These ube cinnamon rolls are SO fluffy, ooey gooey, made with real ube, and not-too-sweet! The rolls are made with an enriched ube brioche, swirls of ube jam, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and topped with a delicious ube cream cheese frosting.
Want to learn more about ube? Read my ultimate guide to ube?
✉️ want to save this?
enter your email and i’ll send it directly to your inbox! & as a bonus, you’ll get new recipes & resources sent to you every month. 💛
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re are incredibly soft! To achieve this, I made an enriched brioche dough made with butter and eggs to yield flavorful, pillowy buns. And before baking, a brown sugar heavy cream mixture is poured on top. This makes them even more tender with a sticky, rich sauce on the bottom.
- It’s not too sweet. Coming from a not-too-sweet household, I made sure to make these ube rolls very palatable. The cream cheese frosting is on the tarter side, but you can always add more powdered sugar if you prefer.
Interested in a matcha version? Try my delicious strawberry matcha rolls or brown sugar matcha boba buns!
Ingredients
To make ube brioche cinnamon rolls with heavy cream, you’ll need the following ingredients:
For the ube brioche dough:
- Ube extract gives the dough its purple yam flavor and purple color!
- Adding cornstarch with the all-purpose flour will help yield soft, cakier cinnamon rolls!
- The active dry yeast will be mixed with sugar and warm whole milk before incorporating it into the recipe. If using instant dry yeast, you can skip the dissolving step and add it straight into your dry ingredients.
- Eggs and unsalted butter will enrich the fluffy cinnamon roll dough, making it very tender and flavorful.
For the filling:
- For the ube roll filling, you’ll mix together cinnamon, brown sugar (light or dark), ube extract, and ube jam.
For the heavy cream mixture:
- Right before baking, you’ll pour a mixture heavy cream, brown sugar (light or dark), cinnamon, and ube extract on top of the rolls. This will make them richer in flavor and add a sticky syrup that will coat the bottom of the pan.
For the ube cream cheese frosting:
- This is a basic cream cheese frosting comprising of full-fat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and ube extract.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tip
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
How to Make Fluffy Ube Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1: In a bowl, whisk together warmed milk, yeast, sugar, and ube extract. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture is foamy.
Step 2: In a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment, mix flour, cornstarch, salt, yeast mixture, and eggs on medium speed until dough forms. Add a tablespoon of softened butter every 30 seconds, then mix for about 8 minutes, or until dough passes the windowpane test: take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it. If it is kneaded enough, it should be translucent and you can see light passing through.
Step 3: Lightly cover dough and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours (or overnight in the fridge!). Mix all of the ube filling ingredients in a bowl until combined.
Step 4: Roll dough out into a 18″x12″ rectangle. Evenly spread filling and cut out twelve 1.5-inch strips. Gently roll into coils, placing each one into a 9″x13″ baking pan.
Step 5: Lightly cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1.5 hours. Stir together ingredients for the heavy cream mixture, then pour over rolls. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 25-35 minutes, or until rolls no longer doughy in the middle. During the last few minutes of baking, make the frosting.
Step 6: Spread ube frosting all over warm ube cinnamon rolls. Serve and enjoy them warm!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Homemade Ube Cinnamon Buns FAQs
No, you can omit it if you don’t have it. However, I found that it makes the rolls very soft and tender.
For this recipe, I cut 12 equal pieces and arranged them 4×3 in a 9 inch by 13 inch pan. I’ve also used the same recipe to cut 9 equal pieces and arranged them 3×3 in a 9-inch square pan!
This recipe uses an enriched brioche dough, which means there is a substantial amount of butter (aka fat) in the dough. This makes rising time longer, but it is SO worth it because brioche is very flavorful, soft, and buttery!
Yes, but I highly recommend using a stand mixer. This is because kneading brioche may take longer and can be trickier for beginner bakers, especially when it comes to incorporating the softened butter.
If kneading by hand, the dough will be pretty sticky. You must be patient and keep kneading without adding too much flour; the dough will eventually come together!
Adding heavy cream hydrates the rolls, makes them softer, and creates a gooey bottom. For this recipe, I added in a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon for extra flavor.
Storage
- Refrigeration instructions: Store cooled ube cinnamon buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cinnamon buns (with or without frosting) in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave.
💜 More Ube Recipes
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a review & share it with me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, or Pinterest!
Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Ube Cinnamon Rolls
✉️ want to save this?
enter your email and i’ll send it directly to your inbox! & as a bonus, you’ll get new recipes & resources sent to you every month. 💛
Equipment
- small bowl for heavy cream mixture
- 2 medium bowl for yeast mixture and filling
- large bowl for proofing dough
- Stand mixer hook attachment for dough, paddle attachment for filling and frosting
- plastic wrap or kitchen towel
- 9"x13" baking pan see notes
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 1 cup (244 g) whole milk warmed
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) ube extract
- 2 (100 g) eggs room temperature
- 4 ¼ cups (531.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons (32 g) cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoons (7.5 g) fine sea salt or table salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter softened
Ube Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling:
- ½ cup (118 g) ube halaya can use store-bought ube jam!
- ⅓ cup (73.33 g) brown sugar packed; light or dark
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) ube extract
Heavy Cream Mixture:
- ⅓ cup (79.33 g) heavy cream room temperature
- ½ tablespoon (6 g) brown sugar packed; light or dark
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) ube extract
Ube Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese softened
- ½-1 cup (60 g) powdered sugar adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) ube extract
Instructions
For the enriched dough:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup (244 g) whole milk (warmed), ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast, and 2 teaspoons (10 g) ube extract. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until yeast is activated and mixture is frothy.
- In a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment, add 2 (100 g) eggs, 4 ¼ cups (531.25 g) all-purpose flour, 4 tablespoons (32 g) cornstarch, 1 ¼ teaspoons (7.5 g) fine sea salt, and yeast mixture. Mix on medium low speed until dough forms.
- While mixing on medium low speed, add ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter a tablespoon at a time, every 30 seconds. Continue mixing for 8-10 minutes, or until dough passes the windowpane test.To do the windowpane test, take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it. If it is kneaded enough, it should be translucent enough to see light passing through.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl, lightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours (or overnight in the fridge!).
For assembly:
- In a medium bowl, mix together ½ cup (118 g) ube halaya, ⅓ cup (73.33 g) brown sugar, 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon (5 g) ube extract until combined.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 18"x-12" rectangle. Evenly spread ube filling. Cut twelve 1 ½-inch strips.
- Gently roll each strip into a tight roll, placing each one in a 9"x13" baking pan. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1.5 hours. In the last 5-10 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
Bake cinnamon rolls:
- In a small bowl, mix ⅓ cup (79.33 g) heavy cream, ½ tablespoon (6 g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) ube extract until combined. Pour all over cinnamon rolls.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until rolls are no longer doughy in the middle. In the last few minutes of baking, make the frosting: in your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix softened 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, ½-1 cup (60 g) powdered sugar (adjust to taste), and 1 teaspoon (5 g) ube extract until fully combined.
- Let cinnamon rolls cool for about 5 minutes, then spread on cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!
Notes
- For this recipe, I cut 12 equal pieces and arranged them 3×4 in a 9 inch by 13 inch pan. I’ve also used the same recipe to cut 9 equal pieces and arranged them 3×3 in a 9-inch square pan!
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Refrigeration instructions: Store cooled ube cinnamon buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled ube cinnamon buns (with or without frosting) in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave.
