Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls
Last updated on June 23rd, 2026
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.
It’s the warming cinnamon sugar flavours that always get me and trust me, this is a recipe that never disappoints.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make these Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls
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 grams) vanilla
want to make these brioche rolls dairy free?
Simply substitute your favourite brand of plant-based butter, use oat milk or soy milk for the dough, and finish them with a dairy-free cream cheese for the icing. The rolls will still bake up incredibly rich, soft, and tender.
🍊 The tender crumb secret
Because this recipe uses less butter and eggs than traditional French brioche, it bakes up incredibly light, fluffy, and pillowy instead of feeling overly heavy! To ensure your sweet rolls puff up beautifully on your counter, make sure your egg and dairy are at room temperature before mixing so they don’t chill the yeast.
How to make Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls in 5 steps
- Mix dough, cover and let rise overnight.
- Once you’re ready to bake, prepare baking dish and make cinnamon sugar filling.
- 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.
- Bake rolls then let cool for 30 minutes.
- 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 Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls are a crowd-pleasing breakfast or dessert any time of year. And you will LOVE those citrus notes!
Try this No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread or this One-Bowl Lemon Blueberry Quick Bread next.
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Overnight Cinnamon Orange Brioche Rolls
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
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!
