I’ve heard from my chefs that cinnamon is largely an American flavor preference (backstory: I reference “my chefs” a lot when I talk and write, so I feel that I should explain that I’m talking about the chef instructors who taught me at The French Pastry School. Even though it was nearly 10 years ago I’m still pretty possessive about them, which is why I call them mine!), but I’m totally here for it because cinnamon really makes the pastry world taste better in my opinion!
From enhancing my brown butter and cream cheese frosting that I use to create my very favorite macaron flavor, to spicing up brownies, brewed coffee, and hot chocolate, cinnamon is absolutely my go-to spice.
Want to make your cookies more flavorful and festive? Add cinnamon to the dough. Need some extra oomph for your truffles? Rolls them in cinnamon and sugar. Want to cough uncontrollably, have your throat close up, and probably puke? Cinnamon challenge! Wait. No! Don't do that last one. I absolutely DO NOT recommend that one!! Moving on...
Fun fact! There are actually several types of cinnamon - which is just a really tasty inner bark of certain trees, but Ceylon, which was originally cultivated in Sri Lanka and is known as "true cinnamon", and Cassia, which originates from China, are the most commonly used and found in most grocery stores.
When someone asks for a pastry that features cinnamon, generally I think of cinnamon rolls. I have to confess that I've been on the prowl for the very best cinnamon roll recipe for a few years now, but none of them have quite knocked it out of the park for me. So for now I will just say that I’m working on a cinnamon roll recipe of my very own and will be sure to share it whenever I perfect it. In the meantime, feel free to share your favorite pastry or drink that incorporates cinnamon (photos are always great, too!) for all of us to drool over.