Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the milk and stir until well combined. Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly before adding white sugar and active dry yeast. This mixture needs time to activate—about five minutes should do the trick—so keep an eye on those bubbles!

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, dark cocoa powder, and salt. This step ensures that your dry ingredients are evenly distributed and ready to create that soft dough we all love.

Once your yeast mixture is frothy, pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients along with vanilla extract. Stir until everything comes together into a sticky dough. At this point, feel free to add ground coffee if you desire an extra kick of flavor!

Transfer your dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently for about eight minutes until smooth and elastic. Kneading is essential as it develops gluten which gives your rolls their wonderful texture.

Place your kneaded dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size—about one hour should suffice.

While waiting for the dough to rise, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and any optional nuts you may choose into a small bowl. This fragrant blend will add layers of sweetness inside each roll.

Once risen, punch down the dough gently to release air bubbles. Roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle shape about half an inch thick. Spread some butter curls across the surface followed by your brown sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly.

Starting from one edge of the rectangle, roll it tightly into a log shape. Slice this log into approximately fifteen equal pieces—each slice will form one delightful roll!

Arrange your sliced rolls in a greased baking dish close together (they will rise again). Cover them lightly with plastic wrap or another towel and let them rise for another thirty minutes while preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake them for about thirty minutes until puffed up and baked through.

While the rolls are cooling slightly after baking, prepare your chocolate cream cheese frosting by beating together cream cheese, milk, powdered sugar, and dark cocoa powder until smooth and creamy.

Once cooled enough not to melt your frosting away (but still warm), generously spread it over each roll. Enjoy every gooey bite of these chocolate cinnamon rolls with chocolate cream cheese frosting!