Ingredients

Dough

• Milk: 245g (lukewarm)
• Yeast: 7g (instant/rapid rise)
• White Sugar: 50g
• Bread Flour: 405g
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Egg: 1 large
• Butter: 42g (softened)

Bottom Layer

• Unsalted Butter: 113g (softened)
• Light Brown Sugar: 50g
• White Sugar: 50g
• Heavy Cream: 30g
• Instant Coffee/Espresso Powder: 2 tbsp
• Hot Water: 1 tsp (to dissolve the coffee)
• Salt: ¼ tsp

Filling

• Butter: 90g (softened)
• Dark Brown Sugar: 150g
• Dark Cocoa Powder: 15g
• Instant Coffee/Espresso Powder: 3 tbsp
• Hot Water: 1 tbsp (to dissolve the coffee)
• Cinnamon Powder: 2 tsp
• Salt: ¼ tsp

Toppings

• Mascarpone Cheese: 200g (slightly softened but cool)
• Heavy Cream: 80g (cold)
• Sugar: 30g
• Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp
• Cocoa Powder: For dusting on top

Instructions

Mix and Knead the Dough

1. Combine dry ingredients: In your mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, instant yeast, white sugar, and salt.
2. Add wet ingredients: Pour in the lukewarm milk and the egg. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough begins to form.
3. Add the butter: Turn the mixer to medium speed and add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, letting it fully incorporate.
4. Knead: Knead for 8–10 minutes by machine or 12 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic.
5. First rise: Place the dough ball in a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled in size.

Prep the Caramel & Filling

1. Make the coffee extracts: In one cup, stir 2 tbsp of coffee powder into 1 tsp of hot water. In a second cup, stir 3 tbsp of coffee powder into 1 tbsp of hot water. Mix both until completely smooth.
2. Mix the bottom layer: Cream together the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar. Stir in the heavy cream, your first coffee extract paste (the 2 tbsp version), and ¼ tsp salt until uniform.
3. Mix the filling: Cream together the filling butter and dark brown sugar. Stir in the dark cocoa powder, your second coffee extract paste (the 3 tbsp version), cinnamon, and ¼ tsp salt until a smooth, dark paste forms.

Assemble and Roll

1. Prep the pan: Spread your coffee-caramel bottom layer paste evenly across the absolute bottom of an oval or rectangular baking dish with high sides (at least 2 inches deep).
2. Roll the dough: Punch down your risen dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle.
3. Clean up the edges: Use a pizza cutter to cleanly trim all the sides of the dough rectangle so the edges are perfectly straight and squared off.
4. Spread filling: Evenly spread your custom coffee-cocoa filling paste over the entire surface of the dough, covering it fully from edge to edge.
5. Slice into strips: Use your pizza cutter and a ruler to measure and cut the flat sheet of dough into 6 equal, long, uniform strips.
6. Roll one by one: Take each individual dough strip and roll it up tightly from one end to the other to form 6 thick, perfectly wrapped individual rolls.
7. Place in dish: Arrange the individual rolls directly on top of the caramel layer in your baking dish, spacing them evenly. You should use a pan that fits the rolls comfortably without leaving too much extra empty space around them, keeping about a ½ inch to 1 inch gap between each roll so they stay compact.
8. Second rise: Cover the pan and let the rolls rise until they double in size and expand horizontally to touch each other. Rely on this visual cue rather than a timer. When baked, the tight fit in the pan and the pressure from neighboring rolls will force them to spring upward rather than outward, trapping moisture so they stay soft and pillowy.

Bake and Topping

1. Make the cream topping: Combine the mascarpone cheese, cold heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract all together in a bowl, then beat until the mixture holds medium-to-stiff peaks. Place it in the refrigerator to stay cold while the rolls bake and cool down.
2. Bake: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Keep an eye on the oven starting from the 17-minute mark, eyeing them until the 25-minute mark. It might puff up in the middle during this time; do not worry and simply press it down gently to flatten. Bake until the edges are beautifully golden brown and the coffee-caramel is bubbling up along the sides of the dish.
3. Cool the rolls: Let the baked rolls cool down completely so they do not melt the cream topping.
4. Finish: Transfer the chilled cream topping to a piping bag and pipe it over the cooled rolls. Right before serving, use a fine-mesh sieve to give the entire pan a dusting of cocoa powder.

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