Hibiscus Chocolate-Almond Morning Buns

Returning to the blog with a vengeance in the form of Valentine’s Day recipes. This is going to sound like an exaggeration, but these buns may truly be the most delicious thing I’ve ever made. Once you’ve stuffed a cinnamon roll with Nutella…is there ever really any going back? From now on I think I’ll measure my life in two parts: before I tasted these buns, and everything after (in technicolor). Let me tell you, being a pastry chef when you’re pregnant is a huge bummer. Absolutely no fringe, snack benefits whatsoever…

The idea for these may have been hatched from a pregnancy craving while on a Trader Joe’s run, but the flavor combination is a keeper. The milk steeped in hibiscus tea doesn’t exactly yield the vibrant pink color I wanted, but it does give a tang to the dough and a delightful lavender hue that comes out even more when glazed. The result is a sweet-but-tart and fluffy bun with a light pink hue. Perfect for a Valentine’s Day brunch or to satisfy a pregnancy craving on a random Tuesday.

I did use two Trader Joe’s specific products- the cocoa almond spread (Nutella imitation) and the chocolate almond pound plus chocolate bar. You can substitute either or both of these with brands of your choice if you don’t frequent a Trader Joe’s. I use hibiscus tea in a lot of baked goods and also love the taste on its own, so I keep a bag of this tea that I buy in bulk on Amazon on hand. If it’s a new ingredient to you, you should be able to find an option in the herbal tea section of your grocery store that doesn’t sign you up for 100 bags. At the end of the recipe, I’ll list several options for customizing the buns to your pantry preferences!

My last note- I’m providing both the weight (g) and volume (cup) measurements, but I strongly encourage using the weight measurements if you have a kitchen scale. Four cups of flour do not always yield 495g of flour depending on how you scoop it into your cup measure and the texture of these buns greatly depends on a properly hydrated dough. It’s vitally important that you have the correct amount of flour to yield the delicate texture we’re going for in a fluffy morning bun. If you’re relying on volume measures (cups), I recommend using a spoon to gently fill your cup measure and lightly shaking the cup to level vs. packing it down with a spatula or scraping the top. And now, what you came here for:

Print

Hibiscus Chocolate-Almond Morning Buns

Yield: 12-15 Rolls

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 50 M

Ingredients

Sweet Dough

• 1 cup Whole Milk (273.75g)
• 4-6 Hibiscus tea bags or the equivalent loose tea
• 3.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast (2.5 pkts, 10g)
• 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (52.5g)
• 1 Egg (50g)
• 1 tsp Vanilla (6g)
• 4 cups Bread Flour (495g)
• 1/4 cup sugar (52.5g)
• 1.5 tsp salt (4g)

Filling

• About 1/2 of a 13oz jar of Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread (substitute: Nutella or any brand of chocolate-hazelnut spread)
• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate with almonds (substitute: any dark chocolate chips and/or shavings)
• 3/4 cup fresh raspberries, quartered

Raspberry Hibiscus Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons steeped and cooled Hibiscus Tea
• 6-8 fresh raspberries, crushed

Instructions

Make the dough:

1. Warm milk for a minute in the microwave along with the tea bags. Allow to steep/infuse for 10 minutes. Squeeze tea bags into milk and
2. Melt the butter in the microwave and combine with the Hibiscus-infused milk. Add mixture to the bowl attachment of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the top to hydrate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, ensuring that all yeast has been submerged in liquid.
3. In a separate bowl, measure the flour, sugar and salt. Add egg and vanilla to the yeast/milk mixture and mix on low to combine. Add dry ingredient mixture all at once to the bowl and mix until the dough is smooth, glossy and uniform in texture (about 8 minutes).
4. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Store in a warm place to proof for about two hours, or doubled in size.

Assemble the rolls:

1. Following the two-hour proof, your dough should have roughly doubled in size.
2. Prep a 9'x13' pan by lining in parchment paper or lightly greasing with a neutral oil (coconut, vegetable oil or shortening). Can also use a muffin pan.
3. Turn the dough out of your bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 12"x18" rectangle, taking care to shape the corners.
4. Spread the chocolate almond filling onto the dough in an even layer, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate and fresh raspberries.
5. Starting on the longer edge, roll the dough into a pinwheel. Slice into 12-15 rolls using a serrated knife and sawing very gently. Arrange, evenly spaced, in the pan and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel to proof for 30 more minutes.

Bake the rolls:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350*F. Bake the rolls until the edges are browned but the centers are still soft, about 15-20 minutes. Note: Cook time is relative to your oven and the overall proof time.

Alternative Proof options:

1. Freeze the sliced rolls right away. Remove from freezer and leave on the counter at room temperature for 4-6 hours to proof. They should appear puffy and be fully room temperature.
2. Refrigerate sliced rolls overnight (8pm to 8am) to proof slowly. Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature before baking (about the time it takes to pre-heat the oven).

Make the frosting:

1. Using a whisk, mix the softened cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in crushed raspberries. Slowly add the hibiscus tea while whisking until the desired consistency is achieved. Frosting should thick enough to hold a ribbon pattern for a second before disappearing.
2. Frost the rolls immediately after removing from the oven.

Substitutions:

• Whole milk is preferred, but whatever you have on hand will work: 2%, Skim etc. I have not tried substituting for non-dairy milk in this recipe as they typically introduce a new flavor and affect the fat content too much. Full-fat Coconut Milk would be what I’d try for a non-dairy version!

• Active-Dry Yeast and Instant Yeast can be used interchangeably. The difference is that instead of adding Instant Yeast to the milk to hydrate it, you will add it in with the dry ingredients instead.

• Bread flour is preferred, but you can use All-Purpose. Do not use Self-Rising flour as that had leavening agents already added (this note is for you, Kali).

• For the filling, any type of Nutella or Nutella imitation will work. I microwave it for 30 seconds to make it easier to spread on the dough without tearing it.

• Mix and match the nuts/berry mixture- I use a chocolate bar that already has almonds in it and finely chop it for added texture. You can chop up any type of chocolate chips, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans etc to achieve the exact same thing. The same goes for the raspberries. You just want the pieces small enough so that your rolls make a pinwheel, but otherwise, Strawberries would still give you the “pink” look.

• Don’t skip the cream cheese. Everyone knows that cream cheese frosting > not cream cheese frosting.