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Soft and fluffy rolls filled with aromatic Chinese five-spice sugar filling and simple and delicious frosting. The rolls are tasty without being cloyingly sweet and sinful. They are perfect to start the day or to accompany afternoon tea or coffee.
Nothing beats the smell of sweet rolls like this baking in the oven! The smell of the spices and baked dough is just too stimulating! This is why I love to bake so much! My kids love the pandan cinnamon rolls and purple sweet potato rolls I made a while ago. So, I thought, let’s put another spin on the classic cinnamon rolls by flavoring them with Chinese five-spice powder. Chinese five-spice powder usually consists of cinnamon, fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns. It has that sweet earthy smells with a note of cinnamon and licorice. If you don’t have Chinese five-spice powder, you can definitely just use ground cinnamon (and you get cinnamon rolls instead)
Chinese Five-Spice Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 57 g unsalted butter melted
- 85 g plain whole milk yogurt
- 25 g water or more as needed
- 1 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 30 g sugar
- 50 g egg
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 4 g salt
Filling:
- 85 g coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 40 g unsalted butter it needs to be very soft
- Small pinch of salt
Frosting:
- 56 g unsalted butter softened
- 60 g powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- Milk as needed, you can use water too
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Melt the butter over low heat and let it cool down to at least lukewarm so it won't kill the yeast.
- In a bowl of a standmixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add all the ingredients for the dough. Use the hook to stir a bit so the flour won't "fly" when you start the mixer
- Start mixing at low speed to mix all the ingredients for about 2-3 minutes to form a rough dough.
- Increase the speed to the next level and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and soft.
- The amount of liquid depends on the flour you use and also the humidity level where you are. If it seems too dry, add a bit of water, one teaspoon at a time. The dough should feel soft and just slightly sticky to the touch.
First proofing:
- Round up the dough and put it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl and put it in a warm place, around 82-90 F, and let it ferment until it doubles in volume, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours (this time varies depending on temperature)
- While waiting for the dough to proof, prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients together and set aside
Shaping:
- Line a 8 x 8 inches square pan with a parchment sling for easy removal
- Deflate the dough by folding the edge towards the center several times. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into about 8 x 10 inches rectangle. If the dough keeps retracting back, stop rolling and cover the dough with plastic wrap and give it a rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten and try to roll again
- Spread the filling on the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch along the edge. I decided to add some crushed peanuts (last-minute decision- I didn't put it on the ingredient list). You can skip if you don't want to.
- Roll the dough tightly from the long side near you to form a log.
- Use a serrated knife or unflavored floss (for example, don't use a mint-flavored floss LOL) to cut the log into 9 equal pieces
Final proofing:
- Arrange the dough in the pan. Cover with a cling wrap (I sprayed with non-stick spray to prevent sticking) and place at a warm place again to let it ferment until the dough fills up the pan and very puffy, about 1 hour at a warm place
- 10 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven. Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven
Baking:
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature checked with a digital thermometer is 190 F (88 C)
- Remove from the oven and put the pan on a cooling rack and let the rolls cool down for 10 minutes
Frosting:
- While the rolls are cooling down, prepare the frosting by combining all the ingredients for frosting. Adjust the consistency by using milk or water. It should be thick but spreadable. So start with 1 teaspoon at a time
- The use an offset spatula to spread the frosting on top of the rolls and serve them warm
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to make ahead and bake later
1. Prepare the dough as directed in the recipe up to after you cut the rolls and put them on a baking pan ready for final proof. Cover with a cling wrap sprayed with non-stick spray tightly, to prevent sticking. Cover with another tea towel on top and put this in the fridge to let it slowly rise
2. When ready to bake, get it out from the fridge to let it sit at room temperature and finished rising until the dough is puffy and fill up the pan. This may take 45 minutes – 1 hour or longer
3. Preheat the oven as directed in the recipe and bake as per recipe
How to store leftovers
1. Frosted rolls can be kept at room temperature, rightly covered with plastic wrap, or put in a container for about 3 days (they never last that long in our house LOL).
2. For longer storage, freeze the rolls in the pan by putting it in the freezer for about 1 hour. This will partially freeze the rolls. Then wrap rightly with a cling wrap and another layer of aluminum foil. Then I put it in a freezer bag, push all the air out and seal
How to reheat
1. If reheating individual pieces, you can reheat them on high power in a microwave in a 10-second burst until it’s warm enough to your preference
2. If the rolls have been kept frozen, let them thaw out at room temperature and then reheat in the microwave as mentioned above or cover with a foil and reheat in the oven at 320 F (160 C) for 5-8 minutes, or until just warmed through
