Fluffy, sweet, and delicious eggless mocha cinnamon rolls that are easy to make with only 7 ingredients. these homemade cinnamon buns are filled with (vegan) butter, espresso powder, and cinnamon sugar. My favorite part yet? They are finished with an espresso glaze.

I recently have found a new love for mocha’s and baking with espresso powder! I mean, come on… how has it taken me this long to test the waters with coffee and chocolate inspired sweet treats!? So you know I had to attempt a cinnamon roll incorporating these flavors! Meet the new Mocha Cinnamon Roll!

These Mocha Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect thing to enjoy while sipping on a Homemade Mocha Latte! This will make your morning that much more enjoyable.

What is mocha

This is something I have asked myself for a while now.

Is mocha, coffee or chocolate? Or both?!

Mocha is both a sweet, nutty, and chocolatey flavor, but it is blended with espresso- to create a decadent drink.

But- let’s all be honest here…any tasty drink can be turned into a decadent dessert also!

So, hear me out; ‘mocha’ is essentially a good quality coffee made from Coffee Arabica- which was originally only grown in a part of Yemen called Mocha!

While you enjoy these chocolatey coffee cinnamon rolls- you could also try out this Mocha Coffee Cake, which will give you similar tastes but in a different dessert form!

Ingredients needed for the Mocha Cinnamon Roll

You won’t believe how few ingredients are needed to make these airy, fluffy and delicious cinnamon rolls! 

Between the dough and the filling, all that’s needed are 8 ingredients! And you might already have them all at home.

Mocha Cinnamon Roll Ingredients

  • Milk of choice– I prefer to use coconut milk.
  • Vegan Butter
  • Active Dry Yeast
  • Cane Sugar– divided
  • Apple Sauce– this is how I make this recipe vegan and not needing to use eggs
  • Salt
  • All Purpose Flour– If you are gluten free, you could try using Bobs Red Mill 1:1 Flour

Filling Ingredients

  • Vegan Butter– Room temp to be able to spread easily.
  • Brown Sugar
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Espresso Powder– You can use any fine ground espresso, I just cut open one of my Nespresso pods for this!
  • Cacao Powder

Mocha Icing

  • Powdered Sugar
  • Mocha Latte, or Milk (with dashes of espresso powder)

How to make mocha cinnamon roll step by step

You will begin by melting vegan butter in a pan on your stove top.
Melt the butter until it is fully liquified- keeping heat down low to ensure you don’t burn it.
Once the butter is melted, add milk to the butter.
Heat the milk and butter mixture until it’s warm
My mom’s top tip per her years of experience says 40 – 45 degrees Celsius, which is around 110 Fahrenheit.
Gently sprinkle in the yeast mixture next.
Then you will add in 1 tablespoon of the cane sugar
Let the yeast activate/ bloom for about 10 minutes. The yeast should be a bit foamy when ready. Then you will mix in the apple sauce and rest of the sugar.
Slowly add the flour to the milk mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon. Make sure to only add 1/2 cup of flour at a time.
Next you will add in the cacao powder and espresso powder, gently stirring it in with a wooden spoon
The dough should be shaggy and flaky.
The dough should appear sticky.
Form a round ball with the dough, put it in a large bowl.
Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap so no air gets in or out.

Note: Depending on the bowls you use, you can grease the bowl with a little bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.

 It may take longer depending on the temperature.

TIPS FOR PROVING THE Mocha CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH

*If it’s warm outside (80F or more), I let the dough rise outside in the sun. Just make sure it’s not windy, the dough likes an even temperature. Since it’s getting cold now, one trick I learned from my mom is to warm a pot of water (slightly warm, not hot to touch), and place the bowl on top of the pot. Just make sure it’s not touching the water. If you have a proving drawer attached to your oven, this is an excellent time to use it. 

Or you can turn the oven on for 150 F and once it reaches the temperature. Turn off the oven and place the bowl in the oven with the door open.

Optional step (according to my mom for ultra-soft and fluffy dough): After the first proving, knead the dough for a few minutes and repeat the rising step.

Let the cinnamon roll dough rise for about one hour in a warm place. The dough should double in size.
When you can pull the dough away from the bowl edges like this, it will be time to roll out the dough.

Ingredients for the Cinnamon Roll filling

In a bowl, you will mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cacao powder, and the espresso powder.
Stir until everything in the bowl is combined and looks golden brown.
Lightly powder a pastry mat, and place your dough on it, with a dusting of flour on top. Slowly begin rolling out the dough with a rolling pin
Roll the dough out into a rectangular shape (about 11 x14 inches)
Spread the room temperature butter on the dough with a brush, knife, or spoon.
Spread the sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly across the dough on top of the butter. 
From the longer side of the rectangular, start rolling the dough into a cylinder. Make sure to roll the dough tightly. 
Cut the dough into 9 even pieces using a sharp knife or unflavored wax floss.
Place the vegan cinnamon rolls with the cut side down in the greased baking dish.
Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rise for 20 – 30 minutes.
To make the mocha glaze- you will place powdered sugar in a glass bowl and mix with a mocha latte, or with milk and a few dashes of espresso powder.
Once thoroughly mixed, the consistency should be smooth and ready to drizzle on top of the mocha rolls

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST Mocha Cinnamon ROLLS

  • The temperature for rising the yeast should be 110F. I use a kitchen thermometer!
  • The temperature for proofing: my top tip learned from my mom is to warm a big pot of water and set the bowl with dough in the pot (without the bottom touching the water). Cover the bowl with a wrap then a pot cap to make sure no air escapes.
  • Mix 1 tbsp sugar in the butter milk mixture to let the yeast rise.
  • When adding flour, add ½ cup at a time while stirring with a wooden spoon.
  • Work the dough on a lightly floured surface. Last thing you want is to try to roll up the mocha rolls, but it’s sticking to the surface.

Ways to Enjoy Mocha Cinnamon Rolls

While I think these warm mocha rolls are PERFECT on their own- I do like to enjoy them with a cup of tea, or coffee!

If you like cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese frosting… I mean, who doesn’t!? Then you must make this Vegan Cashew Cream Frosting– you will be shocked there isn’t any dairy in it!

Enjoy!

What’s your favorite type of cinnamon roll? Share with us in a comment below!

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

Get the recipe:Mocha Cinnamon Rolls {Detailed Instruction}

Yield: 9
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 23 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Delicious Mocha Cinnamon Rolls for my coffee lovers! They are soft and fluffy, topped with mocha frosting, just to die for!
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Ingredients

Dough

  • 7 g active dry yeast
  • 3 cups 375g unbleached all purpose flour , (Plus additional flour for dusting)
  • 3 tbsp vegan butter, melted
  • 1 cup milk of choice
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 tbsp baking espresso powder

Filling

  • 3 tbsp vegan butter, room temp
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking espresso powder

Equipment

Instructions 

  • In a small pot, melt butter on the stovetop. When fully melted, add the milk to the butter. Heat the milk and butter mixture until it’s warm *.  Mix in 1 tbsp of granulated sugar.
  • Pour the milk mixture into a big mixing bowl. Once the milk reaches 110 F, sprinkle yeast across the milk mixture and let it activate/ bloom in a relatively warm area for about 10 minutes. The yeast should be foamy when ready.
  • Add the rest of the sugar and stir well to dissolve the sugar crystals.
  • Slowly add the flour mixed with espresso powder (1 cup at a time) to the milk mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon as you add more flour. The dough should be shaggy, flaky, and sticky. 
  • Once all the flour is added, knead the dough with your hands until all the flour is well incorporated. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes for the best result. The dough should be smooth and elastic. There should be no loose flour left in the bowl.
  • Form a round ball with the dough, and cover with plastic wrap so no air gets in or out. ** (depending on the bowl you use, you may need to lightly grease the bowl with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking).
  • Let the cinnamon roll dough rise for about one hour in a warm place. *** The dough should double in size.
  • Optional step (according to my mom for ultra-soft and fluffy dough): After the first proving, knead the dough for a few minutes and repeat the rising step once again. 
  • Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • Lightly flour a flat and smooth surface (pastry mat, marble slab, huge chopping board, or a clean kitchen counter). 
  • Roll the dough out into a rectangular shape (roughly about 11 x 14 inches)
  • Spread the room temperature butter on the dough with a brush, knife, or spoon. 
  • In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, espresso powder together.
  • Spread the mocha cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across the dough on top of the butter. 
  • From the longer side of the rectangular, start rolling the dough into a cylinder. Make sure to roll the dough tightly. 
  • Cut the dough into 9 even pieces using a sharp knife ****
  • Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. 
  • Place the cinnamon rolls with the cut side down in the greased baking dish. Place them with some space in between them so they will have space to rise and expand. 
  • Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rise for 20 – 30 minutes in a warm area. 
  • Remove the plastic wrap, brush extra melted vegan butter on top (optional), and bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 – 22 minutes or until golden brown on top.
  • Serve with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting or 2 ingredient vegan icing *****

Notes

* 40 – 45 degrees Celsius or 110 F. It should not be warm, but not hot to touch.) You can use a food thermometer.
** I usually add a fitting pot lid on top just to ensure there is no air can escape.
*** It may take more time depending on the temperature.
**** You can also use a pastry cutter (that usually comes with a pastry mat) or unflavored dental floss.
***** In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 – 3 tbsp milk of choice. (add more milk until it reaches your preferred consistency). Whisk together and drizzle on top of the cinnamon roll immediately.
For more tips check out the "How to Make" section in the post.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 267kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 70mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 15g

The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.

Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American