The Softest Raspberry Lemon Rolls

Raspberry Lemon Rolls - they're soft, tender, and absolutely bursting with flavour. These rolls are filled with a tangy, bright lemon curd and a sweet and fruity raspberry reduction, and then smeared with a luscious raspberry cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a brunch or to just eat them because they're so delicious.

These are variation of my popular Cinnamon Roll recipe which was really popular and so many people have made and loved them!

If you like these lemon raspberry rolls or cinnamon rolls, try out these Dutch Cinnamon Rolls (Zeeuwse Bolus). They're crispy and crunchy on the outside from the cinnamon sugar and so pillowy on the inside! And I know these aren't rolls, but try out these Italian doughnuts or Bomboloni! Soft and airy doughnuts filled with pastry cream!

Lemon Curd

In this recipe I use my lemon curd recipe that I've never actually gotten around to sharing on here. I've posted a raspberry version of it that I used in my Lemon Cookies with Raspberry Curd recipe (which, if you haven't checked out already, lemme just tell you: they're AMAZING).

People usually think that making any type of curd seems intimidating and complicated, but I promise it's really simple! I'll walk you through all the steps to ensure you do well 🙂

Raspberry Filling

This filling may just be the star of the show. It's just cooked down raspberries with sugar and lemon juice and it takes these rolls to the next level.

You can also use raspberry jam instead if you cannot find raspberries or if you're just feeling lazy.

• Fresh or frozen. You can use fresh or frozen raspberries in this. If you use frozen, make sure to account for the extra moisture and cook it a bit longer. You don't need to defrost the berries, just add them straight from the freezer to the pan.

• Strain it once it's done cooking if you don't like the seeds. I personally like the texture of the seeds and I'm just too lazy to strain it and dirty another dish.

• Make sure to cook enough to thicken it well. If it's not thick enough and too runny, it will end up oozing out everywhere when rolling, cutting and handling the rolls. Be careful not to thicken it *too* much while its cooking because it will thicken further as it cools.

The Dough

This dough recipe gives you the softest rolls that stay soft even days after you bake them. Which was a very important aspect for me when I was testing this recipe because why would you not want soft rolls the next day???

The hydration is pretty high for this recipe and it will feel tacky when you handle it. It should be tacky but not sticking to your fingers. This helps the dough stay moist for longer.

I also use buttermilk instead of just milk or water because the acidity of the buttermilk helps tenderize and give a nicer rise

Tips for making the dough for the raspberry lemon rolls

• Make sure the yeast is alive. If you're not sure if it's still alive, in a small bowl of warm water, add a pinch of sugar and some yeast. mix it a bit and let it sit for 5-15 minutes. If it starts bubbling or becoming foamy, it's alive! If not, its dead and you need to get new yeast unfortunately.

• Buttermilk substitute. If you don't have buttermilk, you can make it with vinegar and regular milk. Take out 1.5 tablespoon from the milk and add 1.5 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Slightly mix it and let it sit for 5-10 minutes and it'll curdle. Heat it to just 100 F and then add in the yeast. Don't warm it up too much or it will become something like cheese curds. Don't ask me how I know this 🙁

• If kneading by hands. The dough may be a bit too sticky to work with. Try not to add too much flour to it because this will impact the softness because there will be a lower hydration. Try not to add more than ¼ cup or 69g.

• To see if the dough is kneaded enough, do the Windowpane Test. Take a bit of the dough and slowly stretch it out. If it stretches thin enough to see light/shadows through it, its kneaded enough. If it tears and rips, it needs a to be kneaded some more as the gluten has not developed enough.

Happy Baking!

Raspberry Lemon Rolls

They're soft, tender, and absolutely bursting with flavour. These rolls are filled with a tangy, bright lemon curd and a sweet and fruity raspberry reduction, and then smeared with a luscious raspberry cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a brunch or to just eat them because they're so delicious.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Cinnamon Rolls, Lemon, Raspberry

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Rest Time: 3 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 rolls

Author: Nabeah Wahab

Ingredients

• 1 – egg room temp
• ¼ cup – sugar 50g
• ⅓ cup – butter melted (74g)
• 1½ cup – buttermilk*¹ – 354mL warmed- 100℉
• 2¼ teaspoon – yeast
• 4 cups – all-purpose flour 552g
• ¾ teaspoon – salt
• ½ cup - heavy cream, warmed (for pouring on the rolls, not in the dough)

Raspberry Filling

• 1 ½ cup - raspberries (169g)
• 2 tablespoon - water
• 6 tablespoon - sugar (75g)
• 1 teaspoon - cornstarch + 2 teaspoon water
• pinch - salt

Lemon Curd

• 2 - eggs
• 1 - egg yolk
• ⅓ cup - lemon juice, 78mL (78g)
• - zest of 2 lemons
• ¾ cup - sugar (150g)
• 4 tablespoon - unsalted butter (56g)
• - pinch of salt

Frosting

• ½ cup - powdered sugar (69g)
• 3 tablespoon - unsalted butter, softened (42g)
• 2 tablespoon - heavy cream, 30mL
• 3 tablespoon - raspberry jam
• 2.8 ounces - cream cheese (80g)
• - pinch of salt

Instructions

Make the Dough

• Warm up the buttermilk to 100-105℉. Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon of sugar and the yeast and mix well. Let rest for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is foamy and bubbly.
• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar and egg. Mix in the melted butter.
• Once yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients that are already in there. Mix until combined
• Add the flour and salt and knead until a smooth, tacky dough forms. It will stick to your hands when you touch it but when you pull your fingers away, it'll come off clean, wont stay. This will take 10-20 minutes by hand and 4-6 minutes with a stand mixture. But don't use time as a reference.
• Take a piece of the dough and stretch it out until its thin enough to see light through it without breaking. If it breaks, knead it for a few more minutes until it passes this window pane test.
• Once kneaded, place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rest in a warm place until it rises, about double in size. Depending on your climate and temperature, it can take anywhere from an hour to two hours.

Make the Raspberry filling

• Heat up the raspberries, sugar, salt and water in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat.
• Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash the raspberries with a spoon or spatula as you stir.
• Around the 7 minute mark, once the mixture starts to slightly thicken up, add in the corn starch slurry.
• Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or until it's fairly thickened. It should be a spreadable consistency but not too runny. It will thicken further as it cools.
• Take off the heat and let cool

Lemon Curd

• In a heat-proof glass bowl, massage the sugar and lemon zest for a few minutes to extract the oils.
• Whisk in the eggs, yolk until light and most of the sugar is dissolved.
• Add in the lemon juice and whisk well.
• Heat up a saucepan quarter-way filled with water over medium low heat and place the bowl over it.
• Cook, while stirring constantly, until the the curd thickens up. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon in a thick layer and if you run your finger down it, it leaves a clear path.
• Remove saucepan from heat and mix in the butter and salt until fully combined.
• Let it slightly cool and then place the curd in a heatproof container and cover with plastic wrap or cling film- directly touching the surface of the curd, to prevent a skin from forming. Let this cool to room temperature and then place it in the fridge until its completely chilled and thicken

Assemble

• Once the dough as risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, 17x13 and about ⅜" thick.
• Smear about ½-3/4 cup of lemon curd all over the dough using a spatula. It should be a pretty even layer.
• Spread ½-3/4 cup of the raspberry filling evenly on top of the lemon curd.
• Roll up the dough on the long side, into a long log and pinch the bottom edge to seal it. Using a serrated knife/unflavoured dental floss/sewing thread, cut the log into 12 even pieces.
• Butter or line a 9×13 inch pan and place the rolls in it, evenly spaced. Cover the pan and leave it to rest until the rolls are doubled and touching each other- about 1-½ hours. (Preheat the oven to 345℉ when the rolls are almost done rising)
• Once the rolls have risen, warm up the heavy cream and pour all over evenly. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Take out and let them cool slightly.

Frosting

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the raspberry jam.
• Add in the powdered sugar and beat well.
• Mix in the heavy cream and make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
• Smear the frosting evenly all over the warm rolls and serve.

Storage

• Place the rolls in an airtight container at room for 1-3 days or up to a week in the fridge.

Notes

*1- Buttermilk: I usually don't have buttermilk on hand so my favourite way is to get the same amount of milk, take out 1.5 tablespoon of milk and warm it up to 100℉. Add in 1.5 tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for a little bit and then mix in the yeast. It'll be lumpy but don't worry, that's what you need.