Chocolate Almond Rolls

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These Chocolate Almond Rolls are made with a soft and pillowy dough, filled with almond cream (frangipane) and chocolate, then finished off with a syrup, chocolate shavings, and powdered sugar.

three pieces of chocolate almond rolls each on their owl plate with coffee on the side and a napkin in the corner of the photo

Ever had a chocolate almond croissant from a bakery? I wanted to take those flavors and create a delicious roll out of it, and I think I did well with this one. These Chocolate Almond Rolls are filled with almond paste (frangipane) and chocolate pieces, then brushed with a simple syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They're the perfect weekend treat to bake up and serve to your family and friends.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Chocolate & Almond: alone they're both delicious, but together they create a flavor combo that is perfect for a roll!
Soft & Fluffy: these rolls stay soft for days because of the Tangzhong & softened butter. They don't even need warmed up on days 2, 3, and 4, but I highly recommend eating them slightly warm.

a close up of chocolate almond rolls in the pan before sprinkling with powdered sugar

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
What is Tangzhong?
What is Frangipane (Almond Paste)?
Ingredients You'll Need
How to Make Chocolate Almond Rolls
How to Store Chocolate Almond Rolls
Pro Tips
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Other Recipes You Might Like
📖 Recipe
💬 Reviews

What is Tangzhong?

Tangzhong is a an Asian method that pre-cooks part of the liquid and flour of the recipe into a roux-like consistency. It helps the dough mixture absorb more liquid, which then yields a softer dough, making it last longer.

What is Frangipane (Almond Paste)?

Frangipane is a French spreadable filling consisting of almond flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, and typically used in various baked goods like pastries and tarts.

Ingredients You'll Need

I have adapted this recipe from my Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls. They use the same base dough, but different fillings and toppings.

Rolls Dough

Bread flour: I love using King Arthur Baking Bread Flour because it has a higher protein content which then yields more gluten. It can also absorb more liquid than regular all purpose flour, and we are all about that in this rolls recipe!
Whole milk: I love using whole milk in my rolls because it contains more fat than 2% or other milks. If you're in a pinch, you can use a lesser fatty milk.
Yeast: I like using active dry yeast to first activate the yeast before adding it to my dough mixture.
Sugar: For both the yeast mixture as well as to sweeten the dough.
Butter: I like using melted butter with the first knead, and then softened butter for the second knead for a more enriched dough. It's best to use unsalted butter.
Eggs: whole eggs to add more fat and richness to the dough.
Salt: To add flavor.

Almond Filling (Frangipane)

Almond flour: I use superfine almond flour because I feel like it does well with mixing and incorporating. I buy mine from the grocery store, but you can always make your own if you like.
Sugar: Using sugar to sweeten the mixture.
Butter: Room temperature butter is a must in this recipe.
Egg: Used as a binding agent and to bring it all together.
Vanilla extract & salt: For extra flavoring.

Toppings:

Sliced almonds: To garnish the rolls before baking.
Chocolate: I shave some chocolate bar using a potato peeler
Simple syrup: Just an equal mixture of water and sugar.
Powdered sugar: Creates an extra layer of sweetness once baked.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Chocolate Almond Rolls

Make the Tangzhong Paste:

Weigh out your flour and milk and and add them to a sauce pan or small pot.

making the tangzhong by weighing the flour and then the milk and adding it to a pot before cooking over medium heat

Next, place the pan on medium heat and whisk to combine, then continue whisking until it forms a roux-like consistency.

stirring the tangzhong in the pot before adding it to medium heat and whisking and creating a paste.

Place the Tangzhong paste in a bowl and set it aside to cool.

Yeast Mixture:

In a small bowl, add warm milk, activated yeast and sugar and mix. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast activates and becomes foamy.

Make the Chocolate Almond Rolls Dough

Combine bread flour, sugar, eggs, melted butter, salt, yeast mixture and Tangzhong paste in the bowl of a standing mixture and knead using a dough hook for at least 10 minutes.

adding the rolls ingredients to a stand mixer and then kneading for 10 minutes

Then, slowly add the softened butter and knead for at least another 10 minutes. The mixture should look like the picture below. The dough should be smooth and silky.

adding softened butter to the dough and kneading for at least 10 minutes until it's an elastic and smooth dough

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let proof for at least an hour.

add the dough to a greased bowl and let rise for an hour until doubled in size

Make the Filling and Shape the Chocolate Almond Rolls

Filling for Chocolate Almond Rolls

In a bowl, combine almond flour, sugar and salt and whisk. Then, using a hand mixer, beat the softened butter until completely combined. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until all incorporated. Beat in the vanilla extract until mixed.

Spreading the Filling & Shaping the Rolls

Flour your surface and roll out the dough into a rectangle (about 18x12 or so), and about ¼" thickness. It doesn't have to be perfect, but generally in the shape of a rectangle and a pretty large one.

roll out the dough and spread the frangipane (almond paste) and then add chopped chocolate

Spread the almond filling and coat it all over the rolled out dough. Then sprinkle the chopped chocolate all over the almond filling
Working from the 18" of the dough, roll the dough into a large log.
Using a knife (or to get cleaner slices, unflavored dental floss), cut into 12 even slices. I like to trim the ends before doing this so I can get the cleanest slices.
Line the almond chocolate rolls in the baking pan and cover loosely with saran wrap and let rise for an hour.

roll the dough into a log, then slice using a knife or a piece of flavorless dental floss, then place into a greased baking pan

Bake the Rolls

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Once risen, sprinkle almond slices all over the rolls.
Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes. Depending on your oven, you might need to cover the rolls with aluminum foil halfway through baking so the inside can cook but to prevent the outside from burning.

Hint: If you aren't sure if the rolls are baked through, you can use a digital cooking thermometer to check for doneness. The thermometer should read 190° or above.

chocolate almond rolls before powdered sugar

Make the Simple Syrup & Toppings

While the rolls are baking, make the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat and let come to a boil, then turn it off.
Once the rolls are out of the oven, use a pastry brush and dab the rolls with syrup. The recipe makes more syrup than you need, but you can add as much as you like, but don't over do it.
Add shaved chocolate on top of the rolls. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

sifting powdered sugar on chocolate almond rolls in the pan

a pan of chocolate almond rolls with powdered sugar sprinkles all over, a cup of coffee in the corner, with plates and forks on the other corner, and stacked cups of coffee in the background

chocolate almond roll on a stack of plates with the full roll pan in the background and a cup of coffee in the corner of the photo

a chocolate almond roll cut in half to show off the layers

How to Store Chocolate Almond Rolls

The chocolate almond rolls will keep at room temperature for 3-5 days, covered tightly.
You can warm them for a 25-30 seconds in the microwave before eating, if you like.

Pro Tips

Weigh your ingredients. There’s no way around it. Using a kitchen scale will yield the most accurate measurements for both dry and liquid ingredients called for in this recipe.
Don’t skip the tangzhong method! It may seem daunting if you’ve never tried it before, but don’t skip it. It’s incredibly important and absolutely worth it!
Don’t skimp out on the kneading time. Kneading the dough develops the gluten, and creates the soft and silky dough.
Don’t add more flour! At first, you’ll be tempted because it will look as though the dough is wet and not coming together, but that is why it’s so important to knead, knead, knead! Let the dough knead for at least 10 minutes. Add the softened butter, then knead again for 10 minutes and it should all come together perfectly!

chocolate almond roll on a cake server on top of a pan

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is the recipe mostly in grams?

My favorite way to measure my ingredients for almost all recipes is using a scale. This particular recipe I find best when I use the absolute exact measurements, especially the flour to milk ratio. Because of that, I prefer that this recipe be measured out using a scale, so I did not give an option for cup measurements as that can really change the recipe if not measured correctly.

Do I have to use the Tangzhong method?

With this recipe, yes! It was tested out specifically with this method, and it is so important to achieve that soft and fluffy rolls that will stay delicious for days.

Can I knead the dough by hand?

Absolutely, but be prepared to use a lot of elbow grease. It will probably take much longer than 10 minutes per kneading process, so just be warned!