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purple sweet potato cinnamon rolls semifrosted overhead view

Purple Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Print Recipe
These purple cinnamon rolls are super fun and delicious thanks to the vibrant Okinawan sweet potato! Make sure to make my Okinawan sweet potato jam ahead of time to use in this recipe.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American, Asian American
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rising Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings 12 rolls

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Rolls

  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk warmed
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (or one packet)
  • 1/2 cup Okinawan sweet potato jam for the dough
  • 2 cups Okinawan sweet potato jam for the filling
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

For Cream Cheese Frosting*

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tbsp butter softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 tsp ube extract

Instructions

  • Mix yeast and cup of milk. Milk should be warm to the touch but not steaming. Set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk salt, sugar, and flour.
  • Check your wet ingredients to make sure your yeast has become slightly frothy at the top. That means your yeast is working. If your yeast has not frothed or foamed at all, you may need to try a new pack. Assuming your yeast is fine, add wet and dry ingredients together with melted butter, 1/2 cup jam, and eggs. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, but do not knead the dough.
  • Place dough in a greased, sealed container and place in warm spot to rise for about two hours or until doubled in size. At this point, you can either continue making the recipe or place your sealed container in the fridge to use at a later time.
  • Roll dough out into a rectangle roughly 16x20 inches.
  • Spread sweet potato jam on top of the dough. If your jam is too thick to spread, microwave it for a few seconds until it gets warm and loosens up.
  • Mix ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom (note: you can use just cinnamon if you're not a fan of the other spices). Sprinkle over the jam.
  • Roll the rectangle of dough lengthwise so you get a long log. Slice log into 12 equal rounds.
  • Lay the cinnamon roll pieces flat in a greased 9x13" baking dish, leaving space between each piece for the next rise.
  • Cover the dish and let rise for another half hour. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • After 30 minutes, your cinnamon rolls should look puffy and be almost touching. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until rolls are cooked through.
  • When rolls are done, let them cool almost completely to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating all ingredients together either in a stand mixer or with an electric beater.
  • When cinnamon rolls have cooled, smother with frosting and enjoy!

Notes

  • If you don't want to make my Okinawan sweet potato jam, you can substitute store bought ube halaya to make ube cinnamon rolls.
  • If you'd like super purple rolls, you can add ube extract to the wet ingredients prior to mixing the dough.
  • You can also add 1/4 cup jam to the cream cheese frosting, although it won't be purple enough to dye the frosting, and, to be honest, the cream cheese flavor kind of overpowers the sweet potato flavor.