Vegan Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
19 January 2022 by Natanja
Soft, fluffy layers of pillowy dough filled with delicious spices: These vegan chai spiced cinnamon rolls are highly addictive!
In the mood for some comfort food? These ultra fluffy chai-spiced cinnamon rolls will get the job done! I pinky promise, that they are so amazing – nobody will be able to tell that they are vegan. While they need a bit of time to rise, they are easy to make and freeze well, so you can always have a few on hand when a sugar craving hits.
Chai Spice
For our rolls we are using this homemade chai spice mix. If you have a store-bought mix on hand, feel free to use that instead. My homemade version is heavy on the cinnamon, which makes these rolls similar to cinnamon rolls… but with a little extra oomph.
Tangzhong Method
While cinnamon rolls are super fluffy once they come out of the oven, they fairly quickly become tough and dry. Storing them longer is problematic because they dry out so fast, which isn’t great when you have a large batch on hand and not too much space in your freezer. Enter tangzhong – a Japanese method for cooking a small amount of flour with some liquid until you get a gelatinous mixture. When heated, the flour takes on a lot more liquid. Which in essence means, that by adding it to your dough, it will have a larger water content, making your dough springier and moister.
While rolls with tangzhong are still most enjoyable on the day they are baked, they keep a lot better than rolls without and are delicious on the second day as well.
Storing Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
You can either freeze any leftovers, or store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can freeze the rolls up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in foil and stored inside a container to prevent them from taking on flavors from other frozen food.
Make Ahead
You can prep your rolls (until step 4) the day before and bake the next morning to wake up to fresh rolls. Simply let your rolls rise the second time, then wrap the pan tightly in foil and store in the fridge until the next day. Allow them to warm up to room temperature while you preheat the oven.
FAQ
Q: Can I make these rolls without a stand mixer?
A: Yes you can, but get ready for a workout!
Q: Can I use another type of plant-based milk?
A: Yes, you can use any other type of milk. I prefer soy, as I find it gives the best texture.
Q: Why is there flour in the filling?
A: The flour helps prevent your filling from oozing out of the rolls as they bake. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste it.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to use vegan block butter, not margarine.
- Slice your rolls with unflavored dental floss – using a knife presses the dough down too much and your rolls won’t come out as round.
- Beware of the expiration date of your yeast. If your yeast isn’t active anymore, the dough won’t rise and you’ll end up with flat, tough rolls.
Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes (includes resting time)
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Description
Soft, fluffy layers of pillowy dough filled with delicious spices: These vegan chai spiced cinnamon rolls are highly addictive!
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 45 g all-purpose flour
- 225 ml soy milk
Dough
- 115 ml soy milk, chilled
- 400 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g white granulated sugar
- 7 g instant yeast
- pinch of salt
- 70 g vegan butter, softened
Filling
- 150 g fine brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons chai spice mix
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 90 g vegan butter, very soft
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, room temperature*
- 130 g powdered sugar
- 150 g vegan cream cheese –I used Violife, room temperature *
- 1/8 teaspoon chai spice mix (adjust to your taste)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add the flour and soy milk to a saucepan and – whisking continuously – cook on medium heat, until it becomes a thick paste. If you can see the bottom of the pot while whisking, your mixture is done.
Dough
- Add the tangzhong and cold soy milk to the bowl of your stand-mixer. Then add the rest of the ingredients for the dough.
- With the stand-mixer fitted with the dough hook, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly tacky but pull away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough is a bit too dry, add a tablespoon of soy milk, if it is too tacky add a bit more flour, one tablespoon at a time.
- Remove it from the bowl and knead it by hand for a minute.
- Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 ½-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. (I set my oven to the plate warming setting with the lowest temperature (30C) and turn it off once it’s reached the correct temperature. Then I place the bowl into the oven and close the door.)
- Once your dough has risen, give it a punch to knock out the air and knead it a few times.
Filling
- Combine the brown sugar, chai spice mix, flour and salt. Grease a casserole pan with a bit of vegan butter.
- Roll out your dough to a rectangle of 30 x 45 cm (12 x 18 inches) on a floured surface.
- Spread the softened butter onto the dough, leaving a bit of an edge. Then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Press the mixture down with your rolling pin.
Rolls
- Tightly roll the dough up from one of the long sides. Trim away the ends.
- Slice into 12 even pieces – this works best with unflavored dental floss – and place into the prepared baking dish.
- Let the rolls rise once more for about 1 hour in a warm place, covered with a clean dish towel.
- Either store in the fridge – wrapped tightly with foil and bake the next morning or preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the middle of the rolls reads 90 C (194 F).
- Let the rolls cool before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter, cream cheese and chai spice to a bowl. Sift the powdered sugar on top and beat with an electric hand mixer until well combined.
Notes
*It’s important that your butter and vegan cream cheese are at room temperature, otherwise your mixture could split.
I omitted cup measurements for this recipe as it is crucial for these rolls to measure the ingredients precisely.
Keywords: chai spiced cinnamon rolls, chai spiced rolls, vegan chai spiced rolls, vegan cinnamon rolls with chai spice
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Tagged With: chai, chai spiced rolls, cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls, vegan chai spiced cinnamon rolls, vegan chai spiced rolls
Filed Under: Breads, Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Uncategorized, Winter & Christmas Recipes