Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

These brown butter cardamom cinnamon rolls are everything you love about traditional cinnamon rolls, but taken up a notch. Made with my favorite brioche recipe, these sweet buns are soft & fluffy with warm, gooey centers. The brown butter adds an amazing depth of flavor to both the filling and the cream cheese icing. This recipe makes exactly 6, so they're perfect for a small crowd. There a few different ways of making them overnight or all in one day, so no matter what your schedule is, you can always find room for some fresh baked cinnamon rolls!

For more brioche recipes, try Overnight Brioche Bread Recipe, Nutella Star Bread, Strawberries & Cream Stuffed French Toast, and Maple Glazed Brioche Donuts.

• Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast: If using active dry yeast, combine with milk and sugar and allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, there is no need to let the yeast sit in the mixture.
• Whole Milk: Use whole milk for optimum flavor, and warm the milk to about 110 degrees F to activate the yeast.
• Granulated Sugar: The sugar will need to be mixed in with the milk and yeast to help activate the yeast. 
• Eggs: You’ll need to 2 eggs at room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract: A good quality vanilla extract will give these cinnamon rolls a wonderful flavor!
• All-Purpose Flour: The best way to measure your flour, as well as the rest of the ingredients, is by weight. I use this kitchen scale!
• Cardamom: This warm spice adds such a nice flavor to the brioche. I add 2 teaspoons, but you can add as much or as little as you like!
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Brown Sugar: You can use light and dark brown sugar, or even muscovado! 
• Cinnamon: For optimal cinnamon flavor, use 2 tablespoons!
• Cream Cheese: For frosting, cream cheese mixes best when it is cold, so no need to bring to room temp!
• Powdered Sugar: I added about two cups of powdered sugar, but you can more or less based on your own preferences. 
• Vanilla Extract: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.
• Heavy Cream: You may need a few tablespoons of milk or heavy cream to bring it to the right consistency you want. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this brown butter cardamom cinnamon roll recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix dry ingredients. Combine the flour, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

STEP 2: Combine wet ingredients. Stir together the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Then, beat in the eggs.

STEP 3: Mix wet and dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with the dough hook until fully combined. 

STEP 4: Add butter. Add the room temperature butter a few pieces at a time while mixing on medium speed. 

STEP 5: Mix dough. Once the butter has fully incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high and mix for another 6-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and passes the windowpane test. *see notes on the windowpane test in the FAQ section below. 

STEP 6: Proof. Cover the dough and allow to rise overnight in the fridge or for just one hour in a warm place. 

STEP 7: Make filling. Once you're ready to bake the cinnamon rolls, make the filling by beating the brown butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom until fully combined. 

STEP 8: Roll and spread. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface and spread the filling evenly, leaving a small border around the edges. 

STEP 9: Cut. Roll the dough up from the short end and cut about 1 inch off of both ends. Use dental floss to cut 6 2-inch rolls. 

STEP 10: Proof. Place the rolls in a 9-inch cake pan, cover, and allow to rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

STEP 11: Bake. Bake the cinnamon rolls for about 20 minutes or until barely golden.

STEP 12: Cool and top. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for a few minutes before drizzling with cream cheese frosting. 

Expert Baking Tips

• I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and make the cinnamon rolls immediately. 
• To get a clean cut of each cinnamon roll, use unflavored dental floss rather than a knife. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x