Violet Bakery Cinnamon Buns With No Yeast and No Waiting

What if I told you the best cinnamon buns you’ve ever eaten require zero yeast, zero proofing, and zero sitting around watching dough rise for two hours? Violet Bakery’s genius no-yeast cinnamon bun recipe delivers something flaky, buttery, warmly spiced, and deeply caramelized in under an hour — and the cardamom in the dough? That’s the plot twist nobody sees coming.

I made these on a slow weekend morning once and my whole house smelled like a bakery by 9am. Nobody complained.

What Goes Into Something This Good

This is a short ingredient list doing a remarkable amount of work. Two separate builds — one for the filling, one for the dough — and everything comes together with very little fuss.

The Filling

Ingredient	Amount	What It Does
Unsalted butter	75g (⅓ cup)	Melted and kept warm — the rich, golden glue that holds the sugar layer to the dough
Light brown sugar	250g (1 cup + 2 tbsp)	Deep, molasses-sweet and the backbone of every sticky, caramelized bite
Ground cinnamon	1 tablespoon	Warm, fragrant, and generous — don’t be shy with it

The Dough

Ingredient	Amount	What It Does
All-purpose flour	560g (4½ cups), plus more for rolling	The structure that holds this beautiful spiral together
Baking powder	2 tablespoons	The lift — no yeast needed, this does the work
Kosher salt	2 teaspoons	Sharpens every flavour in the dough
Ground cardamom	2 teaspoons	The floral, slightly citrusy surprise that makes these taste extraordinary
Cold unsalted butter, cubed	240g (1 cup + 1 tbsp)	Cut in cold — this is what creates that flaky, laminated texture
Cold milk	300g (1¼ cups)	Added cold to keep the butter from melting before the oven does its job
Sugar	For dipping	The final crackly, sweet coat that makes these absolutely unforgettable
Butter	For greasing the pan	Don’t be stingy — generously buttered is the instruction for a reason

this now & bake later ❤️

The cold butter is not a suggestion. Cubed, cold, straight from the fridge. That’s what gives the dough its layers. Softened butter makes a completely different — and frankly inferior — result.

The Four Pitfalls Between You and Perfect Buns

1. Using warm butter in the dough. Cold butter creates tiny pockets of fat that steam in the oven and give you flaky layers. Warm butter just blends in and makes a dense, bread-like dough. Keep everything cold until it hits the pan.

2. Skipping the rest. The dough needs two short rests — a few minutes after forming, then ten minutes before rolling. They’re not optional. Resting relaxes the gluten and makes the dough roll out smoothly without springing back. Rushing this means fighting the dough the whole way.

3. Rolling too thin. You want the dough just under ⅛ inch — about 5mm. Too thin and the rolls are tight and dry. Too thick and they’re doughy in the centre. Roll with intention and check as you go.

4. Not flipping immediately. The moment these come out of the oven, flip the pan. That caramelized filling pools at the bottom while baking and it will fuse to the tin if it cools there. Flip it onto a wire rack the second it comes out — don’t walk away, don’t check your phone first.

5. Skipping the sugar dip. I know it sounds extra. It is not extra. That final roll in sugar while the buns are still hot creates a crackly, sparkling crust that is completely worth the thirty seconds it takes.

Now Let’s Build Something Gorgeous

Step 1: Heat the Oven and Butter the Pan

Preheat to 390°F (200°C), or 355°F (180°C) if you’re using convection. Take your 12-cup deep muffin pan and butter it generously — every cup, every edge. This is non-negotiable with a filling this sticky.

Step 2: Make the Filling

Melt the butter and set it somewhere warm so it stays liquid while you work on the dough. In a separate bowl, mix the light brown sugar and cinnamon together until there are no lumps and it looks like fragrant, golden-brown sand. Set both aside.

Step 3: Build the Dough

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Add the cold cubed butter and mix until the mixture looks like rough, shaggy crumbs — coarse and uneven, like a rough pastry dough. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the cold milk. Watch the dough pull together and come away from the sides of the bowl in a soft ball. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest for a few minutes. Give it one or two gentle folds to pull it together, then let it rest again for a full 10 minutes. Do something else. Make coffee. Let the dough do its thing.

Step 4: Roll It Out and Fill It

On a large, lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle, aiming for just under ⅛ inch thick — wide, flat, and even. Brush the entire surface with your warm melted butter. Before it has any chance to set, scatter the cinnamon sugar over the top in a good, slightly thick layer. Press it down gently so it adheres. You want full coverage right to the edges.

Step 5: Roll, Squeeze, and Slice

Starting from the long side, roll the dough toward you tightly and evenly, gently tugging the dough toward you as you go to keep the spiral taut. Once fully rolled, give the log a gentle squeeze along its length to even out the thickness. Using a sharp knife — not a serrated one, a proper sharp blade — cut the roll crosswise into 12 even slices.

Step 6: The Clever Tuck-and-Place Method

Here’s the Violet Bakery move that makes these buns hold their shape: take each slice, peel back about 2 inches (5cm) of the loose outer end, and fold it underneath the roll to seal the bottom. Place each bun into the muffin cup flap-side down. Repeat for all 12. This little tuck keeps the filling locked in and the spiral beautifully intact during baking.

Step 7: Bake, Flip, and Dip

Bake for 25 minutes until deep golden, risen, and gloriously fragrant. The moment they come out, flip the pan immediately onto a wire cooling rack. Don’t wait. Then, while the buns are still hot, roll each one in a bowl of sugar until completely coated and sparkling. Serve right away while warm — they are peak perfection in this moment.

A Quick Look at What You’re Eating (Per Bun)

Nutrient	Per Serving
Calories	~380 kcal
Total Fat	18g
Saturated Fat	11g
Carbohydrates	51g
Sugar	24g
Protein	5g
Sodium	~310mg

These are an occasion. Eat them the way you’d eat anything truly delicious — with presence and zero guilt. The cardamom adds genuine flavour complexity that makes one bun more satisfying than two of anything less interesting.

The Only Way to Serve These

• Warm from the rack, still slightly sticky, with a strong black coffee on the side. That’s the moment.
• With a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream if you’re serving them as dessert — the contrast of hot caramel bun and cold cream is something else entirely.
• On a weekend brunch board with fruit, soft cheese, and people you actually like.
• Rewarmed in a low oven the next morning, which revives them beautifully if any survive the first day.

These Violet Bakery cinnamon buns are the kind of recipe that earns you a reputation. The no-yeast dough means you can decide at 8am that you want them by 9am, and that freedom is worth everything. The cardamom makes them taste like something you’d queue outside a bakery for. The sugar dip makes them yours.

Tell me in the comments how your buns turned out. Did the cardamom convert you? Did you manage to flip the pan fast enough? Rate the recipe, share it with someone who needs a beautiful weekend morning, and come back and tell me everything. You’ve totally got this — and they’re going to be stunning.

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