Light and fluffy brioche brownie rolls filled with pockets of fudge brownie batter and topped with an espresso vanilla whipped cream.
This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details. //
brioche brownie rolls
The best things to bake are two desserts that are combined into one (see: brookies [brownies + cookies] & crookies/cooksants [cookies + croissants]). So, today I’m introducing to you: brolls/briochenies/rollnies? Not the catchiest name, but I assure you they’re extremely delicious. I took my super fluffy milk bread brioche dough and rolled it with my perfect fudge brownie batter to make perfectly fluffy brioche that has ribbons of fudge brownie throughout (yes, it stays fudgy!)
As if that’s not delicious enough, we’re topping these with an espresso vanilla whipped cream. So let’s get right into it! ☺︎
why you’ll love these brioche brownie rolls:
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread). method makes these rolls super soft and fluffy.
- Fudge brownies: I meannnn who doesn’t love chocolate?
- Espresso vanilla whipped cream: super simple, not too sweet & pairs perfectly with the chocolate.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
brioche brownie rolls ingredients:
Milk bread brioche:
- Bread flour: I recommend bread flour for the best structure. or structure and chewiness. You could also use a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand – more notes on that later in the blog post.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche rolls and giving them a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is quite variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
fudge brownie filling:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Salt: helps balance and bring out the sweetness and flavor of the brownies.
- Unsalted butter: makes the brownies tender and gives them that melt-in-your-mouth feel. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the brownies.
- Semi-sweet chocolate: where the main flavor of these brownies comes from – I used chocolate chips but you can use a chocolate baking bar here as well.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the brownies and helps lock moisture in the batter.
- Dutch process cocoa: lends a deeper chocolate flavor to the brownies. I love using dutch process cocoa because it has a deeper and richer flavor than natural cocoa, but natural cocoa or even black cocoa powder can easily be substituted in here.
- Egg: binds the brownie batter together and adds moisture to the brownies.
espresso vanilla whipped cream:
- Heavy whipping cream: the base of the whipped cream.
- Granulated sugar: for a touch of sweetness – any sugar will work here.
- Espresso powder: for flavor. I recommend espresso powder but instant espresso or instant coffee will work here as well – you just might want to add in a little more to amp up the flavor. You could also omit this entirely if coffee isn’t your thing.
- Vanilla bean paste: for flavor. I use vanilla bean paste for the little speckles you get in the cream, but vanilla extract would work perfectly here as well.
how to make brownie brioche rolls:
Here’s just a little overview of making these brownie brioche rolls. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- For the brownies: melt together the butter and chocolate, then whisk in the cocoa powder, egg, and sugar.
- Fold in the dry ingredients, then set the batter aside in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the rolls.
- Punch down the dough once it has doubled in size.
- Roll out the dough into a giant rectangle and spread the brownie batter over it.
- Roll up the dough, slice it into 6 pieces, and let it rise again.
- Bake, top with espresso vanilla whipped cream, and enjoy!
brioche brownie rolls recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store brioche brownie rolls
Like any fresh bread recipe, these will definitely taste the best and the most fresh on the day that they are baked. However, they can be stored, unfrosted, out at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Keep the espresso vanilla whipped cream in the fridge until you want to serve the rolls.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or whatever the instructions are on your yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Brioche Brownie Rolls
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g bread flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (3 ½ oz.)
Brioche
- 90 g whole milk (3 oz.)
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 240 g bread flour (2 c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 egg room temperature
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.) room temperature
Fudge Brownie Filling
- 56 g unsalted butter cubed (4 tbsp.)
- 90 g semi-sweet chocolate chips (½ c.)
- 12 g dutch process cocoa powder (2 tbsp.)
- 1 egg
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 45 g all purpose flour (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
Espresso Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 110 g heavy whipping cream (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. espresso powder
- 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add the flour and milk to a microwave safe bowl and whisk them together. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. The mixture should now be a thick slurry, but if it’s not, microwave it in 10 second intervals until it has thickened.
Brioche
- Add the milk, sugar, yeast, egg, flour, salt, butter, and tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or the bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape it into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
- In the meantime, make the fudge brownie filling.
Fudge Brownie Filling
- In a medium-sized microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt together the butter and chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.
- Immediately mix in the cocoa powder. Then, add in the egg and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.
- Add in the flour and salt, then gently fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the brownie batter and place it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the rolls.
Shaping the Rolls
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 12″ x 16″ (30 x 40 cm) rectangle. If the dough keeps springing back a lot while rolling it out, let it rest for 5 minutes before continuing.
- Carefully spread the brownie batter over the dough into an even layer. From the longer side, roll up the dough into a tight long. Use a sharp knife or floss to cut the dough into 6 even pieces.
- Transfer the rolls to a lightly buttered and/or lined eighth sheet pan*** Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Make an egg wash by whisking together an egg with 1 tbsp. milk, then brush it over the rolls.
- Bake for ~25-30 minutes, until the tops of the rolls are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls has reached 200°F / 93°C.
Espresso Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy whipping cream, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla bean paste to a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat (by hand, or with a hand/stand mixer) until the mixture reaches soft peaks.
- Once the rolls have slightly cooled, top them with the espresso vanilla whipped cream and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Everything! It’s the softest dough I’ve made.
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you like them! ☺︎