The BEST Cinnamon Roll Brioche Danishes with Cream Cheese Filling
There are a few things that a bakery will always get me for: pain au chocolat (aka a chocolate croissant), fruit tarts, and cinnamon rolls (I had one of the best I’ve ever eaten while traveling through northern Michigan, and I still dream about it).
There is just something about the sweetly spiced bite of a cinnamon roll mixed with a soft and tender bread that simply cannot be beat – unless you’re craving chocolate, that is, then of course you need to go for the croissant, my friend. Plus, I just love working with dough. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I ever opened a bakery and I could swing it, it’d probably have a heavy dough component, like Lannan Bakery in Edinburgh, Scotland (you have to get their cardamom bun, I’m tellin’ ya).
I’ve seen so many delicious variations of brioche danishes that I knew I needed to try my hand at a batch, and what better way to bring home a danish than with a cinnamon roll twist?! Plus, if you know you know on that cinnamon crunch edge (I’m looking at you Panera).
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please rate and review it below and tag @accentgolden in your posts on social!
WHAT IS BRIOCHE?
Brioche is a type of enriched dough. What is an enriched dough, you might ask? First, let me describe your standard bread dough, which is typically made with flour, salt, water, and some form of yeast. Enriched dough adds other elements like eggs, butter, sugar, milk, and/or oil, which leads to a softer dough, perfect for sweet rolls like these. Challah and babka are other common forms of enriched doughs, though to be clear, enriched doughs can be sweet or savory.
Do I need to melt the ingredients on the stove for the brown sugar cinnamon drizzle? You want the butter hot enough that it will melt the brown sugar, so whether you do this on the stove or in the microwave is up to you. This will ensure a smooth glaze versus a potentially gritty one.
INGREDIENTS
- Active Dry Yeast: To make your danishes puff
- Milk: Warmed to activate that yeast and get it nice and foamy
- Granulated Sugar: Brings sweetness to each roll
- Eggs: Enrich your dough with fat and moisture while also contributing to a golden color and the best stick for those cinnamon crunch bites
- Vanilla: A little flavor, of course
- Flour: Adds that stretchy gluten structure to your rolls and binds together that delicious crunch
- Salt: Strengthens the gluten while keeping your yeast in check and managing flavors
- Unsalted Butter: The “rich” in “enriched” dough gives a delicious texture to both your bread and toppings
- Cream Cheese: The base for your sweet and tangy filling
- Greek Yogurt: Adds to both the tangy and creamy texture of the filling
- Milk: Loosens the cream cheese and Greek yogurt while keeping your filling smooth
- Powdered Sugar: Brings the sweetness without the grit
- Brown Sugar: Adds a rich sweetness to both your crunch and drizzle
- Turbinado Sugar: This coarse sugar brings the crunch to your outer rim
- Cinnamon: The flavor of the moment for these danishes
I don’t have a mixer, can I knead this dough by hand? You absolutely can! It will be an extra arm workout, but you do you, my friend! To start, just whisk together those initial ingredients where the recipe calls for a paddle attachment. In a bowl, combine your flour and salt; then make a well in the center before adding in your wet ingredients. Cut the wet into the dry with a spatula or a dough scraper until it starts to come together and then turn on your counter to knead per the instructions below, adding in your room temperature butter when ready!
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON ROLL BRIOCHE DANISHES
You’ll start with your dough, since it needs some time to rest and rise. Add your warmed milk – remember, it’s important your milk is warm to bloom your yeast but not hot, which can kill it and risk your whole batch – to the bowl of your mixer and sprinkle your yeast over top. Give it a quick stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow your yeast to bloom. Once it’s nice and frothy, add in your sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat together.
Replace your paddle attachment with your dough hook and sprinkle in your flour and salt. On low speed, mix your ingredients for 8 minutes – this will bring the dough together. As it starts to form in the bowl and there is less loose flour, turn your speed up one notch. After the 8 minutes, with your mixer still on, drop in your butter one piece at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding in another piece, until all your butter is added. Knead for another 8-10 minutes. Your dough is ready when you press it with your finger and it slowly rises back up. You can also pull off a piece of dough and stretch it while looking out the window or at a light; if you can see light coming through without the dough tearing, it’s ready!
Transfer your dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and place it in a warm spot to rise for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size. Once risen, transfer to your countertop and split into 8 equal pieces. For this, I weigh my dough using a digital scale, divide by 8, and cut and weigh my dough accordingly, using a bench scraper. If you’re a good eyeballer, free hand it! Form your dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined sheet. Cover with your damp towel and let rest and rise another 30-45 minutes while you prep your cream cheese filling and cinnamon crunch.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. For your cream cheese filling, grab a bowl and combine everything but your powdered sugar, beating together with a mixer. Sift in your powdered sugar and beat together until smooth. That’s that! Set aside while we make the cinnamon crunch topping. To a bowl, mix your flour, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in your melted butter and combine with a spatula or spoon until it looks like coarse sand. Lastly, in a small dish, add your egg and whisk with a splash of milk or water to form your egg wash.
Place half of your brioche balls on a parchment-lined plate, keeping half on your baking sheet, moving them around to give them even space. Use the bottom of a small glass or measuring cup to press down in the center of each ball, almost to the bottom but without busting through. These will rise a lot as they bake, so don’t worry about your indent being too deep. Split your cream cheese filling evenly between all of your danishes, spooning it into each indent. Brush the edges of your danishes with your egg wash and cover with your cinnamon crunch, pressing it in as needed!
Bake your danishes for 17-20 minutes, rotating your pan halfway, until golden brown and the filling is set. To be extra diligent, grab a digital thermometer and poke the side of your rolls. Once they reach 185°F, you can remove them from the oven – they will cook those final 5 degrees as they cool! Place on a wire rack to cool completely while you bake the rest of your danishes.
Whisk together your brown sugar cinnamon drizzle by combining everything in a pot except for your powdered sugar and cinnamon. Place your pot over low heat, whisking until your butter is melted and your brown sugar has dissolved. Remove the pot from the stove and add in your powdered sugar and cinnamon, whisking until smooth. Drizzle your glaze over your warm danishes and enjoy!
3 reasons you’ll love these danishes
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Make sure to use a damp towel during each rise of the brioche dough. You can barely wet your towel, wring it out, and then place it over your bowl. This will keep the moisture locked in the dough and prevent it from drying out.
- You can omit the brown sugar cinnamon drizzle, but it adds such a melt-in-your-mouth richness to the final danish that I highly recommend making it! If you have any left over glaze, pop it into a container and store it in the fridge or freezer. It will firm up and is delicious, simply spread over some toast!
- You’re welcome to eyeball cutting your dough into 8 pieces. My skills in that arena aren’t as sharp, so I use a digital scale. Just weigh your dough, divide the number by eight, and get to cutting. Each ball will likely start out looking like a scrap yard, but just roll them together and you’re good to go. One of the chefs at the pastry school I attended taught us to roll it into a ball, then press down while rolling the ball on your counter, before slowly changing your hand to a “mitt” and “catching” the ball. Don’t worry, though, if your dough balls aren’t smooth!
- Press your cinnamon crunch mixture into the sides of your dough onto your egg wash – don’t skimp on the egg wash, as that will really help the crunch stick! It’s ok if a few crumbles are on the tray around the danish, but you want the majority on the dough itself
- As a fail-safe, I often temperature check my bread when baking. Nothing worse than a doughy center! Bread is fully baked at 190F, so if you want to use a digital thermometer inserted into the side of one of your rolls, you can pull them as soon as they hit 185°F since the dough will continue to bake a little longer once removed from the oven. You want these nice and soft, so don’t overcook them!
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
As with many pastries, especially bread, these are best eaten fresh and soon after baking. You want them warm and soft and straight from the oven (post brown-sugar drizzle that is)!
At present, I haven’t tried freezing this dough, but you might be able to after you shape it, before it’s final rise on the baking sheet. Make sure to wrap each ball airtight and store them in a freezer-safe container.
MORE CINNAMON RECIPES
If you’re Team Cinnamon like me, you’ll love this Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread, this Easy Bubble Bread, these Delicious Cinnamon Scones, and this no-stress Cinnamon Roll Pie.
Equipment
- Mixer with dough hook and paddle attachment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Digital Scale
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Small pot
- Whisk
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Digital Thermometer
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm milk about 110°F
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp flour
- 4 tbsp brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp turbinado sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- Dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour your warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and sprinkle with yeast. Give a light stir and leave alone for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom, it will look frothy
- Add in your sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat together
- Swap your paddle attachment for a dough hook and sprinkle in your flour and salt. Mix on low speed for 8 minutes, to bring the dough together. As it forms more, turn up the speed one notch
- Keeping your mixer on, drop in your room temperature butter one tablespoon at a time, waiting until incorporated before adding in the next tablespoon. Repeat until all the butter is added
- Continue to knead on low speed for 8-10 minutes, until the dough slowly bounces back when you press it with your finger
- Lightly grease a large bowl and transfer your dough to it, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size
- Transfer the risen dough to the counter, weigh, and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a little space in between. Cover with your damp towel and let rise another 30-45 minutes while you prep your filling
- Preheat your oven to 375°F
- For your filling, beat together your cream cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Sift in your powdered sugar and beat until incorporated
- For your cinnamon crunch, add your flour, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl and mix together. Pour in your melted butter and stir together until it resembles coarse sand
- To assemble, keep half of your brioche balls on your parchment-lined baking sheet, removing half and placing them on a parchment-lined plate. Space your balls about 2-3 inches apart and use a small glass or measuring cup to press a deep indent into the center of each of your balls. You want to press almost to the bottom without cutting through. These babies will rise! You can also use your fingers to press in the center and form a rim, almost like a donut, without cutting through the bottom
- Split half of your cream cheese filling evenly between the danishes, spooning into the center
- Beat your remaining egg with a splash of water or milk and brush the edges of your dough with it. Then evenly sprinkle your cinnamon crunch around the edge of your dough, sticking it to your egg wash
- Bake for 17-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until golden brown and the filling in the center looks set. If you have a digital thermometer, insert it into one side of one of your danishes, and once it reads 185°F- 190°F, they’re done! Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly while you bake your remaining danishes
- While your danishes are cooling, make your cinnamon sugar drizzle. To a pot, add your butter, brown sugar, and milk, whisking over low heat until your butter is melted and your sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and sift in your powdered sugar and cinnamon, whisking together until combined
- Drizzle your cinnamon-sugar glaze over your warm danishes and enjoy immediately!
