A giant pumpkin cinnamon roll cake aka the lightest, fluffiest pumpkin spiced cinnamon roll made *huge.*
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milk bread giant pumpkin cinnamon roll
Pumpkin pie spiced cinnamon rolls, but turn them into one giant pumpkin pie spiced cinnamon roll to make the perfect fall cinnamon roll. This is made with a super soft and fluffy milk bread pumpkin dough, rolled up with dark brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and butter, and it’s all topped off with a sweet maple cream cheese glaze. And it’s perfectly acceptable to eat this whole cinnamon roll cake because really it’s just one (giant) cinnamon roll. Below you’ll find a whole bunch of tips and tricks that (I hope) are helpful for working with this milk bread dough. Happy baking!
why you’ll love this giant pumpkin cinnamon roll:
- The dough is super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Cream cheese frosting: tangy cream cheese frosting is always the perfect compliment to sweet cinnamon rolls and it’s got a little bit of maple syrup in it for flavor and sweetness.
- It’s easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
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.
giant pumpkin cinnamon roll ingredients
Milk Bread dough:
- Bread flour: for structure and chewiness. You can sub in all purpose flour, just be sure that you are using 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 on.)
- 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.
- Dark brown sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the dough and giving it 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 a little variable.
- Pumpkin puree: for pumpkin flavor! Make sure you are using “100% pure pumpkin” and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest dough 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 filling:
- Unsalted butter: you can use salted butter here or your favorite non-dairy butter stick.
- Dark brown sugar: I recommend dark brown just for the extra flavor it adds, but light brown works perfectly as well!
- Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor – in a pinch you can sub in ground cinnamon.
For the maple cream cheese glaze:
- Cream cheese: the base of the frosting.
- Pure maple syrup: to sweeten up the frosting.
- Milk: to thin out the frosting, use your favorite dairy or non-dairy alternative milk here.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
how to make a giant pumpkin cinnamon roll cake
Below are some steps of the giant cinnamon roll making process. You can find the full recipe at the end of this page.
giant pumpkin cinnamon roll cake 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 cinnamon roll cake
This cinnamon roll cake is definitely going to taste the best and most fresh on the day that it is baked, and I highly recommend serving it the same day you bake it. If you plan on eating the cake over multiple days – I recommend slicing up the cake and only frosting the pieces you are going to eat. Store the extra cream cheese glaze in the fridge and keep the cinnamon roll cake in an airtight container at room temperature. When you want to have some cake, heat a slice or two in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before icing it, then enjoy.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two cake pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
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. Just note that your dough will double in size faster when using instant yeast.
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
Giant Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g bread flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Pumpkin Brioche Dough
- 240 g bread flour (2 c.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 egg room temperature
- 60 g pumpkin puree (¼ c.)
- 30 g whole milk (2 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
Filling
- 42 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
- 110 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 22 g pure maple syrup (1 ½ tbsp.)
- 55 g whole milk room temperature (¼ c.)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Pumpkin Brioche Dough
- Make the tangzhong: in a small saucepan over medium heat, continuously stir together the flour and milk until the mixture and thickens into a thick slurry. Take off the heat and set aside. Alternatively, whisk together the flour and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture becomes a thick slurry.
- Add all of the ingredients, including the tangzhong, into 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 bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough 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.)**
Filling
- Generously butter a 8" cake pan. Crumple up some parchment paper, then un-crumple it and place it into the buttered cake pan, making sure it sticks to the bottom and sides. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and set it aside.
- 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.
- Melt the butter, then mix it in with the spiced sugar and spread it over the dough.
- From the longer side, cut the dough into 6 two inch strips.
- Roll up one of the strips as you would with a standard cinnamon roll and place it into the center of your prepared pan.
- Pick up another strip of dough and coil it around the center cinnamon roll. Repeat until you have used up all six strips of dough.
- Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the cake rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- (Optional, for browning) Make an egg wash by whisking together an egg with 1 tbsp. milk, then brush it over the cake.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown and the internal temperature of the cake has reached 180°F / 82°C
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese until smooth. Then mix in the maple syrup, followed by the milk and vanilla.
- Spread the icing over the warm cinnamon roll cake, then serve 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.