Raspberry Lemon Sweet Rolls

HOT TAKE: I used to love cinnamon rolls growing up, but now they’re just too sweet for me. So, instead, I made these! They are a sour-sweet roll. I developed my own recipe for these raspberry lemon sweet rolls that reduces the number of butter and eggs that you need to make a delicious, soft, delicate roll. Then I added a lemon cream cheese frosting to keep the brightness of flavor contrasting with the sweet roll. Lemon and raspberry are a match made in heaven, and now they are a match made in a sweet roll.

Now, let’s talk logistics. If you are anything like me, you’re going to want to make these the night before you bake them. Sweet rolls are yummy and iconic, but they are also a fair amount of work. You can break that work up by making them on a weekend night and then popping them in the fridge so that you can pull them out and have fresh sweet rolls in the morning. You can also make the frosting the night before and pop it in the fridge, but you’ll want to pull it out at the same time as the sweet rolls to make sure that it can soften a bit. If it still is not cooperating, take your hand mixer and beat it into submission (pun intended).

You may be wondering how something that requires this much work made the criterion to be on here. Let me explain. First of all, I made it cheaper (as I previously mentioned) by cutting down the butter and eggs needed while maintaining great quality. Second, I made it easier by adding overnight instructions and using frozen raspberries. Let me tell you, these are MUCH easier to roll than regular cinnamon rolls because the frozen raspberries give them substance and don’t fall out all over the place as you roll and cut them. Between that and the incredible flavor of these rolls, I felt I had to share this recipe with the world. I hope you all enjoy the sour-sweet rolls!

Raspberry Lemon Sweet Rolls

Stir & Chill

These fruity sweet rolls balance sour and sweet to make a delightful breakfast or brunch

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Resting Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Servings 1 dozen

Equipment

• 1 stand mixer or large bowl and wooden spoon for the dough
• 1 hand mixer for the frosting

Ingredients

  

For the Dough

• 1 cup milk *I recommend whole milk
• 2¼ teaspoons rapid rising yeast one packet
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg large
• 4 – 4½ cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling

• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 10 ounces frozen raspberries *1¼ cups

For the Icing

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups powdered sugar (aka confectioners' sugar)

Instructions

 

Make the Dough (First Rise)

• Warm your milk to about 110 ℉ using 15-30 second increments in a microwave. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook or paddle attachment (or a very large mixing bowl if you do not have one).
• Measure out your sugar, then shake a bit of it (about 2 Tablespoons) into the bowl with the milk. Add yeast and stir. Let sit for 10 mins or until bubbly.
• Cut your butter into four pieces. Then add the butter to the bowl along with the rest of your sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir. Don't worry about the butter not mixing in, it will start to incorporate once we add in the flour.
• Add your egg and 1-2 cups of flour and stir to combine. Then add flour 1 cup at a time until you reach 4 cups. If you are not using a stand mixer, you will likely need to use your hands to knead the dough once the first two to three cups are in.
• Your dough should be soft and slightly sticky but manageable with your hands. If it's still too sticky, add up to ½ cup more flour.
• In a greased bowl, let your dough rise until doubled (about 1 hour).

Form the Rolls (Second Rise)

• Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and put it on a lightly floured work surface. Then, roll the dough into a 12" x 18"-ish rectangle.
• Make your filling in a medium-large bowl by mixing together the raspberries, cornstarch, and sugar. You may want to break some of the larger raspberries down so that you can spread them more evenly in the next step.
• Spread the filling onto your rectangle as evenly as possible. Then, roll the rectangle tightly from top to bottom into an 18 inch log.
• Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cut your log into 12 equal-ish pieces and place them swirl side up in the pan, spacing them out evenly.
• Let the rolls rise until double in size (about 1 hour, but if you want them to rise overnight see recipe notes).
• Bake at 350 ℉ for 28-32 minutes, or until golden brown on top. The inside rolls should be soft but not doughy. Remove and let cool while you make the frosting.

Make the Frosting

• If you pulled your cream cheese from the fridge like me, put it in a microwave-safe bowl and put it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Then, add the cream cheese and butter to a large bowl and cream them together for about 10 seconds using a hand mixer on medium speed.
• Add the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat until well mixed. Then add the remaining ¼ cup of powedered sugar. You may want to add a little more if the consistency is a bit too runny for you.

Notes

Overnight Rising (Ideal for the lazy)

If you want these to rise overnight, cover them with plastic cling wrap and put them in the fridge. Take them out an hour before you bake them so that they can come to room temperature. Then, preheat your oven and bake as normal.

Why frozen raspberries?

Because you can get them yearound and they are just easier to work with! Even if you found a good deal on fresh raspberries and wanted to use them, I would recommend freezing them beforehand. They’re less messy, easier to stir into the filling, and more substantial to roll.

Could I use jam?

Probably! But it would still be harder to roll since the jam would want to squeeze out of the sides of your roll, creating a fair bit of a mess.

Equipment I Use (Affiliates)

• Large Pastry Mat (Makes rolling out and measuring things like this MUCH easier. I have a link to this thing everywhere on my website because I swear by it)

Keyword Raspberry lemon rolls recipe, Raspberry Lemon Sweet Rolls, Raspberry sweet rolls, rasperry lemon rolls