These coffee buns are soft, cinnamon roll-style swirls flavoured with coffee and filled with sticky dates & pecan nuts. They are not Rotiboy-style coffee buns, but an enriched sweet bun perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Try one with a cheeky latte alongside - my favourites with these coffee cinnamon rolls are my cinnamon dolce latte and my Biscoff latte.
🔍 Recipe Snapshot:
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 30 minutes + 3-4 hours proving
- 🍳 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 4-5 hours
- 👥 Servings: 8
- 📊 Calories: 503 kcal per serving
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked
- ❄️ Frozen Option: ✅ Freeze when cooled, preferably un-iced.
- 👩🍳 Flavour Profile: Sweet, rich coffee, caramelised dates, lightly spiced.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Moderate
- 💡 Best For: Breakfast, brunch, afternoon snack.
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Why I Love These Coffee Buns
- Unique: Cinnamon coffee rolls with dates aren't something you typically come across but they are worthy of a place at any breakfast or brunch.
- Appearance: You'll be drawn in by the colour of these beauties.
- Taste: Rich coffee, sweet dates, gentle spice and savoury nuts.
- Generously filled: Bursting with dates for a soft & gooey texture.
- Sticky: Just as a cinnamon coffee roll should be - what fun!
- Easy to make vegan: Just use non-dairy milk and non-dairy butter. Simple!
Love sweet rolls? Don't miss my lemon rolls or my classic currant buns. And if coffee, dates and bread is your thing then take a look at my coffee, date & rye loaf.
Ingredients Notes
Coffee: This recipe uses instant coffee granules dissolved in recently boiled water to deliver an intense coffee flavour.
Dates: Use block dates which turn wonderfully soft and spreadable once they have been soaked in water.
Flour: You will need white bread flour to make these coffee cinnamon rolls.
Yeast: I used fast-action dried yeast as I get along with it very well. You can, however, use regular dried yeast or fresh yeast in this recipe. Take a look at this yeast conversion guide if necessary.
Nuts: I used pecan nuts but you could use walnuts or hazelnuts instead.
How To Make Coffee Buns (Step-By-Step Instructions)
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Credit to Domestic Gothess for putting me onto the tangzhong method which helps make these buns soft, light and fluffy. This method simply requires cooking a small portion of the flour and some milk to a 'roux' before adding it to the rest of the ingredients when making the dough. It's a game-changer.
Step 1. Cook 30g of the flour with 150ml milk in a pan to form a roux - stir continuously as it cooks over moderate heat until thick.
Step 2. Scrape the roux into the bowl of a standmixer and add in the rest of the flour plus the sugar, salt, yeast, butter, and ground cinnamon.
Step 3. Pour in another 150ml milk and the 1 tablespoon of coffee (dissolved in 30ml hot water). Stir briefly then knead until smooth and elastic (either with a stand mixer or by hand).
Step 4. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for 1-2 hours (longer if necessary) until doubled in size.
Step 5. While the dough is proving prepare the dates: chop them finely and place in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda. Cover with freshly boiled water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
Step 6. Drain the dates (press lightly to remove excess water) and finely chop the pecan nuts.
Step 7. Knock the dough back and roll out until a rectangle approximately 24cm x 35cm can be cut. Spread the dates over the dough, scatter the nuts over and cut into 8 strips, each one approximately 3cm wide.
Step 8a. Roll each strip up tightly and lay them on baking parchment in a baking tin/ dish. Cover and leave to prove for an hour until doubled in size. Now is a good time to preheat your oven.
Step 8b. Brush with milk and bake for 15-18 minutes until just beginning to colour on the top.
Step 9. As the buns cool prepare the toppings:
Chop the pecan nuts.
Stir the melted butter and the coffee (dissolved in hot water) into the icing sugar. Stir until smooth.
Step 10. Divide the icing between the warm buns and scatter chopped pecan nuts over the top. Serve immediately or store for up to 24 hours.
Insider Knowledge: Prove Overnight, Bake Next Day
Once assembled to the point of step 8a above you can either:
1. Prove and bake your coffee & date rolls straight away.
2. Put them in the fridge overnight and bake them fresh the next morning (take them out of the fridge 60-90 minutes before baking). Genius!
Storage Instructions
These coffee cinnamon rolls are best eaten whilst still warm and definitely within 24 hours of baking.
Once cooled and iced these date & cinnamon coffee rolls should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 24 hours.
They can also be frozen: Open freeze in a single layer before wrapping them up. Simply defrost (unwrapped) at room temperature for several hours and reheat. For best results freeze without the glaze on the top and add this when defrosted.
How To Reheat Coffee Buns
In the microwave: Cook for 10 seconds on a low setting. Repeat if necessary until warmed through.
In the oven: Wrap the sides in foil and heat in a low oven (150℃/ 300℉) for 5 minutes.
In either instance, reheat until just warmed through to avoid melting the glaze.
Expert Tips
- Use grams and digital kitchen scales to ensure ingredients are measured accurately. Guessing weights or using the cup system leads to inaccuracies and inferior baking results.
- Don't over-bake them: Test the internal temperature after 15 minutes in the oven. Once the internal temperature of your coffee cinnamon rolls reaches 90℃/ 195℉ (check with a digital food thermometer) they are done.
- Use a dish/ tin allowing space for the rolls to double in size: Mine is approximately 23cm x 33cm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can, but the intensity of the coffee flavour will vary. You would be wise to use 60ml strong espresso (a double shot) and reduce the milk quantity accordingly (150ml used to make the roux but only 120ml more added to the mixing bowl). For the icing use ¾ shot of espresso.
Yes, you can and it's very easy to do so. Simply switch the regular milk for a dairy free alternative (try oat milk) and replace butter with vegan block butter substitute. Also ensure that the sugar used is vegan as not all sugar is.
You can certainly use regular dates, but be aware that the consistency of the filling will change as a result. Whole dates can be chopped small and soaked in water & bicarbonate of soda to soften them but they do not go quite and soft as block dates, which soften to a spreadable paste.
More Coffee Recipes
Looking for more coffee flavoured bakes? Try these:
Have you made this recipe for cinnamon coffee buns with dates? Please rate the recipe or leave a comment - I love hearing how you get along with my creations.
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📖 Recipe
Coffee Buns (sticky coffee & date cinnamon buns)
Equipment
- 1 Baking dish/ tin approx 23cm x 33cm
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong
- 150 ml Milk Whole milk or dairy-free alternative
- 30 g Strong Bread Flour
For The Coffee Bun Dough
- 150 ml Milk Whole milk or dairy-free alternative
- 50 g Caster sugar
- 400 g Strong Bread Flour
- 1½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 8 g Fast Action Dried Yeast
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 60 g Butter or vegan block butter (room temperature)
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 2 tablespoon recently boiled water
For The Filling
- 200 g Block Dates
- ½ Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
- 30 g Pecan Nuts
For The Coffee Glaze
- 150 g Icing Sugar
- 20 g Butter or vegan block butter (melted)
- ½ Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 1½ tablespoons recently boiled water
- 15 g pecan Nuts
Instructions
Make The Tangzhong
- Gently heat the milk and flour in a milkpan, stirring/ whisking constantly until a roux forms. Turn down the heat and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.150 ml Milk, 30 g Strong Bread Flour
Make The Dough
- Put the tangzong into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl). Add the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, cinnamon. Cube the butter and drop it in.50 g Caster sugar, 400 g Strong Bread Flour, 1½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, 8 g Fast Action Dried Yeast, 1 Teaspoon Salt, 60 g Butter
- Pour in the milk and the coffee dissolved in water.150 ml Milk, 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules
- Stir briefly then attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and set it to knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough looks smooth and elastic. (If you do not have a stand mixer you can knead it by hand).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove until doubled in size. (On a warm day (24℃/ 75℉) it will take 1-2 hours to rise but on a cooler day it will take longer).
- While the dough is proving prepare the dates: chop them finely and place in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda. Cover with freshly boiled water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.200 g Block Dates, ½ Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- Drain the dates (press lightly to remove excess water) and finely chop the pecan nuts.30 g Pecan Nuts
- Knock the dough back and roll out on a lightly floured worktop until a rectangle approximately 24cm x 35cm can be cut. Spread the dates over the dough, scatter the nuts over and cut into 8 strips, each one approximately 3cm wide.
- Roll each strip up tightly and lay them on baking parchment in a baking tin/ dish. Cover and leave to prove for an hour until doubled in size. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 200℃/ 400℉ and line your baking dish/ tin with baking parchment.
- Brush with milk and bake for 15-18 minutes until just beginning to colour on the top and the internal temperature reads 90℃/ 195℉ on a digital baking thermometer. Taken out of the oven immediately and leave in the baking dish whilst you prepare the glaze.
Make the Glaze
- Chop the pecan nuts.15 g pecan Nuts
- Put the icing sugar, melted butter and the dissolved coffee into a mixing bowl. Stir until smooth.150 g Icing Sugar, 20 g Butter, ½ Tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules
- Divide the icing between the warm buns, spread it out and scatter chopped pecan nuts over the top.
Notes
- Use grams and digital kitchen scales to ensure ingredients are measured accurately. Guessing weights or using the cup system leads to inaccuracies and inferior baking results.
- Don't over-bake them: Test the internal temperature after 15 minutes in the oven. If they have reached 90℃/ 195℉ on a digital food thermometer they are done.
- Use a dish/ tin allowing space for the rolls to double in size: Mine is approximately 23cm x 33cm.
- Storage: These buns are best eaten whilst still warm and definitely within 24 hours of baking - store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freeze: Open freeze in a single layer before wrapping them up. Simply defrost (unwrapped) at room temperature for several hours and reheat. For best results freeze without the glaze on the top and add this when defrosted.
- Reheat in the microwave: Cook for 10 seconds on a low setting. Repeat if necessary until warmed through.
- Reheat in the oven: Wrap the sides in foil and heat in a low oven (150℃/ 300℉) for 5-8 minutes.
- Make vegan coffee buns: Simply replace the regular milk with non-dairy alternative (oat milk works well) and the butter for vegan block butter. Also ensure your sugar is vegan.
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