Chocolate cinnamon rolls to make your weekend way better!
Fluffy cinnamon bun dough slathered with chocolate cinnamon through every bite!
coconut is optional but really delicious!
Yeast dough can be time consuming since we have to wait for the dough to rise
But I have an easy fix for those who want to start this dough in the evening and have freshly baked cinnamon buns for the morning
Simply halt the process before the second rise, just after rolling and cutting into buns
Cover loosely and let the dough slow proof in the refrigerator overnight! In the morning take the pan out of the refrigerator and place in a warm spot to take the chill off
Then let them continue rising to fluffy and almost doubled in size. Once the buns are fluffy & puffy and ready to bake, proceed to bake just as I show you in the video!
Notes for Success:
You’ll notice I am using coconut water from leftover cans of coconut milk, as well shredded coconut . If you are not keen on coconut in any way just substitute the coconut water for plant milk instead and leave out the coconut shreds too
For traditional cinnamon buns without the chocolate CLICK HERE!
Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Bun Dough
- 3 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast 3 teaspoons 9g
- 1½ cups Coconut Water 360ml
- 4½ cups All Purpose Flour 580g
- 1½ teaspoons Salt 1½ teaspoons 9g
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar 50g
- 4 Tbs Soft Vegan Butter 56g
For the Chocolate Schmear
- 4 Tbs Water 60ml
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar 100g
- 1½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder 45g
- 1½ cups Shredded Coconut
Sugar Glaze
- 2 cups Confectioners Sugar 240g
- 2 Tbs Plant Milk 30ml
Instructions
- Combine the yeast with the room temperature coconut water & a pinch of the sugar.
- If it gets bubbly and frothy after about 5 to 10 minutes, you have proven that the yeast is alive & you may proceed with the recipe. (*if it does not froth, it is good chance your yeast is old & dead and you should buy a fresh package)
- Combine all of the remaining ingredients, including the proven yeast into the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook attachment
- Mix on low speed until it comes together to a soft sticky dough. After 3 minutes it should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl if it does not add a couple tbs more flour
- Mix for 5 minutes to develop the gluten & you should have a soft pliable but not sticky dough
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl & cover with a towel. Set in a warm spot to double in size. This will take approximately 1 hour depending on the conditions in your kitchen.
- Meanwhile prepare the chocoalte schmear: Combine the water & sugar together in a small sauce pot & bring to a boil.
- Add the hot water to the cocoa powder & cinnamon & whisk smooth. Set aside to coo
- Once the dough has doubled, you will gently “punch down” the dough to release the gasses & then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface & roll to approximately 12" X 20"
- Spread the entire surface of the dough with chocolate schmear & then the shredded coconut
- Roll up jelly-roll style & cut into 12 equal portions.
- Arrange the buns in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish or a 12" cast iron pan spaced so they are about 1″ apart.
- Cover with a towel & place the baking dish in a warm, draft free spot to rise again. About 1 hour depending on your kitchen conditions.
- Once the buns have risen they will most likely be touching each other or almost touching each other & be soft & airy when you poke them, bake them in a preheated 350℉ oven for approximately 30- 35 minutes or until golden brown & the center buns are fully baked
- Cool slightly then ice with sugar glaze by combining the confectioners sugar & plant milk together ~whisk smooth
Notes
hi Gretchen… any reason why this recipe, or any of your vegan recipes, couldn’t be made with non-vegan ingredients?…. thanks!
Of course there are tons of similar non vegan recipes out there. CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Is it still to get your non vegan recipes I made these and a cake with Swiss meringue buttercream from your bakery videos a few years ago.
Hi Gretchen
I don’t have your cinnamon roll recipe from years ago. Can I use Reg water instead of coconut milk and Reg butter instead of vegan butter? I loved your non vegan recipe. It’s to die for ????
yes
Hi Gretchen, the same quantity sugar appears twice in the schmear ingredients. Is this correct?
Hey thanks for pointing that out! I didn’t realize it was so confusing. Here is the updated instructions (but it is still 8Tbs sugar total)
Combine the water and sugar together in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil.
Add to the cocoa powder and whisk smooth.
Set aside to cool, but if it gets to hard to spread, just rewarm it slightly
Hi, just wanted to point out that the cinnamon filling recipe doesn’t list a quantity of vegan butter. I used about 2T and it worked great. Wonderful recipe!
THANKYOU!! I’ll update now!
Hey Gretchen there is something brown u put in d mixture of dough before mixing…is it cinnamon ?
A friend has requested for cinnamon rolls n hv never made them at home ..so gonna make this as my first attempt.
Regards,
Mrunal
Hey…
Made this …they turned out Ammmazingggggg…I did with traditional cinnamon filling and also made my own banana cinnamon filling and choc orange cinnamon filling
Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe..
Love u
Is cinnamon missing from d main dough ingredients?! Or the name is cinnamon Oni when we use traditional cinnamon filling
Regards
Mru
I want to turn the cinnamon roll dough chocolate. How much baking cocoa would I need to add to this recipe to make it a chocolate dough?
Hi Gretchen, been following you for years. Love your recipes. The recipe above for the chocolate smear does not mention cinnamon but the video does mention cinnamon. Which is correct? Thank you for all your great recipes.
Hey there thanks for pointing that out! I did not get a notification for this comment so I’m sorry if it has been a very late reply~ at any rate cinnamon can be added or not added it is really optional! I will note that on the recipe post~ thanks!
Hi Gretchen,
These look sooooo YUMMO-licious.
Once formed and panned up, can the second rise be done overnight in the fridge?
Thanks a Bunch,
Deb
Yes absolutely!