Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls – Gretchen’s Vegan Bakery

Once you taste these Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

You will never eat another “regular” cinnamon bun again!
Stuffed with buttery molasses gingerbread cake!
These buns are my new favorite obsession!

Fluffy giant bakery style buns are seriously the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted!

You will see that I add banana puree to my dough this time, however no banana taste will come through to the final buns
But it is what contributes to the super fluffy, soft & light as air rolls!

Rolled up with crumbled up gingerbread cake and melted vegan butter

And of course all the gingerbread spices in every bite!

A light sugar glaze was a last minute decision because my original idea was to slather these buns with cream cheese icing!

But honestly these Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls don’t need too much icing since they are just too perfect by themselves!

I will warn you in advance that gingerbread cinnamon rolls are quite dangerous! Especially hot out of the oven!

Warm gooey buns oozing with gingerbread in every bite!

NOTE FOR AM BAKERS:

Yeast recipes takes several hours from start to finish but there is a work around so you can divide this recipe into two days
By refrigerating the formed scrolls in the pan, covered overnight the yeast activation gets retarded by a long proofing overnight in the refrigerator
And then you can pick up where you left off in the morning for the second proofing

The only thing to be aware of if you are doing the two-day method is that in the morning when you take them out of the refrigerator
They must come to room temperature before they will really start to puff and fluff and this can take almost 2 hours
Once they proof to fluffy and puffy you can then bake them which can be another 40 minutes or more
So this can still prove to be more time spent waiting in the long run

Notes for Success:

The only real caveat to this entire recipe is that you will have to make the gingerbread cake ahead of time
But you can honestly use any cake recipe you have in the freezer just be sure to load it up with extra gingerbread spices for the schmear!
If I was using vanilla cake for example I would use 3 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon cloves
With a couple additional tablespoons of molasses added to the melted butter for the schmear!

In the video and in the directions listed below you will see I have what is called a “prebake glaze”
Tthis is an optional step but I like to add even more molasses taste to mine before baking

As with any bread and yeast dough recipe the amount of flour being used will vary based on a few variables
Often times in humid climates you will need much less flour than places that have drier and cooler temperatures
It is important to get a feel for making dough to determine if you will need to add more or not.

The banana for this recipe is best when using frozen bananas that are thawed to a puree
Since fresh mashed bananas do not have the consistency that a frozen thawed banana does and this will make a difference in your final dough
Applesauce or pumpkin puree can be used instead

CLICK HERE FOR HOW TO MAKE  BANANA PUREE

For those who cannot get molasses you can sub in dark corn syrup, maple syrup, golden syrup.
While all of those sugars are similar in that they liquid sugars and add sweetness to your recipe
Note that molasses is the only one that imparts a true depth of smoky rich flavor classic to gingerbread recipes in addition to the sweetness.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR HOW TO GINGERBREAD CINNAMON ROLLS

Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

Once you taste these Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls you will never eat another “regular” cinnamon bun again! Stuffed with buttery molasses gingerbread cake! These buns are my new favorite obsession!

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Inactive Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Ingredients  

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For the Bun Dough:

• 1½ cups Warm Plant Milk *approx 115°F (360ml)
• ½ cup Softened Vegan Butter (113g)
• ¼ cup Granulated Sugar (50g)
• 3 teaspoon Dry Yeast
• 1 cup Banana Puree (240g)
• 6-7 cups All Purpose Flour *see notes (750-875g)
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 teaspoon Salt

For the Gingerbread Filling:

• 2 cups gingerbread cake crumbles
• 4 Tbs Light Brown Sugar (50g)
• 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 4 Tbs Vegan Butter (56g)
• 3 teaspoon Molasses (15ml)

For the optional Pre-Bake Glaze

• 2 Tbs Vegan Butter (28g)
• 1 Tbs Molasses (15ml)

For the Icing Glaze:

• 2 cups Confectioners Sugar (240g)
• 2 Tbs Plant Milk (30ml)

Instructions 

• First you must prepare the gingerbread cake recipe as per the instructions on that post but not he icing unless of course you prefer to have cream cheese icing for your finished buns rather than the glaze recipe listed

• Once the cake is baked & cooled, make the gingerbread filling by crumbling the cake with the brown sugar & all the spices listed for the gingerbread filling into a large mixing bowl, mix by hand or with a whisk~ reserve (*this can be done a week ahead of time & refrigerated or frozen until needed)

• Combine the other measure of vegan butter listed with the “filling ingredients” with the molasses & heat to melt the butter & whisk smooth with the molasses~ reserve

• To Make the Dough: Grease a 9″ X 13″ X 2″ cake pan *No parchment paper liner!

• Combine the yeast with the warm milk & a pinch of sugar ~ let stand for 5 minutes

• In a mixing bowl combine the flour with the nutmeg, sugar & salt, stir to distribute well

• Add the milk with the yeast, the banana puree & the softened butter then add all of the sifted dry ingredients on top of that.

• Mix with the dough hook ~ you may need to help it along with a spatula until it forms a soft mass, then let it knead for 5 minutes on medium speed to develop the doughAdd more flour to adjust the consistency as needed *see video demonstration

• Turn mixer speed to low & mix for another 3 minutes

• Once it is to desired consistency and properly kneaded for a total of about 8 minutes You will notice in the video I said “you want a dough that doesn’t clear the sides of the bowl” I meant to say “One that DOES clear the sides of the bowl” Sorry!

• Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl covered & let rise to double in a warm spot

• Roll out the doubled dough on a lightly floured surface to 12″ x 18″ & about ¼” thick

• Brush with the melted butter/molasses & then spread evenly with the brown sugar & cake crumbles spice mixture

• Roll up the dough jelly roll style with the wider edge towards you, then cut into desired portions ~ cutting the log into 12 pieces for giant bakery size buns

• Place them into the prepared 9″ x 13″ pan

• Cover loosely and let rise again covered in a warm spot. approximately 60 minutes depending on the conditions in your area *Or for AM bakers this is where you would refrigerate overnight *see notes

• Once they are light and fluffy & puffy and almost doubled in size & the buns are touching each other, brush gently with the “prebake glaze” *optional

• Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes, then I like to turn the temperature down to 325°F for another 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your buns

• While the buns are baking you can prepare the glaze icing by combining the sifted confectioners sugar with the plant milk & whisk smooth

• Once the buns are out of the oven & cooled just slightly pour the glaze over the hot buns in the pan & spread over the buns evenly

Notes

Be sure to read all the lengthy Notes for Success section above this recipe section!
Storage Like all yeast recipes these gingerbread cinnamon buns will go stale before they go “bad” I keep mine wrapped well at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can freeze the finished buns (wrapped well) for up to 1 month
Thaw for an hour or two on the counter and then rewarm in a low oven to serve