Homemade Orange Rolls are the perfect twist on a classic cinnamon roll. These are soft and fluffy sweet rolls, filled with a chocolate orange filling. Once baked, they get finished with an orange cream cheese icing. Overnight option included in the instructions!
Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these Orange rolls with you! I tested this recipe way back before we moved home from NYC, and found it in my backlog recently. They are too good not to share!
These orange rolls use the same dough as my small batch cinnamon roll dough, which I also use to make donuts (we love a versatile girl).
I rolled out the dough and filled it with a super easy chocolate orange filling. Once they are baked, they get finished with a cream cheese orange icing. Just the best.
This is a small batch baking recipe and makes 6 rolls, but you can easily double it to make 12! You do you here. I have included options for an overnight rise too if that's more of your thing - either way, you'll have delicious, fluffy orange rolls.
How is this recipe different from cinnamon rolls?
While this recipe uses the same dough as my small batch cinnamon roll recipe, the filling and frosting are different (plus there's no cinnamon).
They are an orange sweet roll, filled with a chocolate orange filling. I love these as they are a super fun twist on the classic cinnamon roll, and the orange just compliments the dark chocolate filling so, so well.
Can I make these a regular sized batch?
Yes, that works fine! Just double the dough, filling, and frosting recipe, and follow the rolling dimensions in my brown butter cinnamon roll recipe.
Why don't all the ingredients go in at once for the dough?
When you make an enriched dough like this brioche, which means that it has eggs and butter in it, you want to develop the gluten before adding the fat to the dough, in this case the butter.
Fat coats the gluten in the dough, and so you want to develop some dough strength before adding the fat. I tested it both ways during the recipe testing process - both with melted butter and incorporating softened butter and found the dough was much more pliable and easy to work with when incorporating softened butter once the dough had a chance to gain some strength.
How to get clean cuts on sweet rolls
There are a few methods to get a clean cut on cinnamon rolls / sweet rolls like these orange rolls. I usually like to use a bread knife or a similar serrated knife, as I find that it gives the cleanest cut, however for these orange rolls I prefer to use dental floss to give a clean cut on them as the filling can be messy.
To cut rolls with dental floss, measure out your rolls with a ruler, then using a clean piece of unflavoured floss or twine, place it under the log of dough, bring up either side, and cross over to cut the rolls.
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Soft and Fluffy Orange Rolls
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: cinnamon rolls
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Homemade Orange Rolls are the perfect twist on a classic cinnamon roll. These are soft and fluffy sweet rolls, filled with a chocolate orange filling. Once baked, they get finished with an orange cream cheese icing. Overnight option included in the instructions!
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 290g All-purpose flour
- 30g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (3.1g) instant yeast
- ½ tsp (2g) salt
- 120g whole milk, lukewarm
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (50g not including shell), lightly whisked
- 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Chocolate Orange Filling
- 175g dark chocolate, chopped
- 75g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge is fine
- Pinch of salt
- 10g orange zest
- 60g powdered sugar, sifted
Orange Icing
- 100g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 125g powdered sugar, sifted
- 30g orange juice
- 5g orange zest
Instructions
BRIOCHE DOUGH
- Place all ingredients except for the butter into a medium bowl. Bring together into a rough dough, then turn out onto a work surface (do not add more flour).
- Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. It will start off as very rough, then will come together and become smooth and elastic, and when pressed lightly with a finger, the dough should spring back slightly.
- Flatten the dough out into a rough rectangle and add the butter to the surface of the dough. This part will get sloppy, so make sure that you have a bench scraper nearby. Incorporate the butter into the dough by squeezing it and kneading it in. Keep scraping any excess butter back onto the dough and kneading it in. Don’t freak out. It will all work together.
- Once the butter has incorporated into the dough, knead for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and then transfer to a lightly buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Leave to sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to kick start the rising process, then transfer to the fridge to rise for at least two hours, and up to overnight.
FILLING
- Place the chocolate and butter into a medium heat proof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the bowl does not touch the water, and heat, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate have melted and the mixture is smooth. Alternatively this step can be done in the microwave - microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between.
- Remove from the heat and add the salt, orange zest, and powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
ASSEMBLY
- Grease and line an Eighth sheet pan or small rectangular pan - 9X6.5" (24x16cm). Alternatively you can roll the dough to 14" (35cm) square and cut into 9 rolls and arrange in a 20cm square pan.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat out into a rectangle, then roll into a rectangle measuring 12X14" (30x35cm)
- Spread the chocolate orange filling over the surface of the dough.
- Starting with the short side of the dough, roll up the dough into a tight sausage shape. Trim the ends if desired. Using unflavoured dental floss or a bread knife, cut the log of dough into 6 equal rolls. I like to cut the log into 2 and then divide each section in 3.
- Arrange into the prepared pan.
- Leave in a warm spot to rise until the rolls are puffy and when lightly pressed with a finger, an indentation that springs back slightly is left. This should take around 45 minutes to an hour, but will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.
- While the rolls are proofing, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°c
- Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, or until deeply golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes or so before icing with the cream cheese frosting
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese in a bowl with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar orange juice, and orange zest, and mix to combine. Spread over the warm orange rolls.
Notes
If you want to make the dough in a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment and use the same method - bring together the dough, knead until developed, then add the butter and incorporate.
I baked these orange rolls in an eighth sheet pan. This is half the size of a quarter sheet pan (the ⅛ pan is about 6.5x9") and is super cute and a fun size. I use one for my mini funfetti cake and my mini chocolate cake if you get one and need more uses for it! Using an eighth sheet pan gives you 6 'regular' sized orange rolls.
Alternatively you can make these orange rolls in an 8" pan instead and cut into 9 slightly smaller rolls like I do with my small batch cinnamon rolls. Dimensions for this are in the recipe.
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant?
Yes, if you want to use active dry yeast, this will work - you will just need to activate it first. Use the same amount that is called for in the recipe, but combine the lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl and leave until the yeast is foamy then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Comments
Stacy says
The best!
Caribou says
These are delicious and came together really quickly.
Rich says
There is an error in the recipe: what is the correct amount of dark chocolate? Recipe just says "175"
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, sorry about that! it's grams 🙂 It's almost always grams!
Caralyn says
This dough is a dream to work with! And makes the lightest fluffiest buns, I’ll definitely be using this a base for many other recipes as well
James says
Thank you so much for making a rolls recipe that doesn't require a stand mixer. I've been scouring the Internet for recipes for sweet rolls with fruit filling, but I don't like chocolate orange and would prefer to make these just orange - would I just omit the chocolate without making any other change, or should I add more orange zest/butter/etc to the filling to compensate?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Hmmmm I would do like a butter / sugar / orange zest filling! I haven't tried it so you'll have to just play around with it
GEOFFREY CARTWRIGHT says
Enjoyed. Making it for a second time.
Nicki says
Can I double the recipe for 12, and then use a 9x13 in pan? Sorry if this is a dumb question- someone once told me that you can’t always double when baking bread 🙂 and I’m a beginner! Thanks 🙂
Erin Clarkson says
Yep for this you can! Follow the rolling out dimensions for my brown butter cinnamon rolls 🙂
Hanna says
I have baked these rolls countless times. Sometimes even with a different filling, that I made up with the stuff I had in my pantry.
It was always a success.
Thank you for your meticulous work!! Baking in grams is best!! 😉
Greetings from Germany!
Krouse says
These are unreal. So delicious and easy. I used my mixer so it did all the hard work.