Chocolate Almond Brioche Rolls (2024)

Yield: 6 chocolate almond brioche rolls // Total Time: 2 hr. 45 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.

Light and fluffy brioche, chocolate, and frangipane baked up into adorable, delicious muffins.

chocolate almond brioche rolls

Hear me out: chocolate and delicious almond-y frangipane wrapped up in light and fluffy brioche dough, then baked in a muffin tin. These chocolate almond brioche rolls are equally fun to look at and fun to eat! If you are a fan of chocolate and almonds, these are the perfect weekend baking project for you. Below you’ll find tips and tricks on how to make these chocolate almond brioche rolls turn out perfectly every time!

recipe tips

weigh your ingredients

Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale.This oneis super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

the dough will need to knead for a while

Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Also, please make sure you are using a higher protein all purpose flour that has at least 11%, not 10% protein (I use King Arthur Flour, 11.7%.) The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 20 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.

use room temperature ingredients

The ingredients need to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. Take out the egg at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe, and the cream cheese about an hour before the rolls are done. To bring an egg to room temperature quickly, you can place it under hot water for 1 minute. To bring cream cheese to room temperature quickly, slice it, place it on a plate, and microwave it in 5-second intervals!

heating the milk

Heating the milk is important for bringing the yeast to an optimal temperature for rising. The milk should be heated to ~100°F / 38°C but it does not have to be exact. As long as the milk is between 95°F – 110°F, it is good to be used. If the temperature exceeds 110°F, wait for it to cool down before using it so that you do not kill the yeast!

dough rising environment

For the first rise, I recommend letting the dough rise in the fridge overnight simply because it’s much easier to work with when it’s cold, and then you don’t have to worry about doing everything in one day. For the second rise (and if you do choose to do both rises in one day) – you’re going to want to make sure your dough is in a warm environment for it to rise faster. If the room is cold, the dough will take longer to rise. I like to place my bowl of dough on top of my oven, preheat the oven to the lowest temperature it will go, and then turn the oven off and let it continue to rise there.

how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test

The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!

use tulip muffin liners

I recommend using tulip muffin liners because regular muffin liners won’t support the rolls as they rise while baking. You could also make them yourself super easily! Cut out six 6″ squares of parchment paper, then butter the muffin tin and place the parchment squares into the cavities. They won’t stick down completely, but they will stay in place once you place the rolls into them!

ingredients and substitutions

For the brioche dough:

All purpose flour:for structure and chewiness. Please be sure that you are using a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!

Active dry yeast:for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand. You will just skip the step of combining the warm milk, sugar, and yeast!

Salt:for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.

Granulated sugar:for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising. We will use a little bit of sugar in the brioche as well as in the hazelnut sugar.

Egg:for binding and adding moisture.

Unsalted butter:for tenderizing the brioche rolls and giving them a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is quite variable.

Whole milk:for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.

For the frangipane filling:

Unsalted butter: for texture and flavor. You can also use salted butter here.

Granulated sugar: for sweetening the frangipane.

Egg: helps to bind the frangipane mixture together.

Almond extract: for extra almond flavor in the filling, you can choose to omit this if you don’t have any on hand.

Almond flour: the most important ingredient!

All purpose flour: just one tablespoon of all purpose flour helps thicken up the filling.

Salt: balances and brings out the flavor and sweetness of the filling.

Chocolate: I used chocolate baking chunks here because they solidify for a nice rippled chocolate effect throughout the rolls. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips, chunks, or baking bar here!

how to make chocolate almond brioche rolls

Here’s what making these chocolate almond brioche rolls looks like throughout the process. The full recipe with instructions can be found at the end of this blog post!

• Make the dough and let it rise until doubled in size.
• Mix together the frangipane ingredients.

• Roll out the dough, then spread the melted chocolate into an even layer over the dough.
• Let the chocolate sit for 1-2 minutes to slightly set, then spread the frangipane over the chocolate.

• Slice the dough into 6 strips, then roll up each strip.
• Place each roll into a muffin liner, let the rolls rise again, then bake and enjoy!

chocolate almond brioche rolls q&a

can I bake these in a different pan?

Yes! After slicing these, you can set them all together in an 8″ cake pan to make chocolate almond brioche rolls that are more like cinnamon rolls than muffins.

can I double this recipe?

Yes! I can’t emphasize using a kitchen scale enough for this recipe already, but if you are going to double or half the ingredients it is even more important that you weigh your ingredients. The dough is very hydrated and slight alterations can change the texture of the dough.

can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?

Yes of course! Instead of mixing the heated milk, sugar, and yeast together, just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I do highly recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, simply let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or however long it states on the instant yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

can I make the dough ahead of time?

Yes, and I highly recommend it because it will be easier to work with! Simply knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When ready to make the rolls simply take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.

how should I store these rolls?

Yeast breads typically will taste the best on the day that they are baked, as they tend to stale quickly. These will taste the best the day that they are baked, and the day after. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

a note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and aren’t always at the temperature they claim to be. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you!I use this one.

brioche troubleshooting

my yeast mixture isn’t foaming, what should I do?

The mixture should start foaming around 5 minutes in. If it has not foamed after 10 minutes, the yeast is likely dead. You want to make sure that the milk temperature does not exceed 110°F / 43°C or it will kill the yeast. If you try it again and it still does not foam, the yeast you are using may be expired and you will want to purchase some more before proceeding.

the dough just isn’t coming together

I can’t recommend the use of a kitchen scale enough, especially for this super-hydrated dough. If you’ve been kneading and kneading and the dough still won’t come together, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time and knead for 2 minutes until the dough comes together. Please note that the dough at times has taken me up to 20 minutes to knead and pass the windowpane test!

tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use onmy Amazon Storefront page, here!