Matcha Black Sesame Rolls

These Matcha Black Sesame Rolls are a delicious twist on a classic cinnamon bun. It features soft and tender green tea-flavored buns with a filling of nutty black sesame, sugar and tahini paste.

I was thinking about my Mom's Chinese Black Sesame Soup and how black sesame paste would taste in bun form.

A twist on the classic cinnamon roll, I paired a thick and nutty black sesame paste with a soft matcha dough and rolled it up to create these Matcha Black Sesame Cinnamon Rolls.

An extra drizzle of matcha icing seals the deal.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for Matcha Cinnamon Rolls is:

Unique: these are a riff on timeless Cinnamon Buns, using matcha to flavor the dough and black sesame sugar as the filling, rather than cinnamon sugar.

Soft: these matcha black sesame cinnamon rolls use tangzhong in the dough and gives the buns a tender and light texture that keeps well at room temperature for a few days.

Delicious: if you enjoy the flavor of Chinese black sesame soup, this is a fun extension of that black sesame flavor, coupled with matcha green tea.

Ingredients you'll need

• matcha dough: I used my Matcha Shokupan recipe

Black sesame filling:

• Chinese sesame paste: or tahini sesame paste; Chinese sesame paste is toasted white sesame seeds, which have a nuttier flavor than tahini and has a darker brown appearance than tahini
• granulated sugar
• black sesame powder: you can use black sesame seeds and grind them in a coffee grinder until powdery (just be careful not to over grind)

How to make the buns

Make the dough:

Make the matcha shokupan dough according to the recipe.

Make the black sesame filling:

In a bowl, combine sesame paste, sugar and black sesame powder. Set aside.

Assemble:

Once the dough has risen, deflate and roll out the matcha dough.

Add the sesame filling to the rolled out dough.

Start from one end and coil and roll up the dough. 

Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.

Place the dough cut-side facing up, into a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes, covering the tops with a piece of aluminum foil about halfway through.

Remove from oven, let cool, and drizzle with matcha glaze.

How to serve & reheat

Pair the black sesame matcha rolls with a black sesame latte, matcha latte, or a hojicha latte.

To reheat, microwave the matcha sesame rolls for 15-20 seconds, or until lightly warmed through. Note: if glazed, the icing will melt a little.

How to store

Store unglazed matcha sesame rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

If the matcha rolls are glazed, you can keep at room temperature, however, note that the glaze may begin to weep the following day.

You can store the matcha buns (unglazed) in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month.

Prior to serving, warm up the buns and then add the glaze, if desired.

Expert tips

You can make larger or smaller buns, by dividing the dough into 4's or 8's.

Add a little vanilla extract to the matcha icing/glaze for even more flavor.

Other matcha & black sesame recipes you may like