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Home » Recipes » Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

Gluten Free Chocolate Sweet Rolls

Published: Feb 12, 2020 · Modified: May 25, 2025 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 12 Comments

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Gluten Free Chocolate Sweet Rolls are soft and decadent rolls filled with pastry cream and chocolate and brushed with a glaze while still warm.

gluten free chocolate sweet roll up close.

Gluten Free Chocolate Sweet Rolls were originally published on February 12, 2020 and have been updated with a slightly different assembly method, a new name, plenty of new copy, new pictures, and a video.

Some of the items linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.

The owner of Flour Bakery in Boston, Joanne Chang, teaches a class on Craftsy all about brioche. She makes traditional brioche, brioche au raisins (which is just what it sounds like), sugar brioche buns, and sticky buns to name just a few. I reimagined her recipe for brioche au chocolat with my own gf sweet dough, and lemme tell ya these things are DANGEROUS!!

What are chocolate Sweet Rolls?

Like I said above, I got the idea for these rolls from Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery. If there is a baking class on Craftsy, I've taken it. Every single one. As I'm not a classically trained chef, I rely on the internet for a lot of my baking knowledge (and just flat out trial and error). Before there were a ton of baking channels on YouTube, there was Craftsy.

The pastries made by Joanne Chang were long narrow pastries filled with pastry cream and chocolate. I loved the idea of the pastry cream and chocolate, but wanted something more like a cinnamon bun. And these decadent, delicious rolls were born!

ingredients needed for Chocolate Rolls

ingredients for sweet rolls measured out and labeled on marble counter.
  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Dough OR Gluten Free Brioche Dough - I'm offering two options for making these buns. I've made them with both and both were equally delicious, just ever so slightly different. Cinnamon roll dough is easier to handle, whereas brioche dough is a little trickier to work with, but has less sugar and a little more richness.
  • Chocolate - go for the good stuff here. While you theoretically could use chocolate chips from any grocery store, I urge you to try either chopped chocolate or real chocolate callets. It makes a difference.
  • Pastry cream - a silky, smooth cream (aka creme pâtissière) that fills many a French pastry (think cream puffs and eclairs). It's made with egg yolks, cream, sugar, and a thickener. This recipe is so easy and so delicious.

let's make these sweet rolls!

fully proofed gf sweet dough in glass mixing bowl covered with plastic.

Make gf sweet dough per recipe instructions and chill.

plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream.

Make pastry cream per recipe instructions and chill.

spreading pastry cream onto sweet dough.

Roll out dough into a long rectangle. Spread the pastry cream from edge to edge onto the rolled out sweet dough.

sprinkling chopped chocolate on top of pastry cream.

Sprinkle evenly with chopped chocolate.

cutting dough into long strips.

Cut the dough into long strips about one inch thick.

rolling up strip of dough to make a spiral.

Roll up each strip of dough as tightly as possible.

holding roll in hands over top of the rest of the rolls.

They should look like a small cinnamon roll.

placing rolls onto parchment-lined baking sheet.

Place rolls roughly 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheet.

rolls on parchment-lined baking sheet covered in plastic wrap.

Cover rolls with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area to rise.

risen rolls ready for oven.

Rolls should be visibly larger, but not doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, or until light golden brown and they feel set.

whisking glaze in small glass bowl.

Whisk together all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

brushing rolls with glaze.

Brush rolls straight from the oven with the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate sweet rolls FAQs

How long will these rolls last?

As with most freshly made breads and rolls, these rolls are best eaten within a few hours of making them. However, they can be covered and placed in the refrigerator no more than a few days. To reheat, place the covered rolls in a 300-degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

Can I make the rolls ahead of time?

Yes, you can fill and shape them (up to the point right before the second proofing), cover them, and refrigerate them for up to two days. Remove them from the refrigerator about two hours before you'd like to bake them. I would not suggest freezing the filled rolls because of the pastry cream.

What's the best kind of chocolate to use?

I find chopped semi-sweet chocolate (or callets) are the best, or a combination of semi-sweet and milk chocolate. Try to use a quality chocolate if you can. It makes a difference.

more gluten free Sweet rolls

  • Gluten Free Conchas
  • Ultimate Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
  • Gluten Free Beignets
  • Gluten Free Orange Rolls
  • Gluten Free Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter
  • Gluten Free Kolaches
  • Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Knots
several chocolate rolls on parchment-lined baking sheet.

If you make your honey these rolls for Valentine’s Day, or any day of the year, they’ll love you forever 💖💖💖

gluten free chocolate sweet roll up close.

Gluten Free Chocolate Sweet Rolls

Kim
Gluten free brioche au chocolat are decadent sweet rolls filled with pastry cream and chocolate, and they’re the most delectable rolls ever!
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Proofing and Chilling Times 8 hours hrs
Total Time 9 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, French
Servings 8 rolls

Ingredients
 

Sweet Dough (this is a half recipe of my cinnamon roll dough)

  • 1¾ cups (245g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tbsp plus ¾ teaspoon (12g) instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp (5g) whole psyllium husks (or 1½ teaspoon psyllium husk powder)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
  • 6 tbsp (85g) butter, very soft or melted
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

Pastry Cream

  • ½ cup (120ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp (15g) cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened

Powdered Sugar Glaze

  • 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (60ml) warm milk (heated in the microwave)

Assembly

  • 4 oz (113g) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

Make Dough

  • Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes on medium to medium high speed until well combined. Scrape the dough into the center of the bowl, cover it, and let it proof until doubled in size, 1-2 hours (it could take longer than this, depending on the ambient temperature of your proofing area). Refrigerate the dough at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Make Pastry Cream

  • In a small saucepan, heat whole milk and heavy cream over medium heat until just simmering. Meanwhile, whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl, and then add egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk until thick and ribbon like.
  • Remove the milk mixture from the heat and slowly pour a little bit into the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously. Add a little more and continue whisking vigorously. Slowly add all of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
  • Pour the combined milk/egg mixture back into the small saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and "burp", where large bubbles burst on the surface. Continue whisking for an additional 30 seconds after it thickens to activate the cornstarch.
  • Remove from the heat and pour into a sieve set over a small bowl (to catch any cooked egg yolk bits). Whisk in butter and place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the pastry cream (touching it to avoid a skin from forming) and place in the refrigerator to chill. Pastry cream will keep for up to 3 days.

To Assemble Rolls

  • Knead dough briefly on well-floured surface until smooth. I always use the same flour blend that is in the recipe as my bench flour for kneading and shaping.
  • Roll into a long rectangle about 10 inches by 14 inches in length and about ¼ inch thick. Spread the cooled pastry cream all over the dough and sprinkle the chopped chocolate on top.
  • Cut dough into long strips about one inch wide and roll strips as tightly as possible into individual rolls. Place a couple of inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  • Cover rolls loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area until a little less than doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the temperature of your proofing area. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350°F.
  • Remove plastic wrap from risen rolls and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until light golden brown around the edges. Upon removing from the oven, immediately brush each roll all over with thin glaze and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Rolls are best served fresh, but will stay soft for a few days after made and can be reheated in the microwave or in a 300 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes.  
They can be assembled the day before baking, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated prior to the second proof.  When ready to bake, remove them from the fridge about two hours before you’re ready to bake, and allow them to come to room temperature and rise before baking as instructed.  
Keyword chocolate, Gluten Free, sweet rolls
Tried this recipe?Tag @letthemeatglutenfreecake on Instagram so we can see!

Inspired by Joanne Chang’s Classic & Creative Brioche Pastries on Craftsy.

Pastry cream adapted from Gesine Bullock-Prado’s Pie it Forward.

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Comments

  1. Marguerite says

    December 19, 2023 at 7:58 pm

    Kim, I am allergic to psyllium seed, any suggestions for substitutions?

    Reply
  2. Mary Ann Lynch says

    August 21, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    Kim, I'm interested in trying these brioche au chocolate, but I'm wondering if there is a way to make them smaller. Also applies to your marvelous cinnamon rolls. I love them so much, but they are on the large size to eat in one sitting. I don't think the answer is fewer layers in the swirl, because the layers are where so much of the goodness lies. I'm wondering if I were to make per your instructions, but stretch the rolled dough to a much smaller diameter and them maybe cut the dough into shorter lengths? I'm not sure if I'm describing this in an understandable way. Any thoughts? More servings/smaller servings per batch is what I am going for.

    With the cinnamon rolls, I have tried a technique where I stretch the roll longer/smaller. cut the roll into 3 equal shorter lengths. Cut each length in half and twist the two halfs together keeping the cut sides up (Ala Smitten Kitchen). repeating this for each remaining length. Set in a 9x13 baking pan and let rise sufficiently so that the dough fills the space in the pan. Bake per instructions. Actually works well and allows me to cut into smaller servings with each having all of the goodness. Do you think this would work for this recipe...or maybe you have a different better suggestion. Many thanks for your recipes and, in advance, for any thoughts you might have.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      August 22, 2023 at 6:39 am

      Yes, I completely understand what you're asking and I think your solution would work fantastically! I actually do something similar in my cinnamon rolls video, at the very end. The video is attached to the cinnamon rolls post so you should be able to see it there, but it's also on my YouTube channel if you don't see it on the recipe post. I hope this helps 😊

      Reply
  3. Michelle Towber says

    March 10, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    Hi Kim! I’ve made a few of your other recipes, including the cinnamon roll recipe, and they are AMAZING!! I’m planning on making this recipe soon, and was wondering if it is ok to refrigerate the dough for more than a day or two? Thank you for your help and wealth of knowledge!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      March 22, 2023 at 6:24 am

      Yes, you can leave this dough in the fridge for up to 3 days. I wouldn't go further than that because of the eggs in the dough and it will also start to over ferment.

      Reply
  4. Catherine says

    November 21, 2021 at 2:19 pm

    Welp, "user error" here... totally used the AP flour NOT bread flour! They turned out very light and airy and tender 🙂 Making them on thanksgiving with the bread flour

    Reply
  5. Marianne says

    April 03, 2021 at 10:08 am

    These are amazing! This was my first time baking any GF yeast breads. I followed the recipe and they turned out perfect, just like the photos. I filled half with pastry cream/chocolate and half with cinnamon filling, both are absolutely delicious!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      April 05, 2021 at 7:05 am

      Yay!!! Thanks so much, Marianne 😍😍😍

      Reply
  6. Holly says

    December 27, 2020 at 4:45 pm

    Kim, the brioche was fantastic. Better than many gluten brioche in my opinion. I made my with chocolate. The pastry cream was perfect luxurious addition to the brioche.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      December 29, 2020 at 6:46 am

      Thanks so much, Holly! So glad you liked them 🙂

      Reply
  7. Gerald L. says

    May 23, 2020 at 11:31 pm

    So good! I followed the recipe exactly and had no trouble working with the dough. I did find my pastry cream had some tiny lumps, but it was too thick to strain. I think the lumps were starch and not egg, and I wasn't too worried since it was going in the dough anyway.

    I made a double batch. The first came out beautifully but the pastry was a bit dull and dusty from flour, so I brushed some egg wash on the second and it came out with the most beautiful shine. I wish I could post a picture. This recipe is amazing! I cant believe it's gluten free. The dough is so easy to work with and the texture is perfect.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      May 25, 2020 at 11:18 am

      That's wonderful, Gerald!! I'm so happy you liked it! And the egg wash is a great idea. I was just lazy, haha!!

      If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you can share a picture there 🙂

      Reply

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Hey there, I'm Kim!

I won't let a celiac diagnosis stop me from enjoying my passion for baking and cooking, so stick with me and I'll show you how to make the BEST EVER gluten-free renditions of the food we used to know and love 🤗

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