These are the best twist on a basic cinnamon rolls and are perfect for a cozy morning breakfast. The nutty ube flavor works so well with the cinnamon sugar, and it is the most comforting pastry for the fall season.
Ube is the loved purple yam from the Philippines and it is typically used in sweet dishes. You can make it into bread, brownies, cookies, cakes, ice cream. And the list goes on! Every time I visit the Philippines, I always crave all the ube desserts.
I realized that cinnamon goes really well with yams or sweet potato, so it must go good with ube. And boy it does! The ube and cinnamon compliment each other SO well.
Why ube makes the perfect addition to a cinnamon rolls
After you make these, I promise you will want to save it to make again. Typically, you use butter mixed with cinnamon sugar to make the main part of the cinnamon rolls which is the filling. Instead of butter, I used ube halaya which gives it a rich ube flavor and also adds a lot of moisture to rolls.
How to make the ube cinnamon rolls
This recipe is easy to make which is another reason I love it so much. These ube cinnamon rolls make the perfect breakfast with a cup of coffee or make them for your next brunch with friends or family. Everyone will love them and they are going to become your new staple!
Here are the basics of how to make them:
- Ube dough: Add ube extract to the dough for more flavor and also the vibrant purple color.
- Make the moist: The trick to making them moist is using a mixture of greek yogurt and milk or buttermilk.
- Kneading the dough: Make sure you knead the dough long enough. This helps the dough stick together and makes them nice and fluffy
- Let them rise: Be pateint and let the dough rise proerply. You want them to be fluffy, not dense. So let them rise enough so the rise to perfection.
- Ube halaya filling: Instead of butter, use ube halaya as the filling of the rolls. then sprinkle on your brown sugar and cinnamon and roll.
- Bake ’em!: The best part. Make sure to not over bake the rolls. You don’t want the outside of the rolls to get hard so be sure to keep a close eye on them.
- Coconut glaze: I like to use coconut milk instead of regular milk mixed with powdered sugar for the glaze. Coconut compliments ube fantastically and adds a little extra flare.
Moist Ube Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Ube Dough
- ¼ cup whole milk (can substitute for buttermilk)
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp room temp butter
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ube extract
- 3 ¼ cup all purpose flour
Cinnamon Ube Filling
- ½ cup ube halaya
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp cinnamon
Coconut Glaze
- 2 tbsp coconut milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Warm the milk and yogurt mixture until slightly warm to the touch (about 110F). Stir in the active dry yeast and sugar.
- In a standing mixer, combine milk and sugar mixture with the room temperature butter.
- Add in flour slowly until it is completely mixed and forms a dough texture.
- Remove dough for bowl and knead the dough on a floured surface for about 8–10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1–2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out into a large rectangle.
- Spread the ube halaya evenly over the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a log. Slice into 9 even pieces. place them in a greased 9×9 baking pan and let rise for another 1-2 hours.
- Preheat oven at 350℉.
- After rolls are done rising, bake rolls for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and baked through.
- While rolls are baking, prepare a the coconut glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, coconut milk, and vanilla extract.
- Once the rolls are done, drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and serve. Enjoy these moist, fluffy ube cinnamon rolls warm from the oven.