Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls

The best blackberry cinnamon rolls you'll make! These soft brioche rolls with an easy homemade blackberry compote and cinnamon sugar filling are topped with a gorgeously glossy blackberry cream cheese frosting.

Jump to:

• Tell me about these rolls
• Equipment Notes
• Ingredient Notes for Blackberry Compote
• How to Make Homemade Blackberry Compote
• Tips for the Compote
• Making the Dough
• Ingredient Notes for the Filling
• How to Make Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls
• Expert Tips for the Rolls
• Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• Making Ahead
• Storage Advice
• Substitutions and Variations
• FAQs
• Looking for more Blackberry Recipes?
• Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls

Tell me about these rolls

• The BEST Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls - if you are looking for a cinnamon roll packed full of flavour, these rolls with my homemade blackberry compote
• Super soft brioche dough - my classic homemade Brioche Cinnamon Rolls dough, buttery soft, light and fluffy.
• Easy homemade blackberry filling - my quick blackberry compote packs flavour and colour into these rolls, with minimal effort! A super simple recipe which can be made with a punnet of fresh blackberries or some from the freezer.
• Blackberry cream cheese frosting - gorgeously purple, thick and creamy with just a bit of tang! I'd say this blackberry icing is too pretty to eat, except its also delicious!

Equipment Notes

For this recipe, you'll essentially need the usual assortment of equipment for any of my brioche based cinnamon rolls.

• 8" square baking pan - you can make these rolls in other size pans, 9" or round cake tins will work too. You'll not want anything smaller than 8" or you risk the dough not having enough space to proof.
• Parchment paper - while not 100% required, I swear by lining my baking pan with parchment. It takes a minute or two and will save you effort and frustration when trying to remove the baked rolls to serve.
• Plastic wrap - you can also use more sustainable and reusable options, but you'll want something to cover your mixing bowl in for the long proof.
• Stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook - you can make just about any dough by hand, but I don't have the strength or patience to knead brioche on my own. This recipe is written using a standard sized stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• Mixing bowls - you'll want a large mixing bowl to proof the dough plus another couple of mixing bowls (small ones, like cereal bowls) for cooling the compote, mixing the filling and mixing the frosting.
• Saucepans - this recipe needs one small saucepan for heating the milk (or you can use a microwave and cup) and another larger saucepan to make the compote.
• Rubber spatula - this will help you scrape your dough out of the mixing bowl a lot easier!
• Offset spatula - the perfect tool for spreading fillings and frostings. You can just use a table knife, but honestly, if you don't have a small offset spatula already, it is a baking/decorating game changer!

Ingredient Notes for Blackberry Compote

If you're opting to make your own homemade blackberry compote to fill these Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls, you'll need:

• Blackberries - fresh or frozen will work here. I find this a great recipe for using up seasonal berries, which are easy to forage in my local area. If you don't have these on hand, use frozen berries, but let these defrost first.
• Sugar - a little granulated sugar or caster sugar. The amount here is a bit taste-dependent. If your berries are a bit on the tart side you might want to add a little more sugar. But remember this compote is going to sit alongside a cinnamon sugar filling which will be adding plenty of sweetness.
• Lemon juice - a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice help to thicken the compote and also give it a bit of tangy brightness!
• Cornstarch - this helps to ensure a nice thick compote, which will hold well in the baking rolls.

How to Make Homemade Blackberry Compote

Making a quick blackberry compote with fresh or frozen berries is a simple stovetop task! All you'll need to do is:

1. Place all your ingredients in a saucepan. Give these a stir to coat the blackberries and start cooking on a medium heat.
2. The blackberries will release their juices while you stir and mash them down a bit.
3. Once the sugar has dissolved in the juices and the berries are broken down, bring the mixture to a boil while continuing to stir until it has thickened.
4. Let this cook for about 8-10 minutes while stirring. You're looking for a jam-like consistency.
5. Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl to cool completely.

Tips for the Compote

While this blackberry compote filling is a one-pan recipe, there are a few key things to keep in mind:

• Stir the mixture regularly - you don't want the blackberries to catch and burn on the bottom of your pan.
• The blackberry sauce will thicken more as it cools, since the cornstarch will help it set. Don't worry too much if it seems a little on the runny side.
• If your sauce doesn't thicken once cooled, it isn't the end of the world - it can still be added to the rolls, but you'll just have a bit of a messier experience of assembly! The flavour will still be there.
• To cool the compote quickly, use a large shallow tray - something with a wide surface area. This will help it to cool more quickly by spreading it out thinner.
• You can make this blackberry sauce up to 2 days before making the rolls. The important thing is that you do need to make it ahead of assembling the rolls - it needs to be cool in order to be added to the dough. If making in advance, keep covered in the refrigerator.

Making the Dough

This recipe uses my classic brioche roll dough, from my Brioche Cinnamon Roll recipe.

For the dough, you'll need:

• Milk - full fat or whole milk, warmed to 104ºF (or in the range of 104º-120º).
• Dry active yeast - my standard recipe uses a typical sachet of dry active yeast, which is 2¼ teaspoons or 7g of yeast. You can also use instant yeast, which doesn't require an activation process in order to work in your recipe, but it can be substituted straight into this dough as written.
• Sugar - a bit of granulated sugar or caster sugar brings the dough together and is also a key part of activating the yeast.
• Flour - a combination of all-purpose flour (plain flour) and bread flour. This combination will give you the perfect soft and fluffy bread texture!
• Salt
• Eggs - large eggs, ideally at room temperature. One of the eggs should be separated into yolk and white. The white added to the dough and the yolk reserved for an egg wash when baking.
• Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and chopped into small pieces. This is the key to the buttery soft enriched brioche!

For the detailed step-by-step process to make this dough, see my Brioche Cinnamon Rolls or check out my e-book Cinnamon Roll Guide.

Ingredient Notes for the Filling

To make my cinnamon rolls with blackberry filling, you'll need:

• Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. You can use salted butter, but this will add saltiness to your recipe.
• Brown sugar - light brown sugar, firmly packed. You can use granulated sugar or dark brown sugar, however, the richness of light brown sugar is the best accompaniment to the cinnamon in these rolls without being overpowering.
• Ground cinnamon
• Blackberry compote - the homemade compote in this recipe will make enough for the roll filling and for the frosting.

How to Make Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls

Once you're dough is about finished with its slow refrigerator proof, you're ready to start assembling the rolls!

1. Start by lining your square baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until you have a smooth spreadable paste.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and scrape out onto a well floured work surface.
4. Press the dough into a rectangle and then roll out to be a large 12" wide by 15" long rectangle.
5. Spread the cinnamon sugar butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a small gap around the edges.
6. Then reserve about 2 tablespoons of the blackberry compote for the frosting and spread the rest over the cinnamon butter.
7. Roll the dough from the bottom to the top into a log (image 1 below).
8. Using flavorless dental floss or thin kitchen twine, trim the ends of the log. Remove about an inch or so off each end to cut off uneven and unfilled dough.
9. Using the floss or twine, divide the remaining log into 9 rolls and place these in your lined baking pan (image 2 below).
10. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow to proof at room temperature for about 2 hours until doubled in size (image 3 below).
11. Towards the end of this second proof, preheat your oven to 350ºF and make a quick egg wash using the reserved egg yolk and a splash of milk.
12. Brush the egg wash over the top of the rolls and bake in the centre of the preheated oven until risen and golden (about 25-30 minutes).
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes while you make the frosting (image 4 below).

Expert Tips for the Rolls

Some of my top tips to help you make these rolls a success:

• Always remember that brioche dough tends to be wet and sticky, especially in warm weather. This is because of the way the butter is added, which ensures a soft and rich bread dough. Don't be put off a sticky dough, if you've kneaded it enough for it to be holding together and slapping the sides of the mixing bowl, it should be fine!
• When rolling up the filled dough, handle the dough gently - don't roll these overly tightly or you'll squeeze the compote out. This is particularly the case if the compote is a bit runny. In any case, these do tend to be a bit messy on the roll up!
• I know cutting the rolls with floss is a bit on trend, but it does really work for helping you make nice round rolls easily! Just avoid a minty fresh flavoured floss or this might leave a bit of mint flavour on the dough.
• Room temperature proofing time is impacted by the conditions in your kitchen. On a hot summers day, you may find that these rolls have doubled in size in only about an hour and are ready to bake.
• The egg wash is entirely optional. I like a nice glossy finish, which is given by the wash, but it does not have an impact on flavour and will ultimately be covered in your frosting. If you have other uses for an egg yolk, feel free to save it for that!

Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting

These gooey blackberry filled cinnamon rolls need an appropriately gorgeous blackberry frosting! Enter my blackberry cream cheese icing. You'll need just three ingredients:

• Blackberry compote - a couple of tablespoons of your homemade blackberry compote from this recipe will be perfect for this frosting, giving loads of flavour and colour.
• Powdered sugar - or icing sugar. This doesn't normally need to be sifted for this sort of frosting recipe.
• Cream cheese - just a couple tablespoons of soft spreadable cream cheese from a tub. For best results, consistent with my recipe, use a full fat version.

Simply stir these together until they form a creamy smooth icing. There will be small lumps of blackberry bits, but make sure you've stirred out any lumps of powdered sugar!

To adjust the consistency, you can add additional powdered sugar to thicken or extra cream cheese to thin. Make any adjustment slowly and sparingly or you'll find you'll need to make more and more adjustments to the point of impacting on the flavour or colour of the frosting.

If you find your frosting seems unmanageably thick, you can also use some milk, which will thin it more starkly than the cream cheese. I don't recommend this unless absolutely necessary. Milk will make the frosting runny quite quickly, so should be used in very small additions and is often harder to control.

Making Ahead

I often get the question of whether these rolls can be made ahead and the answer is absolutely yes!

Firstly, it's worth noting that the recipe as written involves a bit of make ahead built straight in. All of your kneading takes place the day before baking, just by default when working with a enriched brioche dough.

If you want to get even more head start, you can shift this further forward. Make the dough in the morning, fill and roll the dough in the afternoon, bake the night before you intend to serve. To store and serve the next day, follow this guidance:

• All the baked rolls to cool completely, unfrosted.
• Keep in the pan and wrap well in plastic wrap, leaving on the counter overnight.
• The next day, reheat the rolls in a 350ºF oven for about 15 minutes until warmed through.
• Then frost as directed and serve.

Storage Advice

Storage for these Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls depends mainly on the frosting used. If you're making this full recipe, including the Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting, best practice demands that the frosted rolls be stored in the refrigerator if saving leftovers overnight.

The rolls should be wrapped well or placed in an airtight container to avoid staling in the fridge.

When serving leftovers, let the rolls come back up to room temperature by leaving on the counter for 15-20 minutes. This will improve the flavour over those fresh from the fridge.

Substitutions and Variations

Cinnamon Rolls, including these with my homemade blackberry compote filling, offer so many opportunities for substitutes and variations. Some quick options here:

• Blackberry jam - this recipe hasn't been explicitly tested with store bought blackberry jam, however, in principle it should work in a similar way. Depending on the set of the jam, you may find different results in terms of the filling leaking out of the dough, but it will still impart blackberry flavour to your bake!
• Add whole blackberries - this recipe uses a blackberry compote, but whole uncooked blackberries can also be added and bake well in the dough. Add a sprinkle of fresh or frozen blackberries before rolling up and shaping.
• Different frostings - feel free to mix and match this recipe with any of my other cinnamon roll frostings, like my Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, from my Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls, or my Thick Vanilla Frosting from my Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls. Have a look through options in my Bread Recipes section for more rolls and options.

FAQs

Looking for more Blackberry Recipes?

Try one of these:

• Small Batch Blackberry Jam
• Blackberry Donuts
• Lemon Blackberry Cake