Vegan Chai Latte Cinnamon Rolls

4.92 from 12 votes

These Vegan Chai Latte Cinnamon Rolls are light, fluffy and completely brioche-like in texture with a bold and delicious chai latte feel for a decadent breakfast or brunch situation!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Rise Time:1

Total Time1 5

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Keyword: baked, brioche, brown sugar, brunch, chai tea, cinnamon rolls, classic, dairy-free, dessert, easy, fall recipe, fluffy, healthy, holidays, homemade, plant-based, recipe, southern, spices, sweet, traditional, vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

CHAI TEA:

1 ½ cups Almond milk, unsweetened (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
3 black tea bags, premium
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1-2 Tbsps chai spice blend

DOUGH:

3 cups organic all-purpose flour (See Notes!)
2 cups organic Artisan bread flour
½ cup organic cane sugar + 1 Tbsp
1 packet Rapid Rise Yeast (That's 2 ¼ tsps!)
1 ¼ cups Chai tea mixture, WARM (Save the remaining ¼ cup tea mixture for glaze)
¼ cup WARM water
6 Tbsps vegan butter, melted + cooled until WARM
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt

FILLING:

½ cup organic brown sugar
¼ cup vegan butter, softened at room temp.
2 tsps ground cinnamon

GLAZE:

3 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
4 Tbsps vegan butter, softened at room temp.
3-4 tablespoon cooled Chai tea mixture

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

TO MAKE THE CHAI TEA:

In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add the milk and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Add the tea bags and let it boil for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let everything steep for 5-6 minutes.
Once fully steeped, remove tea bags and whisk in 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper until dissolved and combined. Let cool completely.

FOR THE DOUGH:

Combine yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and slowly pour in WARM water while stirring frequently. Allow 5-10 minutes for the mixture to sit and for the yeast to activate.
Add in the room temperature chai tea mixture and warm melted butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined. Add in the vanilla and whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, and sea salt and add them to the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed until well combined and everything begins to form into a dough-like consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
Change “Mixer head” to kneading accessory and knead dough for 5-10 minutes on high speed until dough ball becomes smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed together with 2 fingers. NOTE: If dough is still too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until texture is achieved!
Lightly grease a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl, tossing it around until coated. Cover with plastic wrap (or a towel) and let sit for 1 hour, allowing the dough to rise and double in size.
In the meantime, you can work on the filling!

FOR THE FILLING:

Add the softened the butter (best if done at room temp. so that it's more "paste-like" in texture once smeared) in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and brown sugar, mixing them together. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY + BAKE:

Once the dough has risen fully, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang from the sides.
Add a bit of flour to a surface and place the dough onto it, lightly adding a bit of flour to the top. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular shape (approximately 9″x14 and ½-inch thick), trimming the edges if needed. NOTE: Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!
Then, generously add ¾ of the softened butter atop dough (spreading it out evenly with a spoon or knife), followed by the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture, ensuring that the top is coated evenly. NOTE: I also use a 'pastry brush' to sweep sugar mixture evenly across the dough to ensure that every bite is sweet!
Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a pastry cutter, cut dough into 1.5" rolls, placing each roll (cut side down) into a large baking dish (lined with parchment paper!).
Then place plastic wrap over the baking dish with rolls, smear the tops with remaining softened butter and let them rise again (for another 20 minutes).
Once the rolls have doubled in size (once again!) or have gotten significantly larger, bake them for approximately 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven.
While all the baking magic is happening, make the Cream Cheese Glaze.

FOR THE GLAZE:

In a bowl, beat (using a hand-mixer) the softened butter until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and remaining Chai tea mixture, beating everything together until the glaze becomes smooth and velvety. NOTE: Add additional milk (1 tablespoon at a time) if the glaze is too thick or powdered sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) if too thin.
Spread the glaze atop the rolls using a rubber spatula evenly until generously covered.
To serve, cut out each roll desired and enjoy.
Bon Appetit!

Notes

TO STORE: Leftovers can be kept fresh at room temperature when tightly wrapped or sealed for up to 3 days. Fresh for up to 1 week in the Refrigerator. Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2 months.
RAPID (INSTANT) RISE YEAST VS. ACTIVE DRY YEAST: If you’re not using the Rapid Rise Yeast for this recipe, please know that the rise time will be twice as long (about 3 hours) since regular Active Yeast doesn’t work as quickly.
OVERNIGHT OPTION: If you don’t want to make your rolls on the same day, you can simply follow all steps (including the initial 1+ hour rise) and after cutting rolls and placing them into your baking pan, just cover them tightly (using foil paper of plastic wrap) and refrigerate them overnight or for 8-12 hours instead. The following day, remove from refrigerator and keeping them covered, let rolls rise at room temp 1 to 1 ½ hours.
FLOUR: If you don’t have bread flour, you can always just use all-purpose flour entirely instead.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: If you're looking to make these GF, I recommend substituting both flours with Bob's 1:1 Baking flour and slightly reducing the amount by 1 cup, slowing adding more if the dough is too sticky.
TEA BAG: You can also use a chai tea bag blend instead if preferred.

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