There is no better time for a cup of hot cocoa during the cold winter months. These hot cocoa rolls with marshmallow frosting transform your warm cup of cocoa to a soft, cozy and delicious bun.
Everybody loves a good sweet bun, and this is exactly that. I've taken my perfected sweet bun recipe and added a warm winter twist, who doesn't love a good mug of hot chocolate.
These were inspired by Pillsbury's Limited Edition Hot Chocolate Rolls, and I guess you can say these are the fancy version with a whipped cream cheese marshmallow frosting. Living in Australia I have never tried a Pillsbury roll, let alone these ones, but they aren't too difficult to recreate! My sweet bun dough is tender and soft, and with a few tips you'll be making all kinds of different buns and rolls.


Tips on creating the perfect sweet bun dough
- Kneading the dough enough
How much you knead the dough is one of the hardest things to gage when you haven't baked much bread before. Kneading the dough is important as it helps form the gluten networks needed for bread to rise. But when is enough?
We can check this after the softened butter has been added to the dough. At this point the dough should be soft and supple with great elasticity. To check the gluten formation we do the 'windowpane' test!
Simply take a small portion of dough and stretch it out with a couple of fingers to form a thin sheet of dough. The sheet of dough should be thin enough to appear like a 'window' when held up to the light, but not tear or rip in the process. If large holes and tears appear, then the dough has not been kneaded enough, but if it is a nice thin windowpane you are ready to go!
- Warm heavy cream
This is a pretty well known secret when baking rolls and buns to keep them soft and delicious during the baking time. Before baking the buns pour a little warm thickened/heavy cream over them. This ensures that the rolls don't dry out while baking and keeps them moist!

Let' bake some hot chocolate rolls!
Bread can be a little intimidating to make if you haven't made much before, but it is a lot easier than you think. Most of the time is waiting for the rolls to proof anyway!
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went.
Also, don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your desserts. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and TikTok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!
Print📖 Recipe
Hot Cocoa Rolls with Marshmallow Frosting
There is no better time for a cup of hot cocoa during the cold winter months. These hot cocoa rolls with marshmallow frosting transform your warm cup of cocoa to a soft, cozy and delicious bun.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Sweet Roll Dough
- 240 g Milk (1 cup)
- 105 g White sugar (½ cup)
- 2 ¼ tsp Instant Yeast
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 500 g Plain flour (3 cups)
- 105 g Unsalted butter, softened (½ cup)
Chocolate Filling
- 50 g Icing/Confectioners sugar (⅓ cup)
- 30 g Cocoa powder (3 tbsp)
- 130 g Semi-sweet chocolate, melted (4.5 oz)
- 120 g Butter, softened (½ cup)
- 60 g Thickened/Heavy cream (¼ cup)
Marshmallow Frosting
- 75 g White marshmallows (15 marshmallows)
- 100 g Unsalted butter (7 tbsp)
- 125 g Cream cheese, room temperature (½ cup)
Instructions
Sweet Bun Dough
- In jug add the warm milk, yeast and sugar, leave aside and allow to foam
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment add the flour, milk mixture, egg and egg yolk
- Mix on low until the dough comes together into a rough ball
- Turn up to medium and continue kneading for 1 minute
- Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, kneading between each addition
- Once all the butter has been added continuing kneading the dough on medium speed for 5- 10 minutes, the dough should be super smooth and soft
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to proof in a warm place for 60 Minutes or until doubled in size
Chocolate Filling
- Combine cocoa powder, melted chocolate and butter together in a medium sized bowl, stir until smooth
- Add icing sugar and mix until a smooth, spreadable paste
- Transfer the proofed dough onto a bench top and roll it out into a large rectangle, about 5mm thick
- Using a palette knife spread the chocolate filling over the dough in a thin and even layer
With the longer side of the rectangle facing you, roll the dough into a tight log - Cut the log into 12 even slices and place evenly spaced in a 9 x 12 inch pan*
- Cover loosely with cling wrap and place in a warm place to proof for 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size
- Preheat the oven to 170°C
- Warm the thickened cream (warm not hot!) and drizzle over the top of the proofed rolls**
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown
- Remove from oven and cool
Marshmallow Frosting
- Melt the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl over a waterbath or in the microwave at 10 second intervals
- Combine the butter and cream cheese a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy
- Add the melted marshmallows and continue to beat until completely incorporated and smooth
- Spread over the warm rolls and enjoy!
KStep
Catherine!!!!
What happened??? I haven’t visited in a couple weeks and when I came back you have a new fresh, crisp, cleaner, easier to navigate web design with easy to follow instructions, not to mention all the new recipes!! It’s good to be back and it looks fantastic!! You’ve definitely been busy! I think I speak for all your fans that we are genuinely grateful for your hard work on these recipes! All the behind the scenes trial and errors you do, just to bring us your best, we thank you! 🙏 Can’t wait to try these hot cocoa cinnamon rolls, like everything else you send our way, I’m sure it’s super delicious! We love you and hope you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Wishing you only the best 😊stay safe and strong and...
As always kindest regards,
KSteph
Catherine
Hi KStep,
Hope you had an amazing Christmas. Thank you for stopping by again, I've definitely been busy rebuilding the website and I hope that it improves my site experience for you and everyone else! I'm always grateful for your support and I can't wait to hear from you again in the new year (and hopefully I will bring more recipes for you to try too!).
Catherine
Devon
Trying this recipe this morning. As I live in the United States, I can tell you although Pillsbury cinnamon rolls are a favorite among many, these look amazing and nothing can top a homemade sweet bread! I do see flour listed twice and I believe the first time should be sugar? Also, when does the frosting go on - before or after the buns cool? I was delighted watching you make dessert on Netflix (especially since our daughter studied abroad on the Gold Coast) and think your macaron recipes are outstanding and so helpful. Thank you!
Catherine
Hi Devon,
Thank you for pointing that out! Sorry about that, yes the first flour quantity is actually sugar. You can put the frosting on before or after the buns have cooled, but personally I like adding it on when they are a little warm so the bread can soak up a little of the sweetness. I hope you enjoy this recipe and I can't wait to hear how it goes. Thank you for stopping by!
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Regina Martine
Hi Catherine! Tried the buns and it was perfect. However, I'm having a hard time to figure out what to do with the marshmallow frosting since there is no instruction on your website. Nevertheless, I love the recipe!
★★★★★
Catherine Zhang
Hi Regina, so glad you loved the buns! I've updated the recipe so the marshmallow frosting instructions should be up 🙂
Roch Reyes
Hi Cath! Love this rolls recipe of yours. But I would like to ask, on how do you make the marshmallow frosting since there’s no instruction.
Thank you
★★★★★
Catherine Zhang
Hi Roch, I've updated the recipe with the marshmallow frosting, sorry about that 🙂