Not-Your-Grandma’s Chocolate Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

When I was growing up, my nanny often made us grandkids chocolate rolls, replacing the cinnamon in cinnamon rolls with cocoa powder. As a kid addicted to chocolate, they were naturally one of my favorite things. I wanted to recreate this nostalgic dessert and modernize it using browned butter, dark chocolate, and a Japanese technique called Tangzhong. This is when you cook a small portion of the flour and liquid in your bread recipe to create a thick paste. This allows the starches in the dough to absorb more liquid, resulting in fluffy, moist, soft rolls that stay fresher longer. Topped with an orange cream cheese icing, these are truly divine sweet rolls.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

INGREDIENTS

Tangzhong

  • 170 g whole milk (¾ cup minus 1 tbsp)

  • 36 g bread flour (¼ cup)

Dough

  • 226 g whole milk, cold (1 cup)

  • 450 g bread flour (3 cups + 1 tbsp)

  • 9 g salt (2 ¼ tsp)

  • 11 g instant yeast (1 tbsp)

  • 37 g sugar (2 tbsp + 2 ½ tsp)

  • 85 g unsalted butter, room temp (6 tbsp)

Chocolate Filling

  • 113 g unsalted butter (1 stick)

  • 25 g unsweetened natural or dutch process cocoa powder (¼ cup)

  • 142 g light brown sugar (¾ cup, packed)

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 4 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped (between 60-70% cacao)

Orange Cream Cheese Icing

  • 8 oz cream cheese block, room temp

  • 56 g unsalted butter, room temp (4 tbsp)

  • 33 g powdered sugar (¼ cup)

  • ¼ tsp orange zest (from about ¼ of an orange)

  • 1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract

  • Pinch salt

DIRECTIONS

Make the Tangzhong

  1. Combine the milk and flour in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick and paste-like (around 2 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Make the Dough

  1. Place the Tangzhong in the stand mixer bowl. Add all dough ingredients except the butter. Mix with a spatula to roughly combine ingredients (dough will be shaggy).

  2. Place the bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and knead on low speed. Continue mixing until the dough passes the windowpane test, approximately 12-15 minutes (take a small piece of the dough, stretch it with your fingers, and see if you can see light through without it tearing).

  3. With the mixer on low, add softened butter in 3 stages. Continue mixing until the butter is fully incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. You’ll likely need to pause occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl and press the butter in. At first, the butter will only coat the outside of the dough, but eventually, it will incorporate.

  4. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased, large bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise until about doubled in size (around an hour and a half).

Make the Filling

  1. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir often until butter foams, then browns, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in cocoa powder. Mix in light brown sugar and salt and set aside to cool.

Shape the Rolls

  1. Line a 9” x 13” pan with parchment and butter all sides.

  2. On a lightly floured surface, turn out your risen dough and roll into about a 20” x 12” rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough in an even layer, then top with chopped chocolate. Starting on the long edge, tightly roll up the dough into a log. Using a sharp, serrated knife, trim off both ends. Then, using your knife or preferably unflavored dental floss, cut into 12 equal rounds (approx. 1 ½ inch each). If using floss, slide floss underneath the log, then cross over each end and pull through. Place rolls in prepared pan, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes until puffed up.

Make the Icing

  1. Meanwhile, make the icing either by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If hand mixing, mix with a spatula until everything is incorporated, then whisk well to incorporate a bit of air. If using a stand mixer, mix all ingredients on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, 2-5 minutes.

Bake & Serve

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls until they get a slight color on top, 25-30 minutes. If you have a kitchen thermometer, their interior temperature should be 190°F. Let rolls cool for at least 10 minutes, then spread with icing.

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

  • To be precise and consistent when baking, I recommend using a Digital Food Scale. The one I linked is relatively inexpensive and in my opinion, a great investment for any home kitchen! But if you don’t have one, I’ll always include cup measurements as well.

  • These rolls, like cinnamon rolls, can have some filling leakage when baked. To prevent this, you can pinch one side of the rolls shut (so the dough covers up the filling spiral). Place this side down in your pan and all the filling will remain inside the roll as it bakes.

  • Store chocolate rolls at room temperature, covered, for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

  • In this recipe, I used King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein). You don’t need to use this specific brand, but make sure it is high-protein bread flour.

  • To make these rolls overnight, I recommend completing all steps through shaping the rolls. Once you place the rolls in your prepared pan, allow them to proof at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then cover and put in the fridge overnight. To bake in the morning, set out rolls for 20-30 minutes and then follow the same baking instructions.