Chocolate sweet rolls with espresso frosting are perfect for whenever you're craving a cinnamon roll and chocolate at the same time. They truly are the best of both words. And the espresso frosting is the perfect finishing touch that will take your chocolate sweet rolls to the next level.
I've become the cinnamon roll lady. If the family is having brunch, I'm assigned to bring cinnamon rolls. Honestly, my homemade cinnamon rolls are my very favorite sweet roll, and they are easy enough to make. But, sometimes, I crave something just a bit different than the classic cinnamon rolls. The first time I brought these chocolate sweet rolls to a family gathering, I also brought my classic cinnamon rolls as I was worried about a rebellion. But, it turned out, I had worried for nothing. Everyone loved these chocolate sweet rolls with espresso frosting! Now I get requests for these too!
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Dough and filling ingredients
- All purpose flour
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Whole milk
- Salted butter
- Eggs
- Cocoa powder
- Cinnamon
- Active dry yeast
- Salt
See recipe card for quantities
Frosting ingredients
- Cream cheese
- Salted butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Espresso powder
- Vanilla
- Salt
Variations
There are so many different types of sweet rolls. A few of my other favorites are:
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Lemon Raspberry Rolls
- Vegan substitutions - For the eggs, you can substitute homemade flax eggs or use an egg replacer like Bob Mill's. [For three flax eggs, mix three tablespoon of flaxseed meal and nine tablespoons of water and let sit for 10 minutes]. For the butter, use your favorite plant based butter. My current favorite is Miyoko's Plant Milk Butter, but it's not always easy to find. Most grocery stores now carry some version of plant based butter like Earth Balance or Country Crock. For the milk, substitute your favorite plant based milk. I recommend oat milk for a neutral milk when baking. For the heavy cream, you can substitute plant based heavy cream (Trader Joe's is the best I've tried so far), or use a little less of a plant based milk. And, of course, use vegan sugar.
Equipment
It is easiest to use a stand mixer or hand held mixer to make these sweet rolls.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. To warm up the chocolate sweet rolls on day 2 or thereafter, just microwave them for 15-20 seconds. Not long, just enough to warm them up!
Next Level Tips
- Use a high-quality cocoa powder. My all time favorite cocoa powder is the Valrhona brand unsweetened cocoa powder. It's simply the best! It is sold on Amazon, but it can be pricey. Another place to buy it is from the Whole Foods bulk section. I know, I know. But also, not everything at Whole Foods is super expensive. In fact, it's cheaper than Amazon, and the great thing about bulk sections is that you can buy as small of quantity as you want. However, if you order through Whole Foods via Amazon, then you'll currently need to buy a minimum of ¼ pound. Plenty for this recipe and future recipes!
- Espresso powder. Buying ready made espresso powder is expensive and not necessary. I use the espresso powder straight out of my espresso machine. Yes, I'm one of those people who bought an espresso machine to save on coffee. I love it, and it's saved a ton of money. If you have a coffee grinder, you can grind some beans into the finest powder. You can even use a fine instant coffee. Starbucks brand single instant coffee packets are usually a fine grind. Yes, you have permission to raid your camping stash if need be!
- Always weigh your flour and use the equivalent weight for the brand you are using. If you don't have a kitchen scale or don't want to weigh your flour, then use the fluff and scoop method. Fluff the flour in the container, and then lightly scoop the flour in to the measuring cup.
FAQ
Please see my post on Salted vs. Unsalted Butter.
There are three popular methods for cutting the log into the sweet rolls: the serrated (or very sharp knife) method, the dental floss method and the pizza cutter method.
The serrated knife or very sharp knife method. Use a serrated knife or a very sharp knife to cut the log into rolls.
The dental floss method. Break off a long string of (non-flavored!) dental floss and slide the floss underneath the log roll where you want to make a cut. Make sure the log is in the center of the string of floss and bring the two sides of floss together to meet each other. Then put the floss pieces into the opposite hands, cross the floss over each other across the top of the roll and pull each side until it cuts through the log. Repeat for each roll.
The pizza cutter method. Use a pizza cutter and make 9-12 individual cuts. Roll each strip up separately. This method can be messy, so you'll need to make an extra effort to roll the rolls tightly.
Absolutely! To make these ahead of time, follow the instructions up through the Filling Instructions #7. Immediately after cutting the sweet rolls and placing them in the pan, cover the pan and place it in the refrigerator. The following day, take out the pan and let it sit covered on the counter to come to room temperature, approximately one hour. Remove the cover and continue with the baking instructions.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Chocolate Sweet Rolls with Espresso Frosting
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 8 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 4½ cups all purpose flour (4 ½ cups = 540 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt (add ⅛ teaspoon extra if using unsalted butter)
Filling
- 2 tablespoons butter very soft
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1½ teaspoons espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Dough
- Take out the butter and eggs to bring them to room temperature.
- Heat the milk in microwave until warm 105℉ - 110℉. [It's best to use a kitchen thermometer if you have one.] Add the warm milk, yeast and a little of the white sugar to the mixer bowl. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the flour and salt to a small bowl and set aside.
- Add the rest of the sugar, the softened butter and the eggs to the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until the eggs are incorporated. The butter will not incorporate at this stage, which is normal.
- Add the flour and salt mixture to the mixing bowl in three to four different stages. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl after each addition and then mix on a low speed until the flour has been incorporated. Repeat until all flour has been added.
- After the flour has been incorporated, switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Spray a large bowl (or reuse the mixing bowl) with cooking spray. The dough is sticky and that's normal. Let the dough rise in a covered bowl for a total of two hours. After one hour, knead the dough using the stretch and fold method. If you're familiar with this method, do it in the bowl. If this is your first time, take the dough out of the bowl and set on a floured surface. Take a hold of a large piece of dough at the 12 position, stretch it away from your body, and then fold it back toward the middle of the dough ball. Rotate the ball ⅛ to ¼ of a turn and repeat the stretch out and fold back motions. Keep repeating until you have gone around 2 times and the dough becomes less stretchy. You DO NOT have to do this, BUT it does make the rolls more fluffy and soft. Put the dough back in the bowl to rise for another hour. So, the total rise time is two hours with the optional stretch and fold after one hour.
Filling
- Spray the 9x13 pan (or large round pan) with cooking spray and set aside.
- After the dough has risen for the two hours, put it on a floured surface and roll it out into a 12 x 18 inch rectangle. [If the dough is ever resistant, let it rest for 10 minutes. Don't overwork the dough trying to roll it out. It should roll out easily.]
- Brush 2 tablespoons of very soft butter on to the dough with a pastry or silicone brush. You want to use very soft but not melted butter. Think of the butter as the glue that will hold the brown sugar chocolate mixture to the dough. You can also use your fingers or a knife to spread the butter.
- Mix the brown sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon together in a small bowl until the cocoa powder and cinnamon are incorporated into the brown sugar.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the dough and lightly press it in.
- Starting with the long side, roll the dough into a tight log.
- Cut the dough into 9-12 pieces. I use 9 pieces for a large round pan or 12 pieces for a 9x13 pan. Use your favorite cutting method. If you aren't sure how to cut the roll, see my FAQ section for different cutting methods.
- Add the cut sweet rolls into your sprayed pan of choice, cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and let rise for one hour. [For overnight rolls, cover and place directly in to the refrigerator. Remove next day and let sit on the counter for one hour to get to room temperature prior to baking.]
Baking
- Bake the sweet rolls uncovered for 27-32 minutes. Check them at 27 minutes. [If you made overnight rolls, they could take longer if they were colder to start with.] They will be lightly golden brown on top.
- When you remove the sweet rolls from the oven, start making the frosting.
Frosting
- Put the softened cream cheese and softened butter in to a mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined and fluffy.
- Combine espresso powder with heavy cream in small bowl so that some of the espresso powder dissolves.
- Add the powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream and espresso mixture, salt and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix until light and fluffy. It takes less than two minutes.
- When the sweet rolls are still hot, spread a very thin layer of frosting on every part of the outer layer of the sweet rolls. It will melt, and that's perfect. It softens the outer layer of the lightly browned rolls.
- Once the sweet rolls have cooled for at least 20 minutes, spread the rest of the frosting on the rolls. If you are not serving them warm, wait until they have completely cooled to frost them.
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