An Inspired Cook

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. I look forward to hearing about your holiday traditions and delicious food with all the trimmings. One of my favorite things to make around the holidays is sweet rolls. Every year I make a batch of Brioche Cinnamon Rolls as well as something new that we haven’t tried before. Lets face it, sweet rolls are my weakness and the holidays just wouldn’t be the same without a delicious sweet roll on Christmas morning. This year I made two new versions. First up is a sweet roll filled with sweetened cream cheese and raspberries topped with a lemon glaze. It all starts with my favorite brioche dough that never fails. These delicate soft layers almost melt in your mouth while the filling and glaze contrast the sweet and tart flavors. It’s the perfect roll to go with your morning coffee or tea. That said, I think every new version of sweet roll is perfect. I can’t choose, they are all my favorite! While you contemplate these sweet rolls, I hope to tempt you with my next post which features a decadent sweet roll with candied pecans! Happy New Year!

Lets start with the ingredients for the brioche dough.  It’s the ultimate sweet dough to make any kind of sweet bread or rolls.  You’ll need flour, yeast, salt, water, honey, eggs, and softened butter.

Mix together in a small bowl the warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of honey.  Let sit for a few minutes as it begins to foam and rise.

When the yeast is ready to go, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the remaining honey, eggs and softened butter.  Mix together with a wooden spatula.

Add the flour a little bit at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it begins to form into dough. Attach the dough hook and turn on low speed to knead the dough together.

Continue on low speed until the dough has formed and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky and wet.

Generously sprinkle flour over a work space and gently knead the dough.  Use just enough flour to form the dough into a ball.

Place the dough into a large bowl and cover with a cup towel.  Set in a warm place to rise (approximately 2-3 hours). 

The dough should double in size, like this.

Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on your work surface, divide the dough in half and shape into 2 rectangles.

Make the cream cheese filling by adding together 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla.

Use a hand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the cream cheese mixture together. Whip until it’s smooth and creamy.

Roll out one half of the dough into a large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Use a spatula to spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the dough.

Mix together 2 1/2 cups frozen raspberries with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and the zest of 1 lemon. Mix together until all the raspberries are coated in the cornstarch mix.

Dot the dough with half of the raspberries. Space them so that each slice will have a raspberry or two in each roll. Begin rolling along the long edge toward you. Roll it slowly capturing all those berries as you roll it up.

Use a sharp knife or dental floss to make 1 inch thick slices.

Take a small pat of butter and run along the bottom and around the sides of (2) 9 inch round or square bake pans.  Place the cut rolls into the pan leaving enough room in between for them to rise and spread out.  Prepare the other pan and prepare the rolls as per instructions above.  Place both pans in a warm space and cover with a cup towel.

Allow to rise and double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown on top.

The aroma of warm sweet rolls . . . there’s nothing like it!

I’m in my happy place now. Time to make the glaze . . .

Mix together 1 cup confectioners sugar with the juice of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons of half and half.

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the warm rolls and watch is drip down the sides.

This batch made 20 rolls (2 pans). Eat what you want and freeze the rest. When ready, thaw rolls and reheat individually in the microwave for 20 seconds or transfer rolls to a baking sheet and warm in the oven.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls with a Lemon Glaze

Brioche Dough
3/4 cup Lukewarm Water
3/4 tablespoons Yeast
3/4 tablespoons Kosher Salt
4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Honey
1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
3 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened
1/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Raspberry Filling
2 1/2 cups Raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Zest of 1 Lemon

Lemon Glaze
1 cup Confectioners Sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 tablespoons Half & Half

Add the water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of honey in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  Let the yeast sit for a few minutes to activate and begin to bubble and foam.  Add the remaining honey, eggs and softened butter.  Stir with a wooden spatula.

Begin to add the flour a little at a time.  Stir the flour into the liquid ingredients until it begins to form into a dough.  Use your dough hook and mix on low to incorporate all the flour into the dough.  Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.  The dough will be sticky and wet.  Prepare a work space and generously sprinkle with flour.  Knead the dough with enough flour to form a round ball.  Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with a cup towel and place in a warm area to rise (approximately 2 – 3 hours).

When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down the dough and using your previous works space knead the dough until it is easy to work with.  Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 rectangles.   Take one rectangle and roll out to approximately 1/4 inch thickness.  

To make Cream Cheese Filling: Mix together the softened cream cheese, softened butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip until smooth.

To make Raspberry Filling: Mix together the cornstarch and lemon zest in a bowl. Toss the raspberries in the cornstarch mix until they are coated evenly.

Use half of the cream cheese filling to spread across the rolled out brioche dough. Leave approximately 1/4 inch free around the edges. Dot with raspberries and begin to roll the long side of the dough from the bottom up until you have a long roll. Tuck the ends underneath to seal. Slice the rolls or use dental floss to cut rolls in 1 inch slices.

Prepare (2) 9 inch round or square baking pans by rubbing a pat of butter on the bottom and around the sides of the pan.  Place the cut rolls in the pan leaving a little bit of space around each roll to rise and expand. Prepare the reserved dough and fillings as instructed above to make another pan of rolls.

Place in a warm space and cover with a cup towel.  Allow to rise and double in bulk.  Bake rolls for 25 – 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown.

To make Lemon Glaze: Mix together the sifted confectioners sugar, lemon juice and half and half. Drizzle over warm rolls.

Makes 20 sweet rolls.