Eggless Cinnamon Rolls
Bakery store quality eggless cinnamon rolls recipe. They have a soft pillowy dough with a gooey center and delicious sugar glaze. They require an overnight rest to get their perfect airy texture.
Cinnamon rolls are the ultimate breakfast, brunch, or dessert. They consist of fluffy and buttery brioche bread, with layers of deliciously fragrant and comforting cinnamon flavor. To top it off, we use sugar glaze that will take you to the frosted bliss. This combination of flavors and textures is just super comforting.
You won’t be bale to tell that you are eating vegan cinnamon rolls, they taste just like the traditional recipes. We’ve been experimenting with making brioche bread without eggs for a while, and it turns out that they do not add much to the texture or flavor. Here is a recipe for our trusted The Best Vegan Brioche Buns.
This is a bakery-store-quality recipe for brioche cinnamon rolls. The dough is incredibly airy and almost laminated. We included images below where we’ve cut a roll in half to see the inside – all the little bubbles are indicators of fluffiness and high-quality dough.
We’d often make these eggless cinnamon rolls ahead and then store them in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight, so we can eat them while they are still fresh, warm, and sticky for brunch. This is particularly convenient for when we have visitors.
Table of Contents
Cinnamon rolls varieties
Cinnamon rolls originated in Germany and Sweden and were brought to the US by Europeans. In Europe, we normally use royal icing (which is powdered sugar with a little bit of butter and milk), whereas, in the US, it is more common to use cream cheese frosting, as the topping. True to our roots, we prefer the royal icing for its flavor, texture, how it cracks when you start eating it, and the sugar rush it gives us afterward.
For more eggless, vegan desserts and sweet brunch options, you may want to see our Easy Vegan Plum Crumble, Mini Apple Strudel, and 10-Minute Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse.
Ingredients for Eggless cinnamon rolls
- Flour – Use all-purpose or white flour for baking.
- Soy milk – We prefer soy milk for baking, but you can substitute any plant milk of your choice.
- Dry yeast – Essential for achieving the fluffiest and airiest cinnamon rolls.
- Caster sugar – Fine white sugar ensures the best texture.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness of the cinnamon rolls.
- Brown sugar – Adds hints of caramel to the filling.
- Butter – We use vegan butter in a block, not a tube, as tub butter contains more water, which may affect the texture. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Enhances the cinnamon flavor with an extra layer of depth.
- Cinnamon powder – Any type of powdered cinnamon will work; we prefer Ceylon.
- Icing sugar – An essential ingredient for royal icing.
The process and keys to success
Making the eggless cinnamon rolls dough
- Step 1: To give the dough a head start in rising, make the starter dough. It is important to heat up the soy milk to 35- 37 degrees C / 95 F. Any higher temperature and you’ll ruin the yeast. This is then left to rise for cca 20 minutes.
- Step 2: After the starter has doubled in size, make the dough. It’s crucial to slowly incorporate the butter knobs, only add another piece of butter when the previous one has been incorporated.
- Step 3: Let the dough rise for an hour at room temperature. The dough should be covered with a cloth, or in dry conditions with cling foil.
- Step 4: Roll out the dough in a rectangular shape, cover it, and let it rest in the fridge for another 20 minutes. Cooling the dough will make it easier to work in the next step.
Making & baking the rolls
- Step 5: Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter until a paste has formed. This does not need to be particularly fluffy – you need equal distribution of the ingredients, so you do not need to mix it for a long time.
- Step 6: Spread out the cinnamon filling on the entire surface of the chilled dough.
- Step 7: Roll the dough from the longer side of the rectangle. Don’t roll the roulade very tight because the buns will rise, which will fill any empty spaces.
- Step 8: Make gentle marks, dividing the roulade into 12 equally thick pieces
- Step 9: Cut through the roulade with a sowing string, at the spot where you made the mark, so you get 12 separate pieces. Each piece will become a cinnamon bun once baked and frosted.
- Step 10: Place the rolls in a lightly greased baking tray, sized 34 X 24 cm (cca 9 x 13 inch) and pop this in the fridge overnight. You’ll need to take the bunns out a few hours in advance of baking them, allowing them to warm up to room temperature.
- Step 11: Bake the buns at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes.
Glazing
- Step 12: When the rolls are nearly done, make the royal icing. It should be quite thick. A few minutes after you’ve taken them out from the oven and while still warm, pour the royal icing over the buns.
Storage Tips
These eggless cinnamon rolls freeze perfectly, both just before they are ready to bake, and after they have been baked.
Freezing Brioche cinnamon rolls before baking
You can freeze them before baking for up to three months. Just make sure to take them out of the freezer in time for them to come to room temperature before baking – we get the best results if we defrost them overnight.
Freezing Brioche cinnamon rolls after baking
You can freeze the buns after they have been baked. To thaw, simply pop them in the microwave for a few seconds until they are warm. For a freshly baked taste and feel, add a touch of extra icing once warmed.
Similar recipes and resources
- Easy Vegan Plum Crumble
- Nettle cookies with matcha icing
- Mini apple strudel
- Read about the history of Cinnamon rolls here.
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Happy cooking, and thank you for stopping by!
Eggless cinnamon rolls
Equipment
- 1 Baking tray 34 X 24 cm (cca 9 x 13 inch)
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Stand mixer with hook attachment
- 1 Medium bowls
- 1 Offset spatula
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Measuring spoon
Ingredients
Starter
- 60 grams flour
- 120 grams soy milk
- 12 grams dry yeast
Brioche dough
- 480 grams white flour for baking
- 200 grams soy milk any other milk will do
- 80 grams sugar
- 5 grams salt
- 1 starter from above
- 15 grams vanilia extract
- 120 grams butter at room temperature we used vegan, non salted butter
Cinnamon filling
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon powder Ceylon cinnamon
- 114 grams butter we used vegan, non salted butter
Royal icing
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons soy milk any other milk will do
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups icing sugar
Instructions
The starter
- Heat up the soy milk until it has reached 35- 37 degrees Celsius (95 Farenheit) – do not overheat, or you will ruin the yeast.
- Mix together all the starter ingredients in a bowl and set aside for about 20 minutes, until the starter has risen to about doubble of its size.
The dough
- In a stand mixer with a hook attachment, mix the four, starter, soy milk, sugar, salt and vanilla until the dough has formed.
- Then slowly add the butter in small pieces. Add a few at a time, and only add new ones when the previous have incorporated. The dough will look quite moist at this point, but don’t worry and continue mixing on medium high speed for a few more minutes until a silky dough has formed, and until it has stopped sticking to the sides of the bowl.
- Cover with a cling foil and set aside to raise for about one hour.
- Roll out the dough in a rectangle that is about the same size as your standard baking tray that comes with the oven. Stretch the corners to make fit into a rectangle shape. The dough should be about 1 cm (half an inch) thick.
- Cover the rolled out dough with cling foil and place in the fridge for a few minutes, until you've made the cinnamon filling. Cooling them down will make it easier to work with.
Making the buns
- Mix together the brow sugar, cinnamon, and butter until a paste has formed – this does not need to be particularly fluffy, we just need equal distribution of the ingredients, so no need to mix for a long time.
- Grab the rolled dough and spread out the cinnamon filling on the entire surface.
- Starting at the longer side, roll the dough inwards. It’s fine if its not rtightly rolled because the buns will raise and with that fill any empty spaces.
- With s sharp object (knife) gentle marks to divide the roulade into 12 equally thick pieces.
- Get a sowing string, place it under the roulade where you've made the mark with the knife, pull the string up and cut through the roulade so you get a separate piece, which will become a cinnamon bun once baked and frosted.
- Lightly grease a 34 X 24 cm (cca 9 x 13 inch) large baking tray and place the rolls inside.
- Pop in the fridge overnight, and take them out a few hours in advance of baking them, allowing them to warm up to room temperature before baking.
Baking the buns
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F, and bake until golden brown, which will take about 25- 30 mins. If you want extra fluffy and airy rolls, for whichever option you are making, pop them in the oven as the oven is warming, as that will make puff up even more.
Icing the buns
- When the rolls are nearly done, make the royal icing. First melt the butter, on low heat. Then add the sugar, pinch of salt and milk in the same pot, or bowl, and mix together until there are no lumps. It should be quite thick.
- Take the buns out of the oven. A few minutes after taken out from the oven and while still warm, pour the royal icing over the buns. Don’t waste any more time, enjoy this delicious desert!
Notes
- Freeze them after you’ve laid them on the baking tray for up to 3 months. Make sure to take out of the freezer the night before the intended baking, so they will be at room temperature when ready to bake.Â
- Freeze them after they’ve been baked for several months. When the sweet tooth kicks in, pop the bun(s) in the microwave until warm and steamy. you can add a few teaspoons of icing once warmed up, to give it the final touch for plating.Â
We love a good cinnamon roll moment, and this is our go-to recipe. Soft, fluffy, and full of that dreamy cinnamon swirl. They also freeze beautifully, so we often have a stash ready for when those cravings hit. If you’ve tried this recipe, please leave us a rating and let us know how it turned out—we love hearing from you!