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    Home » Recipes » Breads and Donuts

    Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls

    Published: Feb 27, 2023 by Liz Mincin · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Are you a vanilla lover? Then I have a cinnamon roll you MUST try! These are my epic vanilla bean cinnamon rolls. Absolutely jam packed with vanilla in every layer. Soft and fluffy vanilla bean brioche dough, filled with a vanilla cinnamon sugar, and finally topped with a vanilla bean glaze.

    Super soft vanilla bean cinnamon rolls.
    Jump to:
    • Using Vanilla Beans in this Recipe
    • Ingredient Notes for the Dough
    • Ingredient Notes for the Filling
    • How to Make Super Soft Vanilla Brioche Dough
    • How to Make the BEST Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls
    • Vanilla Bean and Cream Cinnamon Roll Frosting
    • FAQs
    • Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls

    Using Vanilla Beans in this Recipe

    So, I know vanilla can be expensive - especially good quality vanilla extract and even more so a full vanilla bean pod. But, the vanilla pods are mainly expensive because they are absolutely packed with flavour! You can infuse an entire jar of sugar with an empty vanilla pod, so imagine how powerful a flavour punch you'll get using the vanilla bean!

    That said, you can substitute the vanilla bean in this recipe with vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.

    Ingredient Notes for the Dough

    This vanilla brioche dough is essentially the same as my classic Brioche Cinnamon Roll dough, with the key addition of vanilla bean! You'll need:

    • Vanilla Bean - one full vanilla bean pod. This will be directly infused into your milk and therefore into the dough.
    • Milk - full fat or whole milk, warmed to 104°F/40C. Warming the milk is key to activating the yeast. You'll want to ensure it is warm enough, but also not too hot. Overly hot milk can kill the yeast and be as bad (or in fact worse) than cool milk!
    • Dry active yeast
    • Sugar - superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar.
    • Salt
    • Eggs - large eggs, at room temperature.
    • Flour - all purpose flour or plain flour.
    • Bread flour - adding strong bread flour to the mixture helps develop the gluten in these rolls.
    • Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and cut into small chunks. You can use salted butter here, but if doing so, be aware that you are adding extra salt to the overall recipe and it may impact the flavour. You may wish to reduce the additional salt called for by half to compensate for this.
    Ingredients for vanilla bean brioche dough.

    Ingredient Notes for the Filling

    The filling is fundamentally four ingredients:

    • Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. You can use salted butter here, but it will add salt to the overall recipe.
    • Sugar - superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar will work best here.
    • Ground cinnamon - can't have a cinnamon roll without plenty of ground cinnamon!
    • Vanilla bean paste - this will add a good kick of vanilla straight into the filling. You can substitute with vanilla extract, but it won't be quite as strong of a flavor.
    Sugar, butter, cinnamon and vanilla for the filling.

    How to Make Super Soft Vanilla Brioche Dough

    These vanilla bean cinnamon rolls follow a very similar process to my other brioche dough cinnamon rolls. The key difference is the infusion of the vanilla bean into the dough.

    Infusing Milk

    Begin by infusing the vanilla bean straight into the milk. Cut your vanilla pod down the centre lengthwise and scrape the vanilla bean out. Add this directly to your milk along with the emptied pod. Warm the milk, either in the microwave or gently in a saucepan, to 104°F/40C. Doing this with the vanilla in it will bring out the strongest possible vanilla flavour.

    Once warmed, remove the vanilla pod. Then sprinkle with the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Stir and then leave to sit for about 10 minutes to become foamy.

    Kneading

    While your yeast activates, stir together the flours, remaining sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. When ready, add the milk, immediately followed by two whole eggs and one egg white. Knead on a low setting for 15 minutes, until the dough comes together and is starting to pull itself off the sides of the bowl.

    While continuing to knead, add the butter, bit by bit, allowing it to incorporate into the dough. Once all the butter is added, knead on a low setting for 15 minutes until the dough is again pulling itself from the sides of the bowl. Tip: as with my other brioche doughs, this is a super soft dough which will stay sticky. It probably won't come clean off the sides of the bowl as you knead, but don't worry! If you knead on a low setting for the full 15 minutes both before and after you add the butter, you should be fine.

    Scrape the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours (or overnight). Tip: I like to grease my bowl with butter, since this is a buttery dough. You can also use flavorless oil such as canola or sunflower.

    How to Make the BEST Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls

    Either while you're kneading your dough or at some stage during the first proof, you'll want to make your filling. This is really just a quick mashing of butter, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the filling ingredients until smooth and combined in a thick spreadable sugar butter paste.

    Tip: You don't need to use beaters for this - if your butter is soft enough, you should be able to accomplish this using a spatula by hand, mixing and rubbing the butter together with the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla paste.

    When the dough has finished its first proof, turn this out onto a floured work surface and press it into a rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll it to a large rectangle, 12" wide by 15" long. Spread your butter sugar mixing over the surface and then roll tightly up from bottom to top to form a log.

    Using a thin kitchen twine or flavorless dental floss, trim the ends to remove uneven and unfilled dough. Then divide into 9 rolls, cutting them with the twine and placing them in a parchment lined square pan. Cover this with a clean kitchen towel and allow to proof for a second time at room temperature for about 2 hours.

    Cinnamon rolls cut with flavorless dental floss.

    Before baking, brush the rolls with a quick egg wash made from the reserved egg yolk and a splash of milk. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes until risen and golden. Then let cool for 10 minutes while you prep your frosting.

    Vanilla Bean and Cream Cinnamon Roll Frosting

    The perfect vanilla frosting for the perfect vanilla bean cinnamon rolls! This easy vanilla bean cream frosting has three ingredients:

    • Powdered sugar - or icing sugar. I usually don't sift mine for glazes such as this, but if yours is particularly lumpy, giving it a sift can help avoid any lumps carrying through to the finished product.
    • Vanilla bean paste - you can substitute with vanilla extract, but you'll miss out on the speckled appearance of vanilla seeds in the frosting. The flavour of vanilla extract is also slightly less pronounced than the flavour offered by the vanilla bean paste.
    • Heavy cream - or double cream. This is the secret to many super thick and melty cinnamon roll glazes. Heavy cream (or sometimes called whipping cream depending on your area) will take a bit more than normal milk to make your frosting come together, but it is worth it for the thick creamy consistency.
    Three ingredients for vanilla bean cream frosting.

    Stir these ingredients together in a small mixing bowl until you have a thick and creamy frosting. You can adjust the consistency with added cream or added powdered sugar if you'd like.

    Spread over your still warm rolls and serve fresh!

    Spreading frosting over the top of the warm vanilla cinnamon rolls.

    FAQs

    How long do these vanilla cinnamon rolls keep?

    Just like my other cinnamon roll recipes, these are really best eaten fresh baked. Leftovers will keep, if wrapped well, for a couple of days. But, they do stale quickly and will be at their best when still warm.

    Can I make these cinnamon rolls in advance?

    So, in part, yes! These are an overnight cinnamon roll. The most time consuming part of the process - the kneading - takes place the day before. You can also cream together the filling while you are kneading. This means that the only active work required on the day is the assembly and baking.

    Do I have to use vanilla bean in this recipe?

    No - despite this recipe being titled vanilla bean cinnamon rolls, the use of vanilla beans is technically optional. I do strongly recommend it for the enhanced flavour it adds, but you can substitute with vanilla bean paste or just use vanilla extract to make these still absolutely delicious and loaded with vanilla!

    Looking for more Cinnamon Rolls? Try:

    • Banoffee Cinnamon Rolls
    • Orange Cinnamon Rolls
    • Almond Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls
    • Raspberry and Nutella Cinnamon Rolls
    • Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
    • Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
    Super soft vanilla bean cinnamon rolls.

    Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls

    Liz Mincin
    The ultimate vanilla bean cinnamon rolls. Super soft vanilla brioche dough cinnamon rolls with a decadent sugar cinnamon and vanilla filling. All topped off with vanilla bean frosting.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 1 hr
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Proofing 10 hrs
    Course Breakfast, Brunch
    Cuisine American
    Servings 9 rolls
    Calories 387 kcal

    Equipment

    • 8" square baking tray

    Ingredients
      

    Ingredients for Vanilla Bean Brioche Dough

    • 1 vanilla bean pod (see note)
    • ¼ cup full fat milk or whole milk
    • 2¼ teaspoon dry active yeast
    • 1 tablespoon superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup all purpose flour or plain flour
    • ¾ cup bread flour or strong white flour
    • ½ cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature and cut into ½" chunks, plus extra for greasing the bowl

    Ingredients for Filling

    • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened at room temperature
    • ⅓ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
    • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

    Ingredients for Frosting

    • 1 cup powdered sugar or icing sugar, sifted if lumpy
    • 6 tablespoon heavy cream or double cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

    Instructions
     

    • Begin by warming infusing your vanilla into your milk as you warm this to 104°F (40C). Place the milk in a small saucepan. Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape the vanilla seeds out. Add these along with the pod to your milk. Heat this until simmering over a medium-low heat. Once warmed, remove the pod and check that your milk is around 104°F (up to about 118°F is also fine). (see note)
    • Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the warmed vanilla milk, stir and set aside for 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add your flour, bread flour, remaining sugar and salt. Give this a stir.
    • When the yeast is ready, add this to the flour mixture, immediately followed by two eggs and one egg white, reserving an egg yolk for an egg wash later. Knead on a low setting for 15 minutes until the dough is beginning to pull itself from the sides of the bowl. (see note)
    • Add the butter, bit by bit, continuing to knead on a low setting. Once all of the butter in incorporated, continue kneading for a further 15 minutes until the dough is again beginning to pull itself from the sides of the bowl.
    • Scrape the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to proof for 8 hours (or overnight).

    Instructions for Filling

    • To make the filling, cream together the softened butter, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean paste with a spatula until soft, smooth and spreadable. Set this aside until ready to use.
    • Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and press into a rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll this into a rectangle about 12" wide by 15" long.
    • Spread the butter and sugar mixture over the surface and then roll from the bottom to the top to form a log.
    • Using thin kitchen twine or flavorless dental floss, trim the ends removing about an inch of uneven dough off each side. Then divide into 9 rolls. Cut these with the twine and place in a parchment lined baking pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and proof at room temperature for about 2 hours until doubled in size.
    • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175C/155C Fan) and make an egg wash using the reserved egg yolk and a splash of milk. Beat this together.
    • Once finished the second proof, brush your rolls with the egg wash and place in the centre of the preheated oven to bake for 25 minutes until risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes while you prepare the frosting.

    Instructions for Frosting

    • Stir together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla bean paste until you have a thick smooth frosting. (see note)
    • Spread the frosting over the warm rolls and serve.

    Notes

    Vanilla bean can be expensive and sometimes difficult to find. If you are not able to find or use a vanilla bean, this can be substituted with vanilla bean paste (I recommend 1 teaspoon). Alternatively, you can use vanilla extract in place of both the vanilla bean and the paste in this recipe. Using vanilla extract will mean that you won't have the speckles of vanilla seeds running through the dough and frosting. It also may not have as intense a vanilla flavour.
    You can heat the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave. To microwave warm this and infuse the vanilla, place the milk in a microwave safe bowl or cup. Follow the same instructions to scrape the seeds and add these along with the pod to the milk. Then warm on 10 second increments until the milk is at 104°F (40C). When ready, remove the pod and add the yeast and sugar. Then follow the directions above as normal.
    This is a very sticky dough and will not pull itself cleanly from the sides of the bowl. It should be showing signs of holding itself together, even if it is still sticking to the bottom of the bowl in particular.
    The frosting consistency can be adjusted to fit your preferences. If you'd like a thicker frosting, you may wish to add the cream sparingly and not use quite as much as this recipe calls for. Similarly, if you want a runnier frosting, add extra cream or a touch of milk. A small amount of milk in this recipe will make this significantly runnier quickly, so make any additions a small amount (teaspoon) at a time.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 5gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 269mgPotassium: 83mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 709IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg
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    Image of Liz Mincin blogger and recipe developer behind Waiting for Blancmange.

    Hi, I'm Liz! I'm an American expat in the UK, with over 20 years experience baking and creating desserts. Taught tricks and tips by my mother and grandmothers, I'm sharing recipes and baking tips from my Italian American and Southern roots, along with a few British staples picked up from my time living across various regions in the UK.

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