Cinnamon Coffee Rolls with Maple Espresso Frosting

5 from 1 vote

Cinnamon Coffee Rolls with Maple Espresso Frosting

These extra soft and gooey cinnamon coffee rolls with maple espresso frosting are made with the tangzhong method, so they stay soft for days.

Prep Time25

Cook Time25

Resting Time1 40

Total Time2 30

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: rolls

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Equipment

Small Saucepan
Whisk
9x13-inch baking dish
Stand Mixer
Kitchen Scale

Ingredients

Tangzhong

¼ cup water
¼ cup whole milk
¼ cup all purpose flour

Dough

4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup heavy cream

Cinnamon Filling

¾ cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom optional
pinch kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons instant espresso powder
8 tablespoons butter room temperature

Maple Espresso Frosting

4 oz cream cheese room temperature
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar sifted
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon espresso powder

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Mix the water, milk and flour together in a small saucepan with a whisk.
¼ cup water, ¼ cup whole milk, ¼ cup all purpose flour
Place over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until it becomes thick. Make sure to scrape along the sides of the saucepan. It should look like mashed potatoes. Take off the heat and pour into your mixing bowl. Set aside for a few minutes so it cools down.
Add the milk, eggs, flour, salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the bowl with the tangzhong.
4 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon instant yeast, 1 cup whole milk, 2 large eggs, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Mix on medium speed for about 12-15 minutes, until it become smooth but slightly sticky. If too sticky, add up to quarter cup of flour, one tablespoon at a time. Depending on the weather, sometimes I needed to add more flour so it wasn't too sticky so feel free to add a bit more!
Take the dough out of the bowl and use oiled hands to shape it into a ball. Lightly grease the bowl and place the dough ball back in. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 60-90 minutes (the time depends on how hot your kitchen is!).
Mix the softened butter with the remaining filling ingredients until you have a paste. I used a fork to do this.
¾ cup light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, pinch kosher salt, 8 tablespoons butter, 1 ½ tablespoons instant espresso powder
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a 18x12-inch rectangle.
Spread the paste filling on the dough, leaving about ¼ inch border around the edges.
Roll from the long edge. Use dental floss or a large serrated knife to cut into 12 equal pieces pieces. Place in a greased 9-x13 baking sheet.
Cover the pan with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 40-50 minutes. If you want to make these rolls the night before, let them rise overnight in the fridge, making sure they're tightly covered.
Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃.
This is optional, but you can heat up the heavy cream in the microwave so it's warm but not boiling. Pour the warm cream over the coffee rolls.
½ cup heavy cream
Bake for 25-30 minutes. They should be golden brown. While the rolls cool slightly, make the frosting.
In your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with a handheld mixer, mix all of the frosting ingredients together until smooth.
4 oz cream cheese, 3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Spread over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Video

Notes

My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It's also much easier to measure out the brown butter with a kitchen scale instead of tablespoons! I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven’t tested the recipe with this method. Just click on ‘US Customary’ above ingredients

Storage: Cover the rolls and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can warm them up in the microwave or oven.

Overnight: If you want to prep these the night before, make the rolls until they're in the pan. Cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, let them come to room temperature for 45-60 minutes before baking them in the oven.

Nutrition