Cinnamon rolls, for some unknown reason, happens to be yet another delicacy that's hard to find in Colombo. It's ironic considering the fact that we happen to export over 25% of the world's cinnamon.
Cinnabrown is a home-based baker in Colombo who is completely dedicated to serving up a range of cinnamon rolls in various guises. While we had seen them -for quite some time- on social media, we hadn't taken that leap into the unknown, until now.
Delivery
Like in the cases of almost every other home-baker in Colombo, the ordering process at Cinnabrown is quite straightforward. All you need to do is,
- Go on their Facebook or Instagram page.
- Slide into their DM's.
- Get yourself a menu and figure out what you want to order (the minimum order amount is 4).
- Give in your contact details.
- Wait patiently till they turn up at your doorstep.
- Et Voila! You've got yourself a batch of cinnamon rolls.
We managed to get our rolls within 24-36 hours of ordering via a very nice uncle on a scooter.
The Rolls
In Sri Lanka, cinnamon rolls aren't very cheap and this particular box of 4 did cost us Rs. 2, 820 with the delivery charge.
Since we wanted to get a bit of a range of their options, we went with the (clockwise from the left) Tiramisu (Rs. 690), Nutella (Rs. 720), Sugar Glaze (Rs. 480) and a Matcha (Rs.580).
Owing to the fact that the closest to an everyday cinnamon roll is the Sugar Glaze, let's start with that, shall we?
Sweet and packed with dusted cinnamon, this had to be our favourite of the lot. It was soft and there was a lot of flavours involved in the process. That being said, this, very bizarrely replicated Bombay toast in many ways. The bun was soft to the point of falling apart at the touch. I thought it was quite nice, but the others at the office didn't particularly like this factor.
Nonetheless, with floured sides and an excessive amount of cinnamon, we loved its flavours. Plus, you'd think that the sugar on the sugar glaze would be too much to handle, but it really wasn't. Kudos to that!
Next up, we have the Nutella. This is similar to the previous one, but with Nutella slathered on it, instead of sugar glaze. We love Nutella. But, we felt that this had a tad too much Nutella because you couldn't necessarily taste the cinnamon roll aspect of it. However, if you love excessive amounts of Nutella, this just might be the one for you.
Aye, the Tiramisu. Essentially just a cinnamon roll with a load of whipped cream and chips which were a mix of a lot of chocolate and a bit of coffee covering the top, this was nice. Sure, it wasn't very Tiramisu-y, but kicking in your sweet spot in just the right way, this was, after the sugar glaze, the nicest of the lot. Plus, the softness of the cinnamon roll worked really well with the fluffiness of the whipped cream.
The Matcha, on the other hand, was our least favourite of the lot. Sure, you could get slight hints of the matcha here and there, and we were told that it was matcha powder mixed with cream cheese frosting but, it was predominantly milky, which pretty much ended up drowning the taste of the cinnamon roll and the matcha.
Conclusion
Amongst these ups and downs, Cinnabrown is quite alright. The Tiramisu and the Sugar glaze were brilliant, the Nutella wasn't bad, while the Matcha had room for improvement. Plus, we'd have liked them even more if the texture of the base was a bit tougher. Nonetheless, if you have a craving for a cinnamon roll, this is a safe option.
