Chocolate Almond Brioche Rolls

Yield: 6 chocolate almond brioche rolls // Total Time: 2 hr. 45 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.

Light and fluffy brioche, chocolate, and frangipane baked up into adorable, delicious muffins.

Why you’ll love these chocolate almond brioche rolls

Hear me out: chocolate and delicious almond-y frangipane wrapped up in light and fluffy brioche dough, then baked in a muffin tin. These chocolate almond brioche rolls are equally fun to look at and fun to eat! If you are a fan of chocolate and almonds, these are the perfect weekend baking project for you. Below you’ll find tips and tricks on how to make these chocolate almond brioche rolls turn out perfectly every time!

Why do you post small batch recipes?

I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. Small batch helps cut down on waste and eliminates the feeling that all that excess dessert MUST be eaten. Here on my blog I post a lot of small batch bakes with a mix of some 8-10″ single layer cakes from time to time. All my recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit your need, so long as you use grams to measure!

Recipe tips

Weigh your ingredients

• Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

Kneading the dough

• 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.

Room temperature ingredients

• It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. Take out the butter and egg at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe. To bring an egg to room temperature quickly, you can place it under hot water for 1 minute. To bring butter to room temperature quickly, slice it, place it on a plate, and microwave it in 5 second intervals!

Heating the milk

• Heating the milk is important for bringing the yeast to an optimal temperature for rising. The milk should be heated to ~100°F / 38°C but it does not have to be exact. As long as the milk is between 95°F – 110°F, it is good to be used. If the temperature exceeds 110°F, wait for it to cool down before using so that you do not kill the yeast!

Dough rising environment

• For the first rise, I recommend letting the dough rise in the fridge overnight simply because it’s much easier to work with when it’s cold, and then you don’t have to worry about doing everything in one day. For the second rise (and if you do choose to do both rises in one day) – you’re going to want to make sure your dough is in a warm environment for it to rise faster. If the room is cold, the dough will take longer to rise. I like to place my bowl of dough on top of my oven, preheat the oven to the lowest temperature it will go, and then turn the oven off and let it continue to rise there.

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!

DIY parchment liners

• I recommend making some parchment liners for these muffins to encourage them to rise tall and upwards. For these, I cut out six 6″ squares of parchment paper, then buttered the muffin tin and placed the parchment squares into the cavities. They won’t stick down completely, but they will stay in place once you place the rolls into them!

Ingredients and substitutions

For the brioche dough:

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand. You will just skip the step of combining the warm milk, sugar, and yeast!

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. We will use a little bit of sugar in the brioche as well as in the hazelnut sugar.

Eggs: 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.

For the frangipane filling:

Unsalted butter: for texture and flavor. You can also use salted butter here.

Granulated sugar: for sweetening the frangipane.

Egg: helps to bind the frangipane mixture together.

Almond extract: for extra almond flavor in the filling, you can choose to omit this if you don’t have any on hand.

Almond flour: the most important ingredient!

All purpose flour: just one tablespoon of all purpose flour helps thicken up the filling.

Salt: balances and brings out the flavor and sweetness of the filling.

Chocolate: I used chocolate baking chunks here because they solidify for a nice rippled chocolate effect throughout the rolls. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips, chunks, or baking bar here!

How to: chocolate almond brioche rolls

Here are the steps to follow to make these chocolate almond brioche rolls. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.

1. Make the dough. Mix together the warm milk, sugar, and yeast and leave to rest until the mixture begins to foam. Then, combine all of the dough ingredients in a stand mixer and knead. You will know the dough is ready when it passes the windowpane test (more details earlier in this post!)

2. Let the dough rise. Once the dough is done kneading, butter the inside of the bowl, form the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl, then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. At this point, you could set the dough in the fridge to rise overnight, or continue to do this in one day. If doing in one day, set the dough in a warm area and wait for it to double in size (~1 hour.)

3. Make the almond frangipane filling. In a small bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg and almond extract. Mix in the almond flour, flour, and salt, then set aside. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.

4. Shape the dough. Once the dough has finished rising (either overnight or same-day), 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 10″ (30 x 25 cm) rectangle.

5. Form the rolls. Carefully spread the melted chocolate over the dough, then let it sit for 1-2 minutes to set. Place dollops of the frangipane over the chocolate, and spread it into an even layer over the chocolate. Tightly roll up the dough into a cylinder starting from the longer (12″) side. Use a sharp knife to slice the roll into 6 even rolls.

6. Let the rolls rise. Transfer the rolls to a buttered and lined muffin tin. Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).

7. Bake. Make an egg wash by whisking together 1 egg and 1 tbsp. milk. Brush the egg wash over each roll, then bake at 350°F / 175°C for 15-20 minutes. Use a thermometer to check when the rolls are done cooking (190°F / 88°C.)

8. Serve and enjoy! Dust the rolls with powdered sugar, serve, and enjoy!

Chocolate almond brioche rolls Q & A

Can I bake these in a different pan?

• Yes! After slicing these, you can set them all together in an 8″ cake pan to make chocolate almond brioche rolls that are more like cinnamon rolls than muffins.

Can I double this recipe?

• Yes! I can’t emphasize using a kitchen scale enough for especially this recipe already, but if you are going to double or half the ingredients it is even more important that you weigh your ingredients. The dough is very hydrated and slight alterations can change the texture of the dough.

Is it okay to use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?

• Yes of course! You’ll do everything the same except the first rise of the dough just needs 10 minutes before you proceed with shaping the rolls.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

• Yes, and I recommend it! Simply knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When ready to make the rolls simply take it out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.

How should I store these rolls?

• Yeast breads typically will taste the best on the day that they are baked, as they tend to stale quickly. These will taste the best the day that they are baked, and the day after. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Why do you measure in grams?

My recipes are all written in grams because it is a more 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. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!

A note on oven temperature.

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. 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.

Chocolate almond brioche rolls troubleshooting

My dough just isn’t coming together

• I can’t recommend the use of a kitchen scale enough, especially for this super hydrated dough. If you’ve been kneading and kneading and the dough still won’t come together, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time and knead for 2 minutes until the dough comes together.

Tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!