Lemon Berry Sweet Buns with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

It may take some planning to make soft, fluffy sweet buns from scratch, but isn’t it ALWAYS worth the effort? This recipe is a good one because the sweet roll dough is super easy to work with and after the first rise, you just roll it out and sprinkle it with the lemon sugar filling and fresh berries. Gild the lily with a tangy sweet lemon cream cheese glaze. These sweet, tangy, gooey, lemon berry breakfast rolls are perfect for weekend brunching.

 

Occasions For Sweet Buns

Nothing makes people happier than when you pull out a big platter of homemade  sweet buns. The luscious fillings, the sweet glaze — they’re like a siren call to even the most curmudgeonly folk. With spring soon approaching, I can think of several holidays that call for a showstopper dish like this one. Easter comes to mind… and Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. 4th of July. A random weekend when you’re bored and just want something sweet… you know what I’m saying. Sure, serve up the eggs and bacon with a side of fruit, but don’t forget a sweet treat for dessert.

Ingredients For Sweet Roll Dough

• All Purpose Flour
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Nonfat Dry Milk (I used powdered Carnation)
• Salt
• Large Egg + Water To Measure 1 Cup
• Vanilla
• Butter

 

The basic sweet roll dough is adapted from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion Cookbook.  What I like about this sweet roll dough is it’s VERY straightforward.  All of the ingredients go into a bowl, it gets mixed and you let it rise. Easy.

Making Sweet Roll Dough

1. Measure out the dry ingredients and add them to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.
2. Crack an egg into a one cup glass measure.
3. Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with water until it measures one cup.
4. Add the vanilla and butter to the bowl and mix in the stand mixer or by hand until you have a soft, smooth dough.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel to rise until doubled in size (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours).

 

While the  sweet roll dough is rising, make the luscious lemon berry filling.

Ingredients For Lemon Berry Filling

• Softened Butter (for spreading on the dough)
• Sugar
• Lemon Zest
• Cardamom
• Powdered Vanilla (optional)
• Mixed Berries

Cardamom is one of my favorite spices — it doesn’t take center stage very often, but it’s subtle sweet and floral flavor and aroma make it the perfect choice for the lemon berry filling in these sweet buns. Cinnamon would overpower the delicate flavors where cardamom doesn’t. Also making an appearance is the powdered vanilla.  Vanilla extract won’t work in this application, so if you don’t have any, you can skip it.  But if you do — you definitely want it.  It adds a warmth and roundness to the buns so they’re not overly tart.

Prepping Lemon Berry Filling

1. Leave the butter on the counter to come to room temperature. The butter will be spread over the sweet roll dough before adding the lemon sugar.
2. Make the sweet filling by combining the sugar, lemon zest, cardamom and powdered vanilla in a bowl and mix until you have a sandy looking mixture. Set aside.
3. Rinse the berries and cut them into small bite-sized pieces.  Blueberries generally don’t need to be cut, but strawberries can be pretty big. Chop the fruit so they are about equal in size.

 

When the sweet roll dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You want to get it to about 11″ x 20″ or if you’re limited on counter space, like I am, you can roll out two sheets of dough into 11″ x 10″. (Note: if you’re new to working with pastry, this might be easier to manage, anyway.)

 

Filling the Sweet Buns with Lemon Berry Filling

1. Spread the softened butter in an even layer over the pastry, leaving one inch uncovered on the long side facing you. {I use a large, offset spatula for this.}
2. Sprinkle the lemon sugar filling evenly over the butter layer.
3. Evenly distribute the berries over the sugar.
4. Carefully fold the long side over and begin to roll the dough into a cylinder. Finish with the seam side down.
5. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into equal sized pieces.  {The easiest method for this is to cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half and so on. Each piece should be about 1 to 1 1/2″ wide.

 

Baking The Sweet Rolls

1. Place the lemon berry sweet buns into a prepared baking pan (works well in a 13″ x 9″ pan or two 9″ cake pans).
2. Cover with a dish towel to rise for an hour
3. Bake until lightly golden brown. If you’re oven has hot spots, rotate the rolls about halfway through baking, to ensure even cooking.

 

For Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

While the rolls are in the oven, it’s time to make the lemon cream cheese glaze. This sweet-tart topping is the perfect gooey crown for the rolls. Lightly sweet with just enough tang to know that “it’s lemon”, this glaze is thick, but not too thick. It’s pourable and spreadable.

1. Use a hand mixer to  beat the room temperature cream cheese until it’s smooth and creamy.
2. Add the lemon juice and powdered sugar and beat again until smooth. Set aside.

 

When the lemon berry sweet buns have cooled turn them out onto a serving platter or cake platter and pour the lemon cream cheese glaze evenly over the top.  Use an offset spatula to gently spread the topping over the rolls, so that it oozes over the sides.

 

These rolls won’t last once they’re served. Guaranteed. In fact, I shared this batch with my landscapers who were installing a new Sylvester palm tree in my front yard (it took a heavy piece of construction equipment and 5 guys to get the behemoth into the spot). During a break, I set out a platter with the sticky buns and asked for their honest feedback.  There wasn’t a crumb left on the plate if that tells you anything.

 

More Amazing Sweet Rolls & Breakfast Treats

• Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Sweet Rolls
• Apricot Almond Fruit Pastry
• Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Braid

 

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