These espresso cinnamon buns with cortado glaze are soft, gooey, and full of espresso flavor! Served warm, these buns would be perfect paired with your favorite morning coffee. You can make the dough the night before or the day of. Or you could even shape them the day before and freeze them overnight, so all you would need to do is bake them in the morning - perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast!
Ingredients you'll need to make these espresso cinnamon buns:
For the Brioche Dough:
This dough is a basic brioche recipe, which is my go-to for all enriched breads. It is best to make it the night before, so after it proofs in the fridge overnight, it will be cold and super nice to work with.
- 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!
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll need about 6 tbsp of unsalted butter at room temperature, which will need to be added one piece at a time to properly incorporate into the dough.
For the Filling:
This filling is a traditional cinnamon sugar filling with a touch of espresso powder.
- Unsalted Butter: You'll need 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter for the filling.
- Brown Sugar: You can use light and dark brown sugar, or even muscovado!
- Cinnamon: For optimum cinnamon flavor, use one whole tablespoon!
- Espresso Powder: You'll add about 1 tablespoon of espresso powder to filling.
For the Cortado Glaze:
A cortado glaze is simply a powdered sugar glaze with two shots of espresso, and it is SO good. Seriously, do not skip out on this glaze.
- Powdered Sugar: I added about two cups of powdered sugar, but you can more or less based on your own preferences.
- Espresso: You'll need two shots of espresso. I used Nespresso!
- Heavy Cream: You'll about ¼ cup of heavy cream for this glaze.
- Vanilla Extract: Add a touch of vanilla for more flavor!
How to shape cinnamon buns:
- Roll dough out into a rough rectangle.
- Spread filling on ⅔ of the dough.
- Fold the dough in thirds, starting with the bottom, plain part of the dough.
- Roll the dough out slightly more, careful not to tear the dough.
- Freeze the dough for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the dough lengthwise into four or five thin strips with a serrated knife.
- Roll each strip up and tuck the very end of the strip underneath the roll.
You can also see how I shape them below or on Instagram.
Other brioche recipes you'll love:
- Maple Pumpkin Sticky Buns with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls
- Crème Brûlée Filled Brioche Donuts
- Pesto Brioche Swirl Bread
- Cardamom Brioche Star Bread with Chocolate Hazelnut Filling
- Glazed Brioche Donuts
A few tips to make these espresso cinnamon buns with cortado glaze:
- You can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. For active, you’ll need to combine the yeast with the lukewarm milk and sugar and allow to sit for about 15 minutes until foamy and activated. For instant yeast you do not need to let it sit.
- 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 in a warm environment for one hour and make the cinnamon buns immediately.
- To get a clean cut of the buns, put the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes just before cutting with a serrated knife.
- If you are uncertain on how to shape these properly, you can also see the Reel of how I shape them on Instagram.
- Alternatively, you could shape these like traditional cinnamon rolls and bake them in a muffin tin!
Happy baking! x
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Espresso Cinnamon Buns with Cortado Glaze
- Yield: 4-5 buns 1x
Description
These espresso cinnamon buns with cortado glaze are soft, gooey, and full of espresso flavor! Served warm, these buns would be perfect paired with your favorite morning coffee.
Ingredients
For the Brioche:
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry or instant yeast
- 115g whole milk (warmed to 110 degrees F)
- 20g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 300g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 85g unsalted butter (room temperature)
For the Filling:
- 85g unsalted butter (melted)
- 106g brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp espresso powder
For the Cortado Glaze:
- 227g powdered sugar
- 2 shots espresso
- 56g heavy cream
- ¼ tsp vanilla paste
Instructions
For the Brioche:
- Heat the milk to 110 degrees F and stir in yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step.
- Mix the eggs and vanilla into the milk yeast mixture.
- Combine flour and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.
- Add in one piece of butter at a time, allowing it to fully incorporate before adding the next. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 6-8 minutes. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof overnight in the fridge. Alternatively, if assembling the same day, you can proof in a warm environment for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
For the Filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and espresso powder. Set aside until ready to assemble.
For Assembly:
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the brioche dough out into a rough rectangle about ¼” in thickness. Spread the filling out evenly over two thirds of the dough.
- Fold the dough in thirds, starting with the bottom, plain part of the dough.
- Roll the dough out slightly more, careful not to tear the dough.
- Freeze the dough for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the dough lengthwise into four or five thin strips with a serrated knife. Roll each strip up and tuck the very end of the strip underneath the roll.
- Place buns on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to rise for about 45 minutes in a warm environment.
- While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Brush the buns with an egg wash and bake for about 16 minutes or until golden brown.
For the Cortado Glaze:
- While the buns are baking, make the cortado glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, shots of espresso, heavy cream, and vanilla.
- Pour glaze over buns while warm and serve immediately.
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