Banana Rolls with Chocolate-Hazelnut Filling and Banana Pudding Topping

I'm going to write this as I experiment with it. My mom gave me the idea to make cinnamon rolls with banana bread back in August but I haven't found a recipe I've liked enough to try. I decided to make my own. Cooking I am all about going off script and doing my own thing but baking, I'm not normally that brave. Today I decided was the day.

For the base of the banana rolls I decided to use my nana's roll recipe for the base. I haven't gotten to posting my nana's roll recipe yet. I'll get there, but I haven't found the perfect words for it yet. With the roll recipe for the base the main thing I needed to tweak is the liquid ratio. I used 3.75 banana's to give me 370g. It was supposed to be four whole bananas but my youngest daughter, Mikaylah, started begging for a 'nana' once she saw me touch them. I couldn't say no so I gave her about a fourth of one of the bananas.

After I mashed the bananas I added two eggs, 100g of sugar, 60g softened butter, 20g salt and mixed well. On top of that I added 720g of bread flour. In Germany we have several different types of flour, bread flour is roughly the same as 850 flour. I wasn't sure how much water I would need after the bananas so I started with 1/4 C. I also went ahead and used warm water and activated my yeast. This recipe requires 24g yeast or 4.5 packages. As it turned out I needed more like a total of 1/3 cup of water. When I first started mixing the dough it wasn't wet enough. When I make rolls the dough is usually fairly wet and sticky. That's why I added the extra water.

Depending on the dough I'm making depends on what I use to grease the bowl I let it rise in. If I'm making anything sweet I'll usually use Crisco or coconut oil. If I'm making something savory or or plain white bread I'll use olive oil. Today I used coconut oil.

Right now its 13:06, or for those who don't use a 24 hour clock 1:06 P.M. My dough is resting in a bowl sitting on top of a radiator in the dining room with the heat on low. When its ready to be laid out I have every intention of slathering it in Nutella and rolling it up.

I currently have 0 Idea on how I'm going to make the Banana Pudding topping. More research will need to be done. I'll keep you updated as I go along.

Bis Bald! (See you soon!)

It took my dough a few hours to rise, which isn't a bad thing. Letting a dough slowly rise allows it to develop more flavor. Let it rise to roughly double in size, if you check on your dough and it looks like its shrinking or deflating, you've let it go for too long. My dough deflated a little once I moved it to the kitchen and removed the lid.

I scooped it out onto a lightly floured surface and began rolling it into a rectangle shape. I have a habit of rolling my dough too thin at this stage. Since I know I have a problem I try to be very mindful of this process. Aft4er I rolled it out I grabbed the Nutella from the cabinet and started to spread it with a spatula. On one half I didn't do anything to the Nutella before spreading it. That was a mistake. I ended up pushing my dough around and tearing a few holes. Then I microwaved the container for about 30 second, which made it the perfect consistency for spreading. Somethings to keep in mind if you want to go down the same route. The Nutella containers I buy here in Germany are glass, not plastic like in the States and the microwaves here run on 220v. I feel like the 220v makes a difference in microwave power. 30 seconds is perfectly sufficient for most things at that voltage.

I've tried many different methods for rolling out 'cinnimon rolls' and I'm still not sure which one is my preferred method. A few Ideas for you. Use a pizza cutter and cut the dough into strips and roll each individually or roll the whole thing and then cut into individual rolls. Either way with the Nutella its kind o f messy. Let the rolls proof again in the spot of your choice until doubled in size again.

Preheat the oven to 350*F and bake for roughly 20 minutes or until golden brown and the centers look cooked. That's always my downfall with rolls like this. Not getting the center cooked. If you start noticing that the tops are getting brown but the centers are cooking as fast, put a lose layer of aluminum foil over the top. This will stop your rolls from browning too fast and hopefully give you enough time to cook the center.

Golden brown perfection. I am usually too impatient to wait for the rolls to cool before I throw the icing on top. For the frosting. I used 2 Cups heavy whipping cream, 1/4 package of banana instant pudding, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons softened butter. I threw it all into my kitchen aid mixer and mixed until light and fluffy. Do try not to over mix it. If you mix it for too long the cream will start to break down and turn into butter.