Gingerbread cinnamon rolls – these delicious vegan cinnamon rolls are flavoured with ginger and treacle making them a delicious, Christmassy version of the classic treat. Perfect for a special breakfast or brunch.
Ginger is one of my favourite spices, maybe even more so than cinnamon; even better when the two are combined such as with these amazing vegan gingerbread cinnamon rolls!
These are soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls with a fiery ginger and cinnamon sugar filling and a sweet, ginger spiked drizzle to finish. They are sweet, sticky and utterly irresistible!
The dough is made with dark brown sugar and treacle which give it a lovely depth of flavour, just like gingerbread. For an extra fiery kick I added a scattering of chopped crystallised ginger to the filling.
You can use stem ginger instead or omit it altogether if you don’t have either of those but I do love the extra burst of warmth and flavour it provides!
These vegan gingerbread cinnamon rolls would be perfect for a festive breakfast or brunch, or to snack on whilst watching the fireworks on bonfire night!
How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
To make the dough, mix white bread flour, instant yeast, salt and dark brown soft sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir to combine.
Add lukewarm non-dairy milk (soy is best), melted vegan block butter and some treacle or molasses and mix to form a rough dough.
Knead with the stand mixer on a high speed for about 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. The dough should be soft and sticky, don’t be tempted to add more flour as this can result in dry cinnamon rolls.
If you don’t have a stand mixer it can be kneaded by hand on a lightly oiled surface but it is quite a messy job and a bench scraper will come in handy.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in size – about 1-2 hours.
For the filling, mix together light brown soft sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a bowl and set aside.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and give it a brief thirty second knead to knock out any air bubbles.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to an approx 30×45 cm / 12×18 inch rectangle then spread softened vegan butter evenly over the surface.
Scatter over the ginger cinnamon sugar mixture and press it down gently. Scatter over some chopped crystallised/stem ginger.
Roll the dough up tightly from one of the long edges into a sausage then use a sharp knife to slice the roll into twelve even slices.
Arrange them cut side down in a 23cm/9inch square tin or a 25cm round skillet lined with baking parchment.
Cover loosely and set aside to rise for about 1 hour until nice and puffy. If you press one gently the dough should spring back slowly. If it springs back quickly then they need a little bit longer. While they are rising preheat the oven.
At this point you can also place them in the fridge to rise overnight (straight after shaping them – don’t leave them to rise then refrigerate them). The following morning, let them come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they are puffy (preheat the oven in the meantime) and bake as normal.
Once the buns have risen, bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 94C/201F on a probe thermometer; this is the best way to tell when they are ready, you don’t want to be eating raw bread dough!
Cover them loosely with tin foil partway through baking if the tops start to colour too much.
Leave the cinnamon rolls to cool in the tin for about half an hour then carefully lift them out using the baking parchment and place on a wire rack.
To make the ginger glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in some syrup from a jar of stem ginger and enough lemon juice or milk to form a thick but pourable glaze.
Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the buns and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two days.
Can I Make These Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls In Advance?:
These rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but they will be good for another couple of days, particularly if you warm them up for 10 seconds in the microwave before you eat them.
If you want to serve them for breakfast but you don’t want to have to wait hours and hours, you can follow the recipe as written until you have shaped the buns and placed them in the baking tin/skillet. Cover them loosely and place in the fridge to rise overnight.
The following morning, remove them from the fridge and let them come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they are puffy then bake them.
Can I Freeze Them?:
Yes, the baked gingerbread cinnamon rolls can be frozen. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in the microwave for 10-20 seconds before serving.
Top Tips:
- Make sure that you use a foil wrapped block vegan butter rather than the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.
- Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
- You can make these gingerbread cinnamon rolls all in one day or you can break the work up a bit by preparing the rolls in the evening and placing them in the fridge to rise overnight then baking them in the morning once they have come up to room temperature.
- The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
- You can add some chopped nuts or dried fruit to the filling if you like.
- The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- The gingerbread cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but any leftovers will still be good the next day; especially if you warm them up a bit before serving.
More Vegan Ginger Recipes:
No-bake chocolate stem ginger tart
Chocolate gingerbread biscuits
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Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls (Vegan)
Gingerbread cinnamon rolls - these delicious vegan cinnamon rolls are flavoured with ginger and treacle making them a delicious, Christmassy version of the classic treat. Perfect for a special breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 450 g (3 + 3/4 cups) white bread flour
- 8 g (2 1/4 tsp) fast action/instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 40 g (1/4 cup) dark brown soft sugar
- 250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best)
- 60 g (1/4 cup) vegan block butter melted and cooled slightly
- 50 g (2 Tbsp) treacle or molasses
Filling:
- 120 g (2/3 cup) light brown soft sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 60 g (1/4 cup) softened vegan butter
- 55 g (2 oz) chopped crystallised ginger/candied ginger/stem ginger
Glaze:
- 130 g (1 + 1/4 cups) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 Tbsp syrup from a jar of stem ginger
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice or milk
Instructions
-
To make the dough, add the bread flour, instant yeast, salt and dark brown soft sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir to combine.
-
Add the milk, melted vegan block butter and treacle or molasses and mix to form a rough dough.
-
Knead with the stand mixer on a high speed for about 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. The dough should be soft and sticky, don’t be tempted to add more flour as this can result in dry cinnamon rolls.
If you don’t have a stand mixer it can be kneaded by hand on a lightly oiled surface but it is quite a messy job and a bench scraper will come in handy.
-
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in size – about 1-2 hours.
-
For the filling, mix together the light brown soft sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a bowl and set aside.
-
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and give it a brief thirty second knead to knock out any air bubbles.
-
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to an approx 30×45 cm / 12×18 inch rectangle then spread the softened vegan butter evenly over the surface. Scatter over the ginger cinnamon sugar mixture and press it down gently. Scatter over the chopped crystallised/stem ginger.
-
Roll the dough up tightly from one of the long edges into a sausage then use a sharp knife to slice the roll into twelve even slices. Arrange them cut side down in a 23cm/9inch square tin or a 25cm round skillet lined with baking parchment.
-
Cover loosely and set aside to rise for about 1 hour until nice and puffy. If you press one gently the dough should spring back slowly. If it springs back quickly then they need a little bit longer. While they are rising preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
At this point you can also place them in the fridge to rise overnight (straight after shaping them - don't leave them to rise then refrigerate them). The following morning, let them come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they are puffy (preheat the oven in the meantime) and bake as normal.
-
Once the buns have risen, bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 94°C/201°F on a probe thermometer. Cover them loosely with tin foil partway through baking if the tops start to colour too much.
-
Leave the cinnamon rolls to cool in the tin for about half an hour then carefully lift them out using the baking parchment and place on a wire rack.
-
To make the ginger glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in the ginger syrup and enough lemon juice or milk to form a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the buns and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two days.
Recipe Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- Make sure that you use a foil wrapped block vegan butter rather than the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.
- Make sure that your yeast hasn't expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn't rise.
- You can make these gingerbread cinnamon rolls all in one day or you can break the work up a bit by preparing the rolls in the evening and placing them in the fridge to rise overnight then baking them in the morning once they have come up to room temperature.
- The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
- You can add some chopped nuts or dried fruit to the filling if you like.
- The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- The gingerbread cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but any leftovers will still be good the next day; especially if you warm them up a bit before serving.
