Vanilla Matcha Morning Rolls

Vanilla matcha lattes have been helping me get through quarantine so it was a flavor profile I have been wanting to incorporate into a bake for awhile now. The vanilla and the matcha blend perfectly together with the sweetness of the vanilla helping to mellow the grassiness of the matcha. So when my friends over at Nielsen-Massey offered to send over a bottle for me to make a recipe with, I couldn’t have been more excited and I knew this would be the time for a vanilla matcha latte inspired dessert! Nielsen-Massey uses a proprietary cold-extraction process to create their vanilla extract, preserving more than 300 delicate flavors in the vanilla. So science says that this is the vanilla extract you want to use if you want the vanilla flavor to shine! That’s why I used their extract in almost every layer of this dessert – you’ll find vanilla in the dough, the cream pour, the glaze, and the Greek yogurt drizzle.

And now you can win yourself a bottle too! If you head over to my Instagram, all of the information about the giveaway is on the post about these Vanilla Matcha Morning Rolls. You have until noon EST on Friday, May 1, 2020 to enter! Don’t miss a chance to get some of this amazing vanilla extract in your next bake!

These sweet rolls have a dough that is just like a cinnamon roll. So you will make the dough the same way. Nielsen-Massey has an awesome series going on right now called Better Your Bake and the current theme is how to knead dough by hand. I like to start this dough off in a mixer to incorporate all of the ingredients and then switch to kneading by band. Their website has super helpful how-to videos and instructions that show you the best techniques on how to knead the dough by hand (as well as many other helpful tips!). So if you decide to get some quarantine frustration out by kneading this by hand (highly recommended in these crazy times!!) then definitely check that out. Baking and mindfulness really go hand in hand, so this is a great time to hone your skills and use baking as the amazing outlet that it is.

Once the dough is perfectly kneaded, you will set it aside to double in size. While that’s happening, you’ll make your beautiful, green matcha filling. You want to really whip up the filling until it’s lightened in color and thick. This will make it really easy to spread over your dough. And give it a beautiful green color!

When your dough has doubled and your filling is whipped up, you are ready to assemble your buns! Start by rolling your dough out on a generously floured surface or silicon baking mat. You want to roll it out to at least a 24×16 inch rectangle, but the bigger the better! The larger your rectangle, the tighter your swirls will be. Start by rolling the wider end of the dough and go really slowly from side to side. You want to get these first few rolls really tight because they set the stage for the rest of your rolling. You almost want to pinch the dough to get the rolling started.

Once your dough is rolled up into a log, you want to cut it into 12 equal sized pieces. I use a tape measure to make sure everything is evenly cut, but I’m crazy! You can just estimate. Once you finish slicing your rolls, place them in a prepared 9×13 baking dish and set them aside to proof again and get almost double in size.

Once your rolls have grown noticeably (maybe doubled, maybe a little less), pour the warm cream and vanilla mixture over top. This will make them nice and gooey on the insides. Then bake!

While the buns are baking, you can make the optional glaze and the Greek yogurt drizzle. I like the flavor of the glaze because it adds some more matcha and vanilla flavor, plus it adds some more gooeyness to the rolls. But it also adds some more sweetness, so you can forego this if you want. But definitely don’t skip the Greek Yogurt drizzle. With the sweetness of the rolls and the bitterness of the matcha, the Greek yogurt brings a welcome tanginess to the flavor party. Plus it has extra vanilla in it! You can never have enough! Once your buns are all assembled, eat many. But I need to warn you, matcha has a lot of caffeine. So maybe eat them slowly even though you will want to eat them all in one sitting.

Print Recipe

Vanilla Matcha Morning Rolls

These Vanilla Matcha Morning Rolls are like cinnamon rolls in texture – soft dough, gooey insides, topped with frosting, but like a vanilla matcha latte in flavor. There’s vanilla dough swirled with a matcha filling, glazed with a vanilla matcha soak and then topped with a vanilla Greek yogurt frosting to bring a little tanginess.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Resting Time2 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cinnamon rolls, matcha, morning buns, sweet rolls, vanilla

Servings: 12 sweet rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 cup warm milk about 100-115F
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast I use SAF instant yeast, but you can also use the same amount of active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature and softened
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the matcha filling:

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature and softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp matcha powder
• Pinch kosher salt

For the vanilla cream pour:

• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream slightly warmed

For the vanilla matcha glaze (optional):

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tbsp milk I use 2%, but anything works
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp matcha powder
• 1 tbsp heavy cream

For the Greek Yogurt Drizzle:

• 1 tbsp milk I use 2%, but anything works
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt Make sure you use a kind that no added sugar, you want the tanginess
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the dough:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, combine the yeast, milk, salt, and sugar. Set aside and allow the yeast to bubble or see some movement. Note: you don’t actually have to let instant yeast “activate” but I like to do it anyway. Let’s me know I’m set up for success!
• Once the yeast is “activated”, add the eggs, butter, and vanilla. The batter will look really strange, it will be mostly liquid with tiny little balls of butter. But that’s okay! You just want to break things down and combine as much as possible before you add your flour.
• Add your flour and continue to mix on medium speed until a soft dough has formed. Make sure that you fluff and scoop your flour when measuring in your cups. You don’t want to pack the flour into the measuring cups, or your dough will be too stiff. The dough should be slightly sticky but very workable.
• At this stage, you can either remove the dough from the KitchenAid and knead the dough by hand, or you can switch your beater for your dough hook and finish kneading with the mixer.
• If you are kneading by hand, I recommend using the folding method, where you stretch the dough away from yourself and then fold back over. Then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Either way you choose to knead your dough, continue kneading until a smooth ball of dough has formed.
• Cover the bowl of dough with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place to double in size. This will depend on several factors, including the temperature of your kitchen, the temperature of the milk you used, how you chose to knead your dough, etc. but this generally takes about an hour for me. But I keep our house pretty warm! So focus more on the dough doubling in size, and less on the timing. I like to take a picture of the dough before I set it aside so I can compare it to what it looks like later to make sure it has truly doubled.
• When you poke the dough and the imprint of your finger mostly remains, but springs back slightly, the dough is ready to be rolled. If the fingerprint fills in quickly and all of the way, let it continue rising. If the fingerprint doesn’t spring back at all, the dough is overproofed. You can still continue on with the recipe, but the dough may be a little tougher than you would want.

For the filling:

• While the dough is rising, assemble your filling. Combine all of your ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer with the beater attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric beater.
• Beat the filling until it is a thickened, whipped consistency that has lightened in color. The matcha will go from a deep green to a lighter green once it has been whipped up, so keep on beating! Set aside to roll out your dough.

To assemble and bake:

• Once your dough has doubled, turn the dough out on a generously floured surface (if you have a nonstick pastry mat like a silpat, this is your moment to use it!)
• Flour the surface of the dough and rolling pin, and roll the dough out to a large rectangle. The larger the rectangle, the tighter your spirals will be, so I like to roll it out to at least a 24×16 inch rectangle.
• Spread the filling out evenly over the dough using a rubber or offset spatula, making sure to cover out to all of the edges.
• Roll the dough as tightly as you can from the wider end. Start off really slowly and work your way across the dough so you can keep your spirals tight.
• Then cut into 12 equal size pieces and place in a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with butter.
• Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and allow to proof in a warm spot in your kitchen, until they are double in size, or at least noticeably larger than before. Don’t be worried if they don’t completely double in size, but you definitely want them to be noticeably larger. This will probably take about 30 minutes to an hour. I promise they will grow even more in the oven!
• While the rolls are proofing, preheat the oven to 375F and position a rack to the middle row of your oven.
• Once the rolls are finished proofing, prepare the vanilla cream soak by combining the vanilla extract the warmed heavy cream. You can just warm the heavy cream in the oven for about 15 seconds. You just want it to be warm to the touch so that it doesn’t stifle the growth of the buns.
• Drizzle the cream over the buns and allow the rest of the cream to coat the bottom of the baking dish. This will make them super gooey and add an extra layer of vanilla flavor.
• Bake the buns for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top and cooked through. You can also test that the buns are cooked through by inserting a digital thermometer into the dough of an interior roll – the temperature should be about 188F.

For the vanilla matcha glaze (optional):

• This is an optional set of steps, but I really like the extra layer of the matcha flavor and the extra gooeyness this adds. Complete the glaze while the buns bake.
• In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until fully combined. You want to make sure you whisk until there are no more clumps of powdered sugar or matcha left.
• As soon as the buns come out of the oven, pour the glaze evenly over the buns, allowing it to seep into the cracks of the swirls.

For the Greek yogurt drizzle:

• As you wait for the sweet rolls to cool, make your Greek yogurt drizzle. Also for good measure, you should probably eat a fresh bun from the oven!
• In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the drizzle. I kept this really light on the sugar, because I wanted the tanginess from the yogurt to add as a different flavor from the sweetness of the rolls and the bitterness of the matcha. I think it’s an amazing combination when you keep the drizzle a little more sour. But you can adjust this to your tastes.
• Once the buns have cooled completely, pour the Greek yogurt drizzle over the buns.