Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery

Ever since we found out we could make whipped cream from coconut fat

What is everyone doing with all that leftover coconut water?

Aside from adding it to your daily smoothie, here is a recipe for Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls that will help to use up that leftover coconut water from the can!

To me they do not taste like coconut with just the water, so I added some toasted shredded coconut for that extra burst of coconut in every bite!

Chocolate slathered throughout every inch to make those scrolls just ooze with chocolate-y goodness in every bite!

However for the purist, I have the traditional cinnamon sugar filled version for you too

You will just forgo the chocolate schmear in the recipe that follows and instead, brush on some melted vegan butter to your rolled out dough.

Then pile on that cinnamon sugar filling and proceed as I show you in the video tutorial!

But for those who want a chocolate lovers breakfast treat, get on board the Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls train!

I know that yeast doughs are time consuming projects since we have to wait for the first rise

Then we form the scrolls and wait for the second rise.

Then the baking takes almost another hour which ends up turning into literally 3-4 hours for this project from start to finish.

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

You will simply halt the process after the first rise and the rolling up and cutting of the log into individual buns.

At that point you will cut the dough and place on a sheet pan (*in the video I use cast iron, but a sheet pan will be best for those wanting to divide this process into 2 days)

Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out and rest in the refrigerator overnight.

This will give the buns a very slow cold proofing.

In the morning take the pan out of the refrigerator and place in a warm spot to take the chill off the dough and let them continue rising to fluffy & almost doubled in size.

You are essentially picking up the process where you left off the night before.

Once the buns are fluffy & puffy and ready to bake, proceed to bake in a preheated oven just as I show you in the video!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE BUNS

For more awesome breakfast yeast type recipes click the links below!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

Chocolate Babka

Vegan Coffee Cake Recipe

Bakery Style Cheese Danish (vegan)

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Bun Dough
Active Dry Yeast 3 teaspoons (9g)
Coconut Water ½ cup (120ml)
All Purpose Flour 4 - 5 cups (520g-650g)
Salt 1½ teaspoons (9g)
Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
Vegan Butter 8 Tablespoons (113g)
Coconut Milk or more Coconut Water 1 cup (237ml)
For the Chocolate Schmear
Water 4 tablespoons (60ml)
Granulated Sugar 8 Tablespoons (10g)
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder ½ cup
Shredded Coconut 1½ cups
Sugar Glaze
Confectioners Sugar 2 cups (240g)
Almond Milk 2 Tablespoons or more as needed to your desired consistency

Instructions

Prove your yeast by mixing it with the room temperature coconut water and 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 and you may proceed with the recipe. (*if it does not froth, it is good chance your yeast is old and 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
Follow along in the video tutorial for mixing this dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel and set in a nice warm spot to double in size. This will take approximately 1 hour depending on the conditions in your kitchen.
Meanwhile prepare the chocolate schmear:
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
Once the dough has doubled, you will gently “punch down” the dough to release the gasses and proceed to roll the buns as shown in the video.
Press the dough into the best square or rectangle you can by hand, and then roll with a rolling pin to approximately 12" X 20"
Spread the entire surface with chocolate schmear recipe and then the shredded coconut
Roll up jelly-roll style and then cut into 12 equal portions. (OR the traditional cinnamon sugar mixture below)
Arrange the buns in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish or a cast iron pan as I am using this time in the video, spaced so they are about 1″ apart.
Cover with a towel and 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 and be soft and airy when you poke them, bake them in a PREHEATED 350° F oven for approximately 20- 30 minutes or until golden brown and center buns are fully baked
Cool slightly and then ice with sugar glaze by combining the confectioners sugar and almond milk together and whisk smooth

For traditional Cinnamon Buns follow the same method for mixing, rolling and baking the dough, but you will use the following recipe for cinnamon filling instead of the chocolate and coconut.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Traditional Cinnamon Filling for Buns