Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Star Bread (Vegan Easy!)

This Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Star Bread is the prettiest star bread made with a quick yeasted dough and a luscious cacao cream cheese filling with orange zest and cinnamon. It’s an amazing centrepiece and perfect for sharing (plus it’s naturally vegan!).

I love yeasted dough recipes, especially when they only require a quick 30-minute proof and bake in 25 minutes! That means, this star bread may look like a showstopper, but it’s actually quite simple to make and bake. It’s a delicious centrepiece dessert or snack to share with loved ones over the holidays and you can even play around with the fillings, too. read on for the explanation of the star shape, but for now just imagine the most delicious warm and gooey cinnamon roll with added chocolate orange goodness and some sugared cranberries on top…

Why will I love this?

This star bread is amazing:

• Fluffy, pillowy soft and tender dough
• Filled with chocolate cream cheese, cinnamon and orange spread
• Naturally lighter than other doughs with natural ingredients
• Easy and quick to make
• Only needs a 30-minute proof
• Only 1 minute of kneading required
• Naturally vegan, egg-free and nut-free
• Great to make for friends and family over the holidays
• Perfect to tear and share
• Easy to shape when you know how
• Can be made into other flavours
• Contains very little butter or added sugar

If you already love the sound of this star bread then skip ahead to the recipe card below. or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

The ingredients are simple and you can see the weights in the recipe card below and also see my favourite products in the “shop the recipe” section.

For the dough:

• Plant-based milk: you can use any dairy-free milk like oat, almond, soya or coconut (from the carton, not tinned).
• Vegan butter: this is important for texture and flavour but we don’t need a lot, as the rest of the moisture comes from the olive oil.
• Olive oil: this makes the dough nice and supple while adding olive oil richness and goodness.
• Coconut sugar: for sweetening the dough. You can also use light brown or golden/regular caster sugar.
• Yeast: to make the dough nice and fluffy. I use fast action yeast and you need one sachet, which is 7g or 2 ¼ tsp.
• Plain flour: I use half plain white and half strong white bread flour for the best texture but you can use just plain white flour. I have not tried these gluten-free flour so I recommend trying some of my other gluten-free dough recipes here instead.
• Cinnamon and salt: for flavour.

As for the filling:

• Vegan cream cheese: this is so delicious for filling inside the rolls meaning you don’t need any butter. I use the Cocos or NUSH cream spreads which are naturally vegan and made with wholesome ingredients.
• Cacao powder: to make this filling really chocolatey. I use the natures heart cacao powder which is 100% raw cacao and so amazing.
• Coconut sugar: makes this filling sweet enough with lovely caramel undertones. You can also use light brown or caster sugar.
• Cinnamon: for flavour.
• Cornstarch: this thickens the mix as it bakes to prevent a soggy filling. Arrowroot powder will also work.
• Orange zest: for the orangey flavour.

To decorate:

• Icing sugar: just a little dusting on top.
• Sugared cranberries: these are my favourite and you can find the recipe in the notes of my Gingerbread White Chocolate and Cranberry Banana Bread.

Is this gluten-free and nut-free?

This is naturally nut-free, as long as you check your milk and cream cheese for any nuts. I recommend trying my other dough recipes which can be made gluten-free as this one is not gluten-free.

How do I make this?

This is easier thank you think to make:

• Start with the dough:
  • Melt the milk and butter until warmed through
  • Stir in the oil and sugar and then add the yeast to bloom
  • Pour the milky mix into the flour and bring to a shaggy dough
  • Knead for one minute to soften
  • Place in a bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm to rise for 30 minutes
• Make the filling:
  • Whisk together all the ingredients until smooth
  • If the cream cheese is quite solid, you can warm it up for 10-seconds in the microwave, until it is spreadable
• Shape the dough:
  • Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
  • Roll each one into a circle, about 30-cm in diameter
  • Place one circle down and cover with 1/3 of the filling
  • Top with the second piece of dough and 1/3 of filling. repeat with the third piece of dough and more filling
  • Place on the fourth final circle of dough
  • Place a small round in the middle (like a glass jar or lid)
  • Cut the dough circle into 16 strips, from the outside into the jar
  • Using two adjoining pieces of dough, turn the strands away from each other once or twice and press the ends together in a point
  • Repeat to make 8 points of the spread
  • Brush with milk
• Bake and decorate:
  • Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden all over, well-risen and baked through
  • Allow to cool slightly and dist with icing sugar and sugared cranberries

How long will this last?

This bread will keep for 1-2 days in a sealed container, although it’s always best on the same day it’s baked. You can also freeze the bread for 1 month, wrapped well, and allow to defrost before eating.

What other fillings can I try?

You can also fill this star bread with vegan chocolate spread, peanut butter, almond butter, mince pie filling (like my Mince Pie Cinnamon Rolls), jam, plain cinnamon sugar, peaches and cream… the possibilities are endless.

Can I make this into regular cinnamon rolls?

Yes, you can make this into regular-shaped buns, just follow the instructions here and use the same filling and recipe as below.

What other recipes can I bake?

If you are looking for other Christmas and dough recipes to try:

• Mince Pie Cinnamon Rolls
• Gingerbread White Chocolate and Cranberry Banana Bread
• Healthier Homemade Vegan Mince Pies
• Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
• Vegan Chocolate Cinnamon Star Bread (No-Yeast recipe)

Shop the recipe

Stay in touch

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Chocolate Orange Cinnamon Star Bread so please let me know in the comments below and leave a star review above. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With stars of love x

p.s. this recipe was first made for Natures Heart, who I love, and this blog post is not sponsored in any way.