Tiramisu Rolls

Inspired by both tiramisu and cinnamon rolls! These are soft and buttery, filled with an espresso-cocoa filling and topped with a creamy mascarpone frosting. Perfect for brunch with a cappuccino, or for anytime!

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Key Ingredients

• Espresso powder is used in the filling, so every bite has some espresso flavour! You can use a decaf version if you like.
• Brewed espresso is used in the glaze not only to add even more espresso flavour to the rolls, but also to give them a beautiful golden and shiny finish. You can use strong brewed coffee instead.
• Cocoa powder is used in the filling, for the classic tiramisu cocoa-espresso flavour combo. You can use either a regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
• Mascarpone tops these rolls off, and it just wouldn’t be tiramisu without it! You can make your own mascarpone from scratch (it’s surprisingly easy) to save some money.

Tiramisu Rolls

Soft, buttery rolls filled with cocoa and espresso and topped with a creamy mascarpone frosting. Inspired by both classic tiramisu and cinnamon rolls!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Shaping, Proofing & Finishing 3 hours hrs

Servings: 8 rolls

Course: Afternoon Tea, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 batch Anything Goes Enriched Sourdough or your favourite enriched dough. See Note 1 for a link to my recipe!

Filling

• 80 g unsalted butter softened
• 90 g granulated sugar
• 10 g cocoa powder
• 4 tsp instant espresso powder
• ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Espresso Syrup

• 45 g espresso approx. 1 double shot, or strong-brewed coffee
• 45 g granulated sugar

Mascarpone Frosting

• 300 g mascarpone cheese cold, see Note 2 for a link to my recipe to make your own from scratch.
• 150 g whipping cream cold
• 60 g icing sugar AKA powdered or confectioner's sugar
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 50 g dark chocolate for grating, optional

Method

 

Make Filling

1. Add 80 g unsalted butter, 90 g granulated sugar, 10 g cocoa powder, 4 tsp instant espresso powder, ⅛ tsp fine sea salt, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a small mixing bowl. Mix to a smooth paste.

Roll, Fill, Shape & Proof

1. Roll 1 batch Anything Goes Enriched Sourdough into a rectangle about 12 x 18 inches (30.5 x 45.5 cm). Dot the dough with chunks of the filling, then spread it out to all of the edges, leaving one short side clear of filling for about 1 inch (2.5 cm) so you can pinch the rolls closed.
2. Cut into 8 equal strips about 1 ½ inches (4 cm), or 12 equal strips about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide using a pizza wheel or sharp knife (see Note 3). You can use a gridded ruler to help you make even slices.
3. Arrange these into the baking pan of your choosing (see Note 3) and cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature to proof until noticeably puffy, or pop in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours to develop more flavour.
4. If baking in springform pans like I do in the video, you may want to squish the dough down before baking so it's more like a tart base that fills out the base of the pan, instead of a big puffy cinnamon roll-like thing (though there's nothing wrong with a big puffy cinnamon roll if that's what you want!)

Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Bake the rolls until puffed and golden brown. How long it takes to bake depends on what kind of pan you're baking in. If they're all baking side by side in a rectangular cake pan, it could take longer. Small muffin tin sized-rolls will take less time to bake. Start checking for doneness around 25 minutes. For reference, my mini springform pan rolls took 35 minutes to bake.
2. While they're in the oven, make the espresso syrup (recipe follows). Brush it over the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. If baking in a muffin tin or springform pan or as individual rolls on a baking sheet, let them cool for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If baking in a rectangular cake pan or cast iron pan, leave them to cool completely in the pan.
3. While the rolls cool, make the mascarpone frosting!

Espresso Syrup

1. Add 45 g espresso and 45 g granulated sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Mascarpone Frosting

1. Add 300 g mascarpone cheese, 150 g whipping cream, 60 g icing sugar, ¼ tsp fine sea salt, and 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract to a medium mixing bowl. Whip on low speed to incorporate the icing sugar, then whip on high speed until light and fluffy.

Assemble

1. Wait until the rolls have cooled completely, or the frosting will melt right off! Either pipe or spoon frosting over the rolls however you like. If desired, grate 50 g dark chocolate over the frosting.
2. These are best enjoyed the same day, but will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can freeze the rolls before topping with frosting.

Video

Notes

The estimated recipe timing above doesn’t include the time to make the dough. You can use any enriched dough you like (whether sourdough or not) as the base for these rolls, even though I do recommend using my Anything Goes Enriched Sourdough recipe for these. The timing to make the dough depends on what recipe you use!

1. Make a full batch of Anything Goes Enriched Sourdough up to resting in the fridge, then roll, fill, shape, and bake according to this recipe. Or make whatever enriched dough recipe is your go-to up to bulk fermentation.
2. It’s surprisingly easy to make your own mascarpone cheese from scratch! It only takes 2 ingredients and about 10 minutes of hands-on time (plus about 24 hours of waiting time to strain it out in the fridge). Saves money, and dare I say it tastes even better than store bought!
3. Up to you if you want to make 8 fatter or 12 narrower rolls! Keep in mind the size of the pan you’re using. For a rectangular cake pan I recommend making 12 rolls and arranging them in 3 rows of 4 rolls. You can bake these in standard or jumbo muffin tins, mini springform pans, individually on a lined baking sheet (leave a few inches between each roll if you do that), or even in a cast iron skillet! If you bake in a cast iron skillet, coat it with a generous layer of butter to form a barrier between the sourdough and the cast iron.