Cinnamon Tea Ring - Afternoon Tea Treat

I decided to bake something delicious for afternoon tea this afternoon to cheer us up and distract me from the ton of dirty laundry piling up due to the Property Management Company taking longer than expected to replace our condemned washing machine.  I will be traipsing to the local laundrette again tomorrow.

This Cinnamon Tea Ring was sweet but not overly so and went down very well indeed with a cuppa.  I baked a second one so I can take some along to the laundrette with a flask of coffee.

Cinnamon Tea Ring

225g strong white bread flour

25g butter, cubed

25g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

75ml/5 Tblsp milk, lukewarm

1 free range egg, beaten

Filling:

30g/1Tblsp butter, melted

50g light soft brown sugar or caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing:

100g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 or 2 Tblsp water

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Put the flour and butter in a bowl and rub the flour into the butter.  Stir in the sugar, salt and yeast.  Make a well in the centre an add the milk and beaten egg.  Mix until a soft dough forms.

Either in a mixer or by hand, knead the dough until smooth and elastic.  This should take about 10 minutes.  Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with clingfilm or a shower cap.  Leave to  prove until doubled in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and roll it out to a 40cm x 25cm rectangle.  Leaving a 1cm border around the edge of the dough, spread the melted butter over the dough then sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar.

Roll the dough up tightly like a Swiss Roll from the long edge.  Put the dough log onto your prepared baking tray.  Seal the join well and then squish the ends together to form a ring.  Use scissors to cut into the dough every 2 inches or so, stopping about 1cm from cutting all the way through to the middle.

Cover the dough and leave to prove until once again doubled in size.  Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6 and bake the tea ring for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool then ice.

To make the icing: Put the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste into a bowl, add enough water to form a spreadable icing.