Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, eggs, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt until a dough begins to form.

Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky, but not sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Once your dough has formed, push it to the side of the bowl and add in a few drops of olive oil. Roll the dough in the oil so that it’s covered and then cover the bowl to let the dough rise. It should rise for 1-2 hours and be doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, weigh it on a kitchen scale (if you don’t have one, you can eyeball this step). Take the total weight and divide it by 2 so that you can divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Mine were about 14 oz each.

One at a time, on a very lightly floured surface, roll out and form each section of dough into heart shapes of about 10 inches in diameter. I cut a heart out of parchment paper and used that as a guide as I was forming my hearts. I would periodically fold the dough in half down the center of the heart (gently) to ensure that the hearts were symmetrical. Here is a sped up video of me rolling the dough into a heart shape. Once both sections of dough are shaped, place each on a separate sheet of parchment paper.

I like to do the next steps on a cutting board since I will eventually be using a sharp knife to cut. I take one heart with parchment beneath it, this makes it easier to move to a baking sheet when it's time, and place it on a pastry board. Next, spread the softened butter evenly over the heart.

Next, spread the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the buttered surface.

Now place the second dough heart on top and adjust it so that the hearts are evenly lined up on top of one another. Then place something small in the center to use as a marker for your cuts. I used a small heart-shaped biscuit cutter.

Starting at the bottom center and using a very sharp knife, make your first cut. I cut from the bottom point of the heart shaped biscuit cutter, to the bottom point of my stacked dough hearts. Make sure to make a clean cut all the way through. You'll repeat this process around the heart, making strips of about 1 inch thick at the outer edge. I made 10 strips on each side. See the photo below for reference. I made my cuts on the right side of the heart first and then tried to make a mirror image when I cut the left side. They don't have to be perfect, as you can see, mine weren't!

Next is the twisting step. I started with the bottom right strip and twisted it 1 ½ full turns clockwise. Then I twisted the bottom left strip 1 ½ full turns counter-clockwise and brought the ends of both of these strips together and pinched them to create the bottom point. From there, I worked my way from the bottom of the right side, up to the top, always twisting these pieces in a clockwise motion and I twisted them 1 ½-2 full turns each. I repeated this on the left side, but twisted this side counter-clockwise. Once I was done twisting, I went around the heart to arrange any pieces that seemed out of place.

Once you're happy with your twists and your heart shape, remove the cutter from the center, cover and allow to rise a second time. I did a 30 min second rise. I would recommend for anywhere from 30 mins to 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center during the second rise.

When the second rise is done, lightly brush the pastry with egg wash using a pastry brush and then place it in the oven for 20 minutes. It will be golden brown when done. Depending on your oven, it could take up to 5 additional minutes, but shouldn't need more than that.

While the pastry is cooking, make your frosting. Add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until smooth. I usually mix on medium high. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt and turn the mixer on low to combine. Once combined, you can put the mixer back to medium high until your frosting is smooth and consistent. Transfer to a small bowl.

Allow your pastry to cool for about 10 mins and then transfer it to a serving tray or board and frost it however you like. I like to lightly frost it so that the cinnamon swirls show through. You can also dust your pastry with powdered sugar, but this is optional. I also used a toothpick to draw a little heart in the center. Serve warm and enjoy!