You might get the idea from my first post that Sunshine is a feel-good, cozy book since it is a comfort to read it. It is not cozy. It is a comfort to read it, not due to romance or descriptions of baked goods, but since the hero (is it politically uncorrect to write "heroine"?) of the story is a young woman who is not perfect, who struggles and overcomes obstacles despite her flaws. There are many reviews online but I would avoid reading them if I hadn't read the book since they often give away too many plot details: "As someone who likes ambiguity in their characters, who likes to make up their own mind, and has loved the story of Beauty and The Beast since childhood Sunshine is one of my favourite novels. It is the ultimate in comfort reading on the days when I am convinced that the world hates me. It inspires me to get out my own baking trays and make muffins, iced buns and other comfort foods to feed my family and friends." (from http://voices.yahoo.com/a-review-sunshine-robin-mckinley-5451265.html)
I will be spoiling big time in this blog so read no further if you haven't read the book.
This is the only book in the whole vampire genre which I have liked (adored), besides Anne Rice's books which I read in the 80s. One reason is that it is dark and messy, in many ways. There is no neat ending and more questions are raised than answers given. This drives some people nuts (seems like the number one reader question to Robin McKinley is "will there be a sequel?" ---followed by requests for recipes!). I would of course love to read more in Sunshine's world but I think the book ended perfectly.
But back to cinnamon rolls.
On page one, Sunshine mentions her coffeshop's most popular item: "Cinnamon Rolls as Big as Your Head". I am re-reading the book and am currently on p. 40 (paperback from 2003). And so far, no more detailed description of these rolls has been given-maybe later, I can't remember...
The first time I encountered HUGE cinnamon rolls was when I was at "Carol's Coffee Cup" in Deming, Washington (must have been the 1990s). At least that is the first time I remember being blown away by the size. They must have been at least 4 or 5 inches high. I guess this would be similar to the Cinnabon rolls. (Hmm...interesting. According to Wikipedia Cinnabon originated in Washington.)
My thought is that Sunshine's rolls would be similar in size to these. Robin McKinley seems to want to leave a lot to the reader's imagination (or is ambivalent ...).
So a Cinnabon-similar roll is what I imagine. I had actually never baked anything like this before. In Sweden cinnamon rolls are traditionally the size of your palm and are sprinkled with a special type of sugar (pärlsocker...just looked it up and it is apparently called "nib sugar".). No glaze. I found a Cinnabon-like recipe and used a glaze from another recipe (it contained more cream cheese than the original - which I will change next time since it became too creamy, and I would like it to be just a bit more sugary so that it hardens to a slight crust on top).
If you google "Cinnabon recipe" then you will find several. I guess these would be classified as sticky buns in the old days (sort of) but without the sticky, nutty layer. Strangely I have no memory of eating cinnamon rolls earlier than in the late 1980s. Cinnamon toast yes, but not rolls.
Yeast is a problem since it seems like dried yeast in Sweden is different than dried yeast in the States. I used fresh, compressed yeast and I'm never sure if I'm using the correct amount. I might buy some yeast from the English shop in Stockholm and see if there is any difference.
This is the result. In Sweden the filling is made with regular white sugar (and cinnamon and butter of course), but in the States it seems that brown sugar is used. How this could have escaped me for so many years is a mystery. It was really delicious of course. But I won't be satisfied until I try another cinnamon roll recipe or two...
Fellow Sunshine cinnamon roll bakers:
http://www.passingpinwheels.com/2012/03/cinnamon-rolls-not-as-big-as-your-head.html
http://lauren.merrywednesday.org.uk/pictures/3/cinnamon-rolls-as-big-as-your-head
http://lingfree.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/new-project-sunshines-pastries/
http://hungrybloggers.com/article/cinnamon-rolls
http://msbarrows.tumblr.com/post/25282041046
http://lanternhollowpress.com/2011/04/12/fantasy-and-food-even-frodo-had-to-eat/
And here is a person who has adapted recipes for a creative writing class. Sometimes this link works and sometimes not.
http://vectors.umwblogs.org/2012/03/14/sunshine-sunshines-recipes/
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