Chai Cinnamon Rolls
How to Bake
Estimated bake & assembly time: 2~3 hours
Makes: 12 rolls
Best eaten within 2-3 days
Can be made with dairy free ingredients!
When sugar, spice, and everything nice get cozy together, you get delicious confections!
What’s in the box?
Whole Psyllium Husk
Active Dry Yeast
Granulated Sugar
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Chai Spiced Brown Sugar
Dusting Flour
Black Tea Bags
Chai Spice Mix
Powdered Sugar
Dough Scraper
Ingredients you’ll need:
225 g (just under 1 cup) Warm water
250 g (about 1 cup) Milk
1 Egg
43.75 g (about 3 tbsp) Unsalted Butter, Melted
113 g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, Softened
160 g (about 2/3 cup) Heavy Cream
8 oz (1 pack) Cream Cheese
2 tbsp Maple syrup
Equipment you’ll need:
Measuring Utensils
Electric Mixer
Dough Hook (optional)
Spatulas
Pizza Cutter or Sharp Knife
Parchment Paper (optional)
Rolling Pin
9x13 pan or Large Cast Iron Skillet
Plastic Wrap or Towel
Saucepan
Tips & Tricks
Gluten-Free Enriched Dough
1
The dough will feel slightly sticky at first, but a quick knead on a lightly floured surface will make it easy to handle. Avoid adding extra flour, as it can lead to dense, dry rolls.
Overnight/Make Ahead Options
Option 1: Prepare the dough and refrigerate it overnight in a covered container. The next day, bring to room temp, and follow recipe as instructed
Option 2: Shape the rolls before refrigerating them in a tightly covered pan. Bring to room temp the next day, proof until doubled in size, then follow recipe as instructed.
Chai Filling
2
Make sure that your butter is room temperature. You want it to be soft enough to spread easily. If it’s too warm it will melt the sugar too much and become a runny mess. If it’s too cold, it won’t mix with the sugar properly.
Chai Tea Icing
3
For a stronger chai flavor, you can allow the tea to steep longer than 5 minutes. Make sure before you make the icing that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so the icing doesn’t turn into a runny mess. If you want to adjust the consistency of the icing, add the chai milk in gradually for your desired thickness.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make Psyllium Gel & Activate Yeast
1
Whole Psyllium Husk
Active Dry Yeast
Granulated Sugar
Mix whole psyllium husk with warm water until no there are no dry patches, forming a gel.
Warm milk to no more than 110° and dissolve 1 tbsp of the sugar packet. Mix in yeast packet and allow to activate for at least 10 minutes.
Make Gluten-Free Enriched Dough
2
Granulated Sugar
Psyllium Gel, Yeast Mixture, 1 egg, 43.75 g (about 3 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Using an electric mixer, add remaining sugar, gluten-free flour blend, the psyllium gel, melted and cooled butter, and yeast mixture (only once it’s foamy).
Once dough starts to come together, change attachment to a dough hook if you have one. Knead dough for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl mid way through.
Make Chai Filling
3
113 g (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Chai Spiced Brown Sugar
In a separate mixing bowl, create a past out of the softened butter and chai spiced brown sugar. You can mix this by hand or by using an electric mixer.
Assemble the Rolls
4
GF Enriched dough, Chai Filling
Dusting Flour
Lightly grease or line 9X13 pan or large cast iron with parchment paper.
Using dusting flour, roll out dough out to roughly 13.5×18 inches (34×46 cm).
Spread chai filling, covering entire rectangle.
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut 12 strips out of the rectangle. Pro tip: cut the rectangle in half, then the halves in thirds, then the thirds in half again. This will give you 12 strips
Starting from the closest end, roll up each strip and place into your greased or lined pan. Make sure you leave roughly 1 in of space between each roll.
Cover rolls with cling wrap or a slightly damp towel and place in a warm environment to proof for 1 hr.
Bake the Rolls
5
160 g (about 2/3 cup) heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350°
Warm the heavy cream and pour it over the cinnamon rolls.
Cover rolls with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Make Chai Tea Icing
6
Black Tea Bags
Chai Spice
120 g (1/2 cup) Milk, 8 oz (1 pack) cream cheese, 2 tbsp Maple syrup
Powdered Sugar
While rolls bake, heat milk in a medium saucepan until it boils, then add tea bags and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 5-6 minutes.
Remove tea bags, whisk in maple syrup and chai spice packet until combined, and let cool completely.
Once chai tea mixture is cool, begin mixing softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and chai tea in small amounts until you’ve reach the desired consistency.
When rolls are done baking, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before adding icing so it doesn’t melt completely when you put it on.
Spread the icing on and serve warm!