When a particular classic dessert has a twist, it always blows my mind away. This recipe has two twists for cinnamon rolls—it’s red velvet and there’s chocolate inside! I swear this is so sinful. When I tried making this, I’ve eaten a lot. I just couldn’t help myself!
Our friend over at Confessions of a Confectionista has this to say about this recipe:
“Are you red-velveted out yet? My family is. They’ll be just fine not seeing another red velvet dessert for the next year. My mom in particular is grossed out by the bright, bloody color and annoyed by how it stains everything within a five mile radius. I promised her that this would be the last red velvet recipe for a while. Well, I went out with a bang, because my dear mama LOVED these rolls.”
Who wouldn’t love these rolls? My mother felt the same about the color of red velvet, which is why even though she used to make them when I was young, she wasn’t particularly fond of eating them. But these rolls, she particularly loved. She even asked the recipe from me so I had to send her over to the Confessions of a Confectionista site.
Ingredients
For the dough:
4 and 1/2 teaspoons Fleischmann’s active dry yeast
2 and 1/2 cups warm water
pinch of McCormick vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1/2 teaspoon Morton salt
One 16.5oz box Betty Crocker red velvet cake mix
6 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
For the filling:
1 cup Domino brown sugar
1/2 cup Domino granulated sugar
3 tablespoons Hershey’s cocoa powder
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) Land O Lakes unsalted butter, melted
For the cream cheese frosting:
4 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Land O Lakes (8 tablespoons butter), softened
pinch of McCormick vanilla powder (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups Domino powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add yeast and water, and stir together to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow yeast to rise. Once yeast is foamy, add vanilla, salt, cake mix, and 3 cups of flour. Stir together on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium and gradually pour in the rest of the flour, kneading until a soft dough forms. You may need to turn the dough out on a work surface and knead it with your hands to gather it up into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover tightly, and set aside in a warm place to rise. After 1 hour, punch down the dough. Then let it rise again, for about 45 minutes.
Butter two 13×9-inch baking dishes. In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter. Set aside.
Turn dough out onto a large, generously floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 24×17 inches in size. Evenly spread sugar mixture over the surface of the dough.
Starting from the edge of the dough closest to you, gently roll the dough up into a tight log. Score the dough at every inch, then use those marks to evenly slice your dough into 24 rolls. (This is the best method of slicing cinnamon rolls).
Place rolls into prepared baking dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for an additional 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the rolls comes out clean.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting. In a medium-sized bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually pour in powdered sugar, beating until just incorporated. Then, increase speed to high, and beat for an additional 5 minutes, or until frosting gets lighter in color.
Once you remove the rolls from the oven, immediately drizzle with frosting.
USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW.
Quick Tip: Serve warm, or reheat before serving.
Thanks again to Confessions of a Confectionista for this amazing recipe.
