Fluffy Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
These fluffy red velvet cinnamon rolls are topped with a delicious cream cheese icing and are easy to make. They’re made from yeasted dough with tangy buttermilk, a hint of cocoa and topped with cream cheese frosting.
Wrapped in fluffy, lightly enriched dough, this red velvet cinnamon rolls recipe is inspired by red velvet cake. Red velvet cake has a deliciously tender crumb because of the use of acidic buttermilk.
It has a very light chocolate flavor. The red color in a red velvet cake originally comes from the red anthocyanin in natural cocoa, but red food coloring is often used nowadays.
These aren’t your classic cinnamon rolls, just with red color. They’ve got buttermilk in them, too, just like the cake, and a little cocoa. The buttermilk creates an extra tender dough. It’s rich in flavor, too, with a light tang.
Whether you’re a fan of sweet rolls or classic cinnamon rolls, this easy red velvet cinnamon roll recipe is bound to impress.
Ingredients
Find the ingredient amounts for these fluffy red velvet cinnamon rolls in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is what you’ll need.
Red velvet roll dough
- All-purpose flour. A strong all-purpose flour with a protein level of at least 11%.
- Natural or dutch processed cocoa powder
- Yeast. Active dry yeast or instant dry yeast. The yeast used in this recipe can be instant yeast or active dried yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dried yeast. Whichever one you use, it needs to be viable. Usually, the instant yeast sachets are pretty foolproof, but sometimes active dried yeast can lose viability.
- Granulated sugar. The dough itself doesn’t make overly sweet rolls, as the sweetness comes from the filling and topping.
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Buttermilk.
- Butter. This can be salted or unsalted butter.
Cinnamon filling
- Soft brown sugar
- Softened butter
- Ground cinnamon
Tangy cream cheese frosting
- Softened cream cheese
- Softened butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
How to make red velvet cinnamon rolls
In a small saucepan, warm the buttermilk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir the yeast and sugar into the buttermilk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 10 minutes until it becomes foamy; if using instant yeast, this step can be skipped.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder, then whisk well to remove any lumps of cocoa.
Add this to the stand mixer bowl along with eggs, vanilla, salt, and red food color.
Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix slowly until a thick dough forms.
Add in the softened butter a few cubes at a time.
Keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the dough pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
First rise
Once kneaded, form the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel.
Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around 1 to 1 ½ hours. The total time will depend on your room temperature.
Shaping
Grease or line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Punch down the risen dough, then pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large rectangle measuring around 12×16 inches (30cmx40cm).
In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the filling.
Use an offset spatula to spread this cinnamon sugar mixture out, leaving a one-inch border.
Roll the dough up from the long side into a long log.
Cut the log into 12 equal pieces using unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife.
Place the rolls into the prepared pan. Cover the pan and let the rolls rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F /180°C.
Bake the rolls in the oven for around 25-28 minutes until golden brown. If they are browning too fast, you can cover the top of the rolls loosely with aluminum foil.
Frosting
While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
Once the rolls have finished baking, let them cool in their tray for around 20-30 minutes before spreading the frosting.
Storing
Storing: Leftover red velvet rolls can store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing: They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw the rolls overnight in the refrigerator and warm them up in the microwave before serving.
Related recipes
For more good cinnamon roll recipes, check out these!
- Coffee cinnamon rolls
- Coffee cinnamon rolls
- Pumpkin cinnamon rolls
- Strawberry cinnamon rolls
- Chocolate cinnamon rolls
- Lemon poppy seed rolls
Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
These red velvet cinnamon rolls are extra soft and tender. They're made from yeasted dough with tangy buttermilk and a hint of cocoa.
Ingredients
Dough
- 225g (1 cup) buttermilk*
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 480g (4 cups*) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 18g (2 ½) Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-4 teaspoons of red food color
- 85g (6 Tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
Filling
- 100g (½ cup) soft brown sugar
- 45g (3 Tablespoons) softened butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 75g (2 ½ oz) cream cheese, softened
- 30g (2 Tablespoons) butter, softened
- 180g (1 ½ cups) confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, warm the buttermilk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir the yeast and sugar into the buttermilk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 10 minutes until it becomes foamy; if using instant yeast, this step can be skipped.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder, then whisk well to remove any lumps of cocoa.
- Add the flour and cocoa to the stand mixer bowl along with eggs, vanilla, salt, and red food coloring.
- Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix slowly until a thick dough forms.
- Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the dough pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
First rise
- Once kneaded, form the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around 1 to 1 ½ hours. The total time will depend on your room temperature. If your room is cold, you can create a warm spot for rising by placing the dough in a turned-off oven next to a mug of boiled water.
Shaping
- Grease or line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Punch down the risen dough, then pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large rectangle measuring around 12x16 inches (30cmx40cm).
- Mix the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl.
- Use an offset spatula to spread this mixture onto the dough, leaving a one-inch border.
- Roll the dough up from the long side into a long log.
- Cut the log into 12 equal pieces using unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife.
- Place the rolls into the prepared pan. Cover the pan and let the rolls rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F /180°C.
- Bake the risen rolls in the oven for around 25-28 minutes until golden brown. If they are browning too fast, you can cover the top of the rolls loosely with aluminum foil.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the confectioners' sugar. Beat low speed to incorporate the sugar, then switch to high and beat until creamy.
Frosting
- While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Once the rolls have finished baking, let them cool in their tray for around 20-30 minutes before spreading the frosting.
Notes
If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute it with 240g (1 cup) of whole milk. You may need to add a little extra flour in this case.
Note that the cup sizes given are US-sized, and this is smaller than metric cups. For best results, use grams.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 391Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 329mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 1gSugar: 28gProtein: 7g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
Can I make this the night before and just refrigerate before the second rise? Also can I substitute the buttermilk with 2% milk?
Heya yes you can do both those things 🙂