There are few things as indulgently delicious as a cinnamon roll. A giant swirl of dough filled with cinnamon sugar, baked until golden brown then smothered in cream cheese icing? Uh, yes, please!
These Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls give you the flavor and aroma of a warm and inviting cup of chai amidst every sticky bite of the fluffiest and softest cinnamon rolls you can imagine.
The vanilla bean brioche dough is my go-to dough for cinnamon rolls. To give these Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls their flavor though, I added chai spices to the original cinnamon filling. We’re talking about adding ginger, cardamom, allspice, and a touch of black pepper. These spices add depth and warmth to the classic filling, trust me! The chai filling as written in the recipe yields 1 tablespoon, but you can easily make a larger batch and use it in other baked goods! I'm obsessed with it; it's even featured in one or two cookbook recipes of mine. 😉
I also added a bourbon vanilla bean cream cheese icing to the top. A little bourbon makes this frosting even more unbelievably flavorful; but don't worry, it's not overpowering! If you prefer a more classic taste, you can just leave the bourbon out and finish with a rich vanilla bean cream cheese icing.
All of my best cinnamon rolls tips, including how to make cinnamon rolls ahead of time, can be found in this post.
LOOKING FOR MORE CINNAMON ROLL RECIPES?
CHECK THESE OUT!
Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls
Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls
Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Bean Brioche Dough:
- 120 g milk warm (115°F)
- 2¼ teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 large eggs room temperature
- 45 g unsalted butter melted
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 50 g granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the Chai Spiced Filling:
- 60 g unsalted butter softened
- 110 g dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
For the Bourbon Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Icing:
- 55 g cream cheese softened
- 30 g unsalted butter softened
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 30 g milk
- 15 g bourbon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Make the vanilla bean brioche dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, mix together the yeast with the milk. Add the eggs, butter, flour, salt, sugar, and vanilla bean paste and mix until the ingredients are just barely combined. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes so the flour has time to hydrate.
- Using the hook attachment, beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 6 minutes longer. *If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.*
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap, a paper towel, or aluminum foil and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Make the chai spiced filling: While the rolls are rising, make the filling. Add the softened butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and pepper to a medium bowl and combine using a fork until a thick paste forms. Set aside.
- Generously grease the bottom and sides of a muffin pan with butter. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, punch it down and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 14×6 inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick.
- Spread the chai spiced filling all over the dough. Starting with the shorter end, tightly roll up the dough to form a 6-inch-long log and cut into 6 even rolls. Arrange them in the prepared muffin cups. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Once the rolls have risen, bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center of the rolls are cooked through. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you make the icing.
- Make the bourbon vanilla bean cream cheese icing: Add the softened cream cheese and the butter to a small bowl and beat to combine. Add the remaining icing ingredients to the bowl and whisk until smooth and combined. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar; if it's too thick, add more milk (or bourbon). Drizzle icing over warm rolls. Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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LiAna
I made these with my son as a Fathers' Day treat for my husband, and they turned out GREAT!!! Being new to the dough, I was so worried that they were underdone in the middle, but they came out perfectly! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have a couple of questions - First, I see that you use basically the same dough for the Chai spiced cinnamon rolls, but you do not have the direction of adding the warm cream prior to baking. I'm wondering why. From your perspective, what are the pros and cons of that step? Second, how do you ensure that a pan of rolls like this are done in the middle? Should I just use a thermometer? In this case, I actually baked them for much longer than you suggested, but based on how the middle looked for all those extra minutes, I think they were done earlier. Luckily, I found this dough to be quite forgiving and they did not dry out. Such a great recipe!!!
Mike Johnson
I'm assuming you mean the dough for the cardamom cinnamon rolls! It's simply a matter of personal preference; I don't always want a super ooey gooey cinnamon roll. Also, adding the cream before baking generally requires a longer bake time. Also to check for doneness, I use a paring knife or fork to pull up the center-most roll; if the dough is still sticky and raw-looking then I leave them in the oven for a few minutes longer. An instant-read thermometer is also a good way to check. When cinnamon rolls are done, they have an internal temperature between 190 – 200 degrees Fahrenheit (88 – 93 degrees Celsius). I'm glad you enjoyed these!
Nicole
These were amazing! I loved how tall and gorgeous they came out with baking in the muffin tin. The brioche is perfect and the chai spice mixture is enough to be interesting but not so much to be overpowering. I love that it only makes 6!
Nirali
These rolls are absolutely DELICIOUS! One piece of advice for anyone wanting to try this: don't make the mistake I did and bake these in a square baking dish like you would traditional cinnamon rolls. They didn't hold their shape as well as they would have if I just listened and used muffin tins. I also added some nutmeg and clove to the filling because my mom's family's traditional chai always had those two spices as well. That small caveat aside, I highly recommend these for anyone who is a fan of chai, especially if you have it with a nice large mug of chai latte on the side. 🙂