Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

How to make homemade chocolate cinnamon rolls, soft chocolate rolls dough with a buttery cinnamon chocolate flavored filling mixture, and a delicious chocolate glaze on top! A triple dose of chocolate in this highly satisfying treat.

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Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• More Chocolate Brioches
• Ingredients you need
• Equipment needed
• How to make Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe Variations
• Storage and Tips
• FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions
• More Cinnamon rolls
• Chocolate cinnamon rolls

Why you'll love this recipe

You already know the great recipe for Cinnamon Rolls, a perfect gooey brioche dough packed with a cinnamon-flavored buttery brown sugar mixture and topped with a delicious cream cheese icing!

Here it's a very chocolatey version that I'm sharing with you with these easy chocolate cinnamon rolls! A triple dose of chocolate in this sweet roll that will surely be enjoyed by all chocolate lovers 🍫.

A perfect combination of chocolate-flavored cinnamon rolls buns with a flavored cinnamon chocolate filling and its sweet and easy chocolate glaze.

These chocolate cinnamon rolls are gooey and so comforting, they are perfect to share with your family during the holidays.

More Chocolate Brioches

Ingredients you need

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed or substitutions to make good homemade chocolate cinnamon rolls with a stringy texture:

Chocolate dough

• Flour: all-purpose flour or special homemade bread flour.
• Cocoa powder: unsweetened and bitter.
• Egg: 1 large egg at room temperature.
• Milk: 2% dairy milk and lukewarm (be careful not to get too hot). You can replace it with plant-based milk, like my homemade almond milk.
• Butter: use unsalted butter, melted and cooled or well softened.
• Yeast: 1 packet of active dry yeast or instant yeast (the first must absolutely be rehydrated in lukewarm milk) or you can also use fresh yeast.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar.
• Salt: A small amount is essential to bring out all the flavors.

Chocolate cinnamon sugar filling

• Sugar: or even light brown sugar or powdered sugar.
• Cocoa powder: use unsweetened cocoa powder, you can also replace it with melted semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate for a real chocolate taste.
• Cinnamon: ground cinnamon powder
• Butter: unsalted and melted butter or softened.
• Vanilla: use pure vanilla extract.

Chocolate glaze

• Cocoa powder: unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Sugar: Only powdered sugar to obtain a smooth texture.
• heavy cream: full-fat heavy cream which you can also replace with milk.

Equipment needed

Stand mixer

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Baking dish

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How to make Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate dough

• Rehydrate the yeast by mixing it with the warm milk and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. (instant yeast can be used directly with dry ingredients, active dry yeast must be rehydrated)
• Place dry ingredients, flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
• Then while leaving the mixer running at medium speed, add the other ingredients. Add the egg, melted butter, warm milk, and yeast mixture.
• Knead for about 3 minutes until you have a sticky dough that comes away from the sides and has a soft texture.
• Cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise for about 1h30 to 2 hours until it doubles in size.

Cinnamon chocolate filling

• Place all ingredients, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and cinnamon ground in a medium-sized bowl.
• Mix with a fork until the mixture is homogeneous.

Fill the brioche dough

• Roll out chocolate cinnamon roll dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface or on parchment paper.
• Form a large rectangle about 0.3 - 0.5 mm thick.
• Spread the softened butter over the entire surface of the dough using an angled spatula or spoon,
• Pour in the chocolate cinnamon mixture and spread it over the entire surface with your hands or a spoon to make it stick to the butter.

Shape the rolls

• Gently and tightly roll up the edges of the dough lengthwise to form a long sausage on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out equal-sized pieces of dough (about 9 to 11 pieces) using a large knife.

• Place them on a baking dish (like a lasagna dish), making sure to space them out from each other and from the edges.
• Let them grow a second time at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 1 hour until they swell a little.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and bake the chocolate cinnamon rolls for about 20 minutes. Until they are well puffed up.
• Let them cool down a bit your baked rolls.

Chocolate glaze

• Place all ingredients, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and heavy cream in a small bowl.
• Mix with a spoon until you have a smooth, even glaze.
• Pour chocolate glaze over the baked warm rolls and spread with the back of a tablespoon to cover the entire surface.

Serving Suggestions

Treat your friends and family with these brioche buns served on a plate with one of these toppings:

• Fresh fruit such as raspberries or strawberries and a little chantilly.
• Hot chocolate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• A scoop of vanilla ice cream and crushed pecans.
• A drizzle of salted butter caramel with caramelized cinnamon apples.

Recipe Variations

Chocolate spread: Replace the chocolate filling with Nutella spread, peanut butter or another spread.

Fresh Fruits: Add fresh or frozen berries in the filling, such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

Fruit jam: Replace the frosting with fruit jam or homemade strawberry compote, raspberry compote or lemon blueberry compote.

Add chocolate chips to the filling for an extra dose of chocolate using my homemade chocolate chips.

Real chocolate glaze: Mix 100g (3,5 oz) of chocolate with 100g (½ cup) of heavy cream and heat in a double boiler in the microwave until completely melted.

In a muffin pan: Make these rolls in a muffin pan just like my recipe for Cinnamon roll muffins.

Storage and Tips

Room temperature: Chocolate cinnamon rolls can be stored for about 1 week at room temperature, covered with a cloth or in an airtight container. You can slightly reheat it in the microwave to give it some softness.

Freeze: Or you can keep this chocolate cinnamon roll even longer, up to 3 months in the freezer in preservation bags. Allow to defrost gently at room temperature, or use your microwave's defrost function.

Make cinnamon rolls ahead of time (overnight process)

Get a head start by preparing the dough the day before and letting it rise the first time in the fridge or on the second rise. Then all you have to do is bake the brioche.

This technique, known as cold slow fermentation, allows the yeast to work more slowly, which enhances flavor development even further. In addition to helping you better manage your time in the preparation (as we know making brioche at home is a lengthy process), this technique also yields a softer and much easier-to-handle brioche.

Gooey tip: Take the chocolate rolls out of the oven a little before the end of the baking time, and they'll be nice and sticky.

Clean cuts tip: Use dental floss to make clean cuts and keep a nice swirl on your buns. (if your brioche gets soft and deformed when you cut it, let it rest in the fridge for a while before cutting it again).

FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions

More Cinnamon rolls

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