filo pastry, cinnamon filling and frosting the day before to reduce the amount of work on the day.
Drench the hot cinnamon rolls with the syrup so it soaks up easily.
If you are not serving the rolls immediately do not top it with the baked filo discs as they will get soggy.

Serving these baklava cinnamon rolls?

They are best served with a sprinkle of crushed pistachios on top with dried rose petals. I love them warm with a glass of milk but you can serve it with any drink of your choice. You can serve this as a dessert after a light Iftar or you can also serve these for suhoor. Keep in mind the filo pastry will get soggy if you do not serve them immediately hence you might want to add the discs of filo pastry on top of the rolls only when ready to serve.

Storing these baklava cinnamon rolls?

Without the filo pastry these cinnamon rolls can store at room temperature in air tight containers for a day, in the fridge for 1 week and in the freezer for 1 month. I would recommend warming them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds before serving.

Looking for more cinnamon roll recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make these baklava cinnamon rolls , you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.