The season of love is here! That means, roses, chocolates, candies, love, sexiness, and of course…DESSERT. So I am sharing this sweet red velvet cinnamon roll recipe to make for any loved one this holiday season or all year round. These can be made into simple swirls or transformed into a cute heart-shaped treat for Valentine’s day.
Honestly, cinnamon rolls are not the easiest recipe to make. They require a bit of time and patience, but with these instructions and a little tender, love and care, it will definitely be worth it once you are biting into these gooey and fluffy red velvet cinnamon rolls.
I personally love that cinnamon rolls are seen as both a breakfast pastry and a nighttime dessert. That means that you can surprise a loved one with a heart-shaped morning treat, and still have a chance to make my other Valentine’s dessert recipes and drinks for later in the day.
Let’s get into this delicious recipe!
Equipment & Ingredients
To make these red velvet cinnamon rolls you will need these ingredients:
- Milk
- Active Yeast
- Eggs
- Red Food Dye
- Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Salt
- White Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
- Heavy Cream
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
As for the equipment, the list is much shorter! You will just need:
- 9×11 inch Baking Dish
- Rolling Pin
- Stand Mixer w/ Hook Attachment (Optional)
- Pastry/Pizza Cutter
- Hand Mixer
Baking Tips for these Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
Correctly Activating Yeast: When making this recipe be sure to use active yeast. When getting active yeast to actually activate you must pay attention to the heat of the milk and the addition of other ingredients. In this recipe, add the yeast to warm milk. No higher than 110 degrees Fahrenheit. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast and then dough won’t rise during its proofing period. If it is cold, the yeast won’t activate at all. Adding the sugar to the milk also helps the yeast activate, giving it food to feed on. The other thing to pay attention to is salt. While this recipe makes it clear to not to mix salt until after the yeast mixture has activated, other recipes may call for adding yeast, salt and other dry ingredients all at once. Salt can prohibit yeast from rising as well. I will always recommend to let yeast rise separate from the rest of the ingredients to avoid this.
Creating Fluffy Cinnamon Roll: One way to ensure fluffy cinnamon rolls is the proofing process. If the red velvet cinnamon roll dough doesn’t take time to rise, you will not get fluffy cinnamon rolls. The other key, which you can add to any cinnamon roll recipe is heavy cream. Right before placing the cinnamon rolls in the oven to bake, drizzle heavy cream over the top of each roll. This will make the rolls fluff up even more while baking to perfection.
Substitutions and Additions: This recipe can definitely be substituted with any vegan butter if needed. You can also dye these rolls any color you desire, whether than be pink or keep the rolls the same. Another alternative would be creating regular colored dough, and red cinnamon filling. To do this, dye the cinnamon filling with red food dye instead and replace the brown sugar with white sugar for the most prominent bright red color. The last substitute if you would like to save some time would be in the cream cheese frosting. Replace this with a store bought cream cheese frosting for the same deliciously gooey result when making these red velvet cinnamon rolls.
Making the Dough
- In a small bowl, add the warm milk, half the sugar and the yeast. Stir and let sit for five minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a separate large bowl, add the dry ingredients of flour, cocoa powder, salt and the rest of the white sugar
- Whisk together until combined. Add the softened butter in cubes into the dry ingredients. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend the butter into the mixture.
- Add the eggs, the activated yeast mixture, and red food dye. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula until the wet ingredients are soaked up.
- Transfer to a stand mixer with a hook attachment. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until the dough is thick, soft and the red food dye has evenly distributed.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel.
- Let proof for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Rolling out the Dough and Cinnamon Filling
- While the dough rises make the cinnamon filling. In a small bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing together with a fork.
- Then add the softened butter and vanilla, blending the mixture together with a fork again until a thick paste forms.
- Preheat he oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take the risen red velvet dough and roll out on a clean floured surface. Create a large rectangle, about 9×11 inches and 1/2 inch thick.
- Spread the cinnamon and brown sugar paste all over the rolled out dough, evenly.
- Use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut out lengthwise strips of dough, about 2 1/2 inches wide.
- Take one strip and start rolling from each end, creating a swirl that leads to them touching in the middle. Then take the bottom part that hangs and pinch together to finish creating the heart shape. Place in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the strips until all the dough has been used. This should create 6 red velvet cinnamon rolls.
- Pour the heavy cream over the top of the cinnamon rolls.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cinnamon rolls are lightly firm and crusted to the touch and the brown sugar cinnamon is bubbling in the center.
Bake and Frost Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
- While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the frosting. (If you would like to skip this step, just purchase a store bough cream cheese icing to frost these with instead!)
- In a large bowl, add the butter and cream cheese. Use a hand mixer to blend these together until smooth.
- Then add the powdered sugar, mixing again until combined. Lastly add the milk and folding into the frosting to finish.
- Once the red velvet cinnamon rolls are out of the oven, immediately coat with the cream cheese frosting. Lather generously and let the frosting melt over the hot rolls.
Serve and Enjoy!
To finish this recipe I sprinkled with a few Valentine’s day sprinkles to add another fun touch although this isn’t necessary. Serve these delicious and gooey rolls while they are still warm with a nice glass of milk.
And that is how you make these red velvet cinnamon rolls. Great for anytime of the year, but perfect for this February’s Valentine’s day.
Let me know in the comments how you liked this recipe and if you added your own personal touch or creativity to the dish. Please share this recipe or your finished dessert with friends or family and share the love! 🙂
Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
- Dough
1 cup milk, warmed
2 1/4 teaspoon active yeast
2 eggs
Red Food Dye
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 stick + 2 tablespoons softened, cubed butter
- Cinnamon Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream, for drizzling before baking
- Cream Cheese Icing
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- In a small bowl, add the warm milk, half the sugar and the yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a separate large bowl, add the dry ingredients of flour, cocoa powder, salt, and the rest of the white sugar.
- Whisk together until combined. Add the softened butter in cubes into the dry ingredients. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend the butter into the mixture.
- Add the eggs, the activated yeast milk mixture and red food dye. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula until the wet ingredients are soaked up.
- Transfer this to a stand mixer with a hook attachment. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until the dough is thick, soft, and the red dye has evenly distributed.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
- While the dough rises, make the cinnamon filling. In a small bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon, and mix together with a fork.
- Then add the softened butter and vanilla, blending the mixture together with a fork again until a thick paste forms.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the heart shaped pan with baking spray.
- Take the risen red velvet dough and roll out on a clean, floured surface. Create a large rectangle about 9x11 inches and ½ inch thick.
- Spread the brown sugar cinnamon paste all over the rolled out dough, evenly.
Use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut though lengthwise and create strips, about 2 ½ inches wide. - Take one strip and start rolling from each end, creating two swirls that will meet in the middle and touch when completely rolled up. Pinch the of the roll to create a heart shape. Place this into a baking dish. Then take the other strips and repeat this process. This should make 6 large heart cinnamon rolls.
- Pour the heavy cream over the top of the heart shaped cinnamon roll.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cinnamon roll is lightly crusted to the touch and the brown sugar cinnamon is bubbling in the center.
- While the cinnamon roll is baking, make the frosting.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and cream cheese. Use a hand mixer to blend these together until smooth.
- Then add the powdered sugar, mixing again until combined. Lastly add the milk and fold it into the frosting to finish.
- Once the red velvet heart cinnamon roll is out of the oven, immediately coat with the cream cheese frosting. lather generously.
- Serve and enjoy while still warm!
