Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
Carrot cake cinnamon rolls are a take on the commonly loved cinnamon rolled, with the addition of grated carrot into the dough. The carrots are adding liquids to the dough, as their water contents is 90%.
The filling I’ve chosen this time is crème frangipane- which is a combination of almond cream and pastry cream, at a 1:1 ratio.
This filling is moister and richer than the standard butter-cinnamon sugar filling. You are more than welcome taste the filling and adjust the sugar and cinnamon levels to your liking.
Update: I’m adding here another type of filling that is even better IMHO- pastry cream combined with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
The resulting dough is extremely soft and sticky, but fear not- if you dust your counter and the dough well, and slightly knead it with your hands, you’ll see how it turns from sticky to a very nice working consistency (a tablespoon of flour is enough to make this change). After baking, this pastry is as soft as a cloud… You are going to enjoy it lots!
First published:
Last modified:
Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls:
Equipment: Squared pan sized 15cm (l) x15cm (w) x7.5cm (h)- Lined with parchment paper.
Recipe: 4 Large individual rolls
Brioche Dough (about 500g):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Bread Flour | 250g |
| Eggs | 56g (1 Large sized egg) |
| Cold Unsalted Butter (cubed) | 22g |
| Salt | 1/4 + 1/8 tsps |
| White Granulated Sugar | 22g |
| Milk | 90g |
| Grated Carrots | 55g |
| Dry Yeasts | 1 + 1/4 tsps |
Pastry Cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Milk | 120g |
| Eggs | 27g (Half a Large sized egg) |
| White Granulated Sugar | 45g |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 tsp |
| Cornstarch | 8g |
| Unsalted Butter | 10g |
Almond Cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Eggs | 27g (Half a Large sized egg) |
| White Granulated Sugar | 30g |
| Softened Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature) | 30g |
| Almond Meal | 30g |
Crème Frangipane:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Pastry Cream | 120g |
| Almond Cream | 120g |
| Cinnamon | 3 tsps |
Updated Cinnamon Filling (Pastry Cream + Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture):
Pastry Cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Milk | 165g |
| Eggs | 35g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 35g |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 tsp |
| Cornstarch | 10g |
| Unsalted Butter | 35g |
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Brown Sugar (Demerara) | 80g |
| Dark Brown Sugar | 40g |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
| Cinnamon | 6g (3 tsps) |
| Almond Meal | 14g |
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Cream Cheese (30%) | 32g |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 60g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 8g |
| Vanilla Extract / Paste | 1 tsp |
Preparation instructions:
For the Dough:
Important note: the dough is very sticky and hard to work with as soon as it is done kneading. Therefore, it requires a long fermentation, preferably in the refrigerator overnight. Please take this into consideration when making your baking plans.
- Into a standing mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the dough’s ingredients, except for the butter cubes. Mix on low speed for a few minutes until a lump of dough is formed.
- Add the butter gradually, a few cubes at a time, waiting until the first cubes are incorporated before adding the next ones. After all the butter is added, continue kneading for 12 minutes on low-medium speed, until the dough pulls away cleanly from the bowl.
- Using a half-rounded cake card or a silicone spatula, collect the dough from the bowl and transfer it onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough and refrigerate it overnight.
Pastry Cream:
- In a small bowl, whisk together 40g of the milk and cornstarch, until smooth and without any lumps. Add the eggs and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, cook the remaining 80g of the milk with the sugar, and bring it to a simmer.
- Gradually temper the eggs mixture with the hot milk.
- Transfer the tempered mixture back into the saucepan, through a strainer to capture any cooked egg bits.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the cream is thickly bubbling.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract. Whisk well and transfer the cream to a clean bowl.
- Attach a plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream and allow it to cool down at room temperature for 1 hour. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours (the cream can be made one day in advanced).
Almond Cream:
- In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy.
- Gradually add the eggs and mix well to combine.
- Add the almond meal, mix to a smooth mixture and set to the side until use.
Crème Frangipane:
Mix the pastry cream and almond cream according to the measurements listed above, add the cinnamon and thoroughly mix until uniform. Taste-test and adjust the flavors as per your liking.
Cinnamon Filling Update:
Note that if you opt to make the new cinnamon filling for this recipe (Pastry cream with sugar-cinnamon mixture): The pastry cream preparation is the same, but the milk should be split so that 40g will go into the separate small bowl, and the rest of the 125g will go into the saucepan. The cinnamon-sugar mixture ingredients should be thoroughly mixed in a separate bowl.
Assembly and baking:
- On top of a lightly floured counter, place the dough and dust it with some more flour. Lightly knead the dough with your hands- you’ll see that it loses its stickiness and becomes nice to work with (1 tablespoon of flour should be sufficient in order for this to work). Roll the dough to a rectangle sized 36cm (l) x 24cm (w), with the wider side facing you.
- Evenly spread the entire amount of filling over the dough.
Cinnamon Filling Update: Note that if you opt to make the new cinnamon filling for this recipe (Pastry cream with sugar-cinnamon mixture): Evenly spread the pastry cream, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Flatten it lightly with your hands to adhere it to the pastry cream. This way it is less prone to scatter all around the place when rolling the pastry into rolls. - Using a pizza cutter, cut 6cm wide strips, and roll them from the bottom towards the top.
- Arrange the rolls inside the prepared cake pan. Cover and proof for 40 minutes at room temperature.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven set to 170C (fan mode off), with a baking rack placed in the lowest shelf inside the oven, for 35 minutes, until the pastries have browned.
- Beat the heavy cream with the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, until it reaches a stable piping consistency, and frost the pastries.
Storage: if the pastries are frosted, store in an airtight container, regrigerated for up to 5 days. Otherwise, they should be stored inside an airtight container at a cool room temperature (23-25C) for up to 4 days.
