Raspberry Lemon Sweet Rolls
These fruity sweet rolls balance sour and sweet to make a delightful breakfast or brunch
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)
