Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls

Last updated on December 24th, 2025

Light, fluffy and flavoured with delicate citrus notes, these soft and buttery overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls are swirled with warming, aromatic cinnamon sugar then topped with the dreamiest vanilla cream cheese icing!

If you’ve never tried baking enriched sweet breads or pastries at home, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. They’re a lot easier to make than they look, and I’ve kept the glaze simple, too.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make them

Dough

• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) active dry yeast
• ¾ cup (185 grams) whole or plant-based milk, room temperature
• 1¾ cups (230 grams) bread flour
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher or fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon (6 grams) freshly grated orange zest
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

filling

• ½ cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons (5 grams) ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

frosting

• 2 oz (60 grams) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons (7 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons (24 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon (3 ml) vanilla 

This recipe also works well using dairy free milk, butter and cream cheese for special diets.

Made with less butter and eggs than traditional brioche recipes, these sweet rolls have a rich and tender crumb. It’s the warming cinnamon sugar flavours that always get me and trust me, this is a recipe that never disappoints.

How to make overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls in 5 steps

1. Mix dough, cover and let rise overnight.
2. Once you’re ready to bake, prepare baking dish and make cinnamon sugar filling.
3. Roll out dough, top with butter and cinnamon sugar filling, then roll and slice into 8-10 pieces and let rise again for one hour.
4. Bake rolls then let cool for 30 minutes.
5. Prepare vanilla cream cheese frosting, spread over rolls and enjoy!

The assembly takes a little time, but the key to the fluffy texture is the hands-off rise time. Once they’re ready to go, these rolls are a quick, 20-minute bake making them ideal for your next Sunday brunch.

These flavour-packed Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls are a crowd-pleasing breakfast or dessert any time of year. And you will LOVE those citrus notes!

Try this Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread or this Lemon Blueberry Quick Bread next.

If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! 

And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews. This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you!

Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls

The softest, buttery brioche dough swirled with cinnamon sugar then topped with an irresistible vanilla cream cheese icing. A crowd-pleasing breakfast or dessert any time of year, you will LOVE those citrus notes!

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Prep Time:30 minutes mins

Cook Time:20 minutes mins

Rise time:8 hours hrs

Total Time:8 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Keyword: baking, brioche, cinnamon orange, cream cheese frosting, sweet rolls

Servings: 8

Equipment

• Digital scale
• Measuring set
• Fine grater/zester
• Small whisk
• 4 Qt mixing bowl
• Mixing bowl set
• Rolling pin
• Parchment paper
• 9×13-inch (3 Qt) glass baking dish

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• ¾ cup whole or plant-based milk, room temperature
• 1¾ cups bread or all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 egg whisked
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to brush surface of bowl

Filling

• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Frosting

• 2 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla

US Customary – Metric

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Instructions

• Add yeast to the milk and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and brown sugar. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in yeast mixture together with orange juice, zest, whisked egg and melted butter and mix everything together.
• Once the dough begins to hold together, pull it out onto a flour-dusted surface. With flour covered hands, knead dough turning it over 10-12 times, adding small amounts of flour as needed just until a ball of dough starts to form. Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit somewhere warm for 8 hours or more (see note). Your dough will be ready once it has doubled in volume.
• Once you’re ready to form your rolls, prepare a parchment-lined 9×13-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and brown sugar and set aside.
• Using a dough scraper or floured hands, pull dough out onto a floured surface and gently fold it into itself several times just until a flour-covered ball has formed. Using a flour-dusted rolling pin, roll out dough into a rectangle measuring around 9 x 13 inches.
• Spread room temperature butter across the surface of the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Gently press the sugar into the surface of the dough to keep it in place.
• Starting at one of the 9” ends, roll up the dough into a log shape and place it seam side down. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 1-inch rounds. Place rolls in baking dish, cover and let rise for another 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Uncover rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven, transfer to wire cooling rack and let cool for 20-30 minutes.
• To prepare the frosting, whisk together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over rolls and enjoy!

Notes

To make gluten free: Use an equal amount of your favourite 1:1 gluten free flour blend in place of the bread or all-purpose flour.

Dairy free substitutes: This recipe also works well using dairy free milk, butter and cream cheese for special diets.

Rise time and temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60’s/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts. You will know it’s ready to be shaped once it has doubled in volume, and this can take a minimum of 2-3 hours or as long as a full day. With a little experimentation, you will find the time frame that works best for you.