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Strawberries and Cream Sweet Rolls

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing.

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

Welcome to the fourth annual #BrunchWeek hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. We are so excited to have you join us this year as we celebrate brunch and prepare for Mother's Day. Thirty-seven bloggers from around the country will showcase their best brunch dishes, from cocktails to cakes, breakfast breads, tarts, and quiche — there is something for everyone! Our amazing sponsors have donated some great prizes for the #BrunchWeek giveaway. Thank you so much, sponsors, for your generosity. We have an incredible giveaway below and we’d love if you would take a moment to read about it and what you can win!

BrunchWeek

Cinnamon rolls are a holiday staple at our house. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I think because those are both cold-weather holidays that I associate cinnamon rolls with winter.

Since BrunchWeek occurs in mid-spring, I wanted to give sweet rolls a seasonal twist. Strawberries were on sale at my local grocery store, and what says "summer is coming" better than fresh strawberries?

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

For the sweet roll dough, I used Alton Brown's recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls. I've made it several times, and it's failproof, especially when paired with Red Star Yeast's Platinum yeast.

I've included some visuals below to show you how a well-kneaded ball of dough looks: it's smooth, and its springs back when you press a finger into it. You can also see the rolled-out dough, topped with the cream cheese mixture and the strawberries. And finally, you see the rolled-up dough, and how it is cut. I use a bench scraper, but you can use a serrated knife as well.

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

A: a well-kneaded ball of dough, B: the rolled-out dough with cream cheese and strawberry filling, C: the rolled log cut into individual rolls

Don't skip coating the strawberries in cornstarch. The strawberries will secrete juices while baking, and without cornstarch, the bottoms of the rolls will become a soggy mess. The cornstarch will mix with the juices and thicken, preventing sogginess.

Be sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before beating with the sugar and vanilla, otherwise it won't mix evenly, and look lumpy.

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

I love the flexibility of this recipe. You can make the dough and shape the rolls, then refrigerate overnight, and bake the next morning to have fresh rolls for breakfast or brunch. Or you can skip the refrigeration and just bake them right away.

The lemon flavored icing really complements the strawberries well. If you want a creamier icing, you can use a cream cheese-based icing instead (there's one included with Alton Brown's overnight cinnamon roll recipe). You can flavor that with lemon extract as well.

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

Strawberries and Cream Sweet Rolls

Yield: 12 rolls

You'll get much more consistent results by weighing ingredients rather than measuring by volume.

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1 large whole egg, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup Dixie Crystals sugar, 2 oz
  • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled, 3 oz
  • ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature, 6 fluid oz
  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting, 20 ounces
  • 1 package Red Star Platinum yeast, 2 ¼ tsp
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

  • 2 cups diced strawberries, about 12 oz
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ½ cup Dixie Crystals confectioners sugar, 2 oz
  • 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup Dixie Crystals confectioners sugar, 4 oz
  • 2 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey lemon extract

Instructions

  1. Combine the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter and buttermilk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine.
  2. Add about 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined.
  3. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add all but ¾ cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough. If it feels sticky, add ¼ cup more flour and continue kneading on low speed until the dough feels soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly spray the top of the dough, cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let double in volume, 2 to 2 ½ hours.
  5. Just before the dough is finished rising, make the filling: combine the strawberries and cornstarch; toss to coat, then set aside. Cream together the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla.
  6. Once the dough has risen, butter or spray a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently pat the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along all sides. Sprinkle the cornstarch-coated strawberries in an even layer all over the cream cheese.
  8. Beginning with the long edge furthest from you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness.
  9. Using a serrated knife or a bench scraper, slice the cylinder in half; then cut both halves in half, leaving you with four quarters. Cut each quarter into 3 equal pieces. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish. Cover the baking pan tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
  10. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in a cold oven. Fill a shallow pan ⅔-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes or until they look slightly puffy. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
  11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
  12. While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the confectioners sugar with the cream and lemon extract. If it's too stiff, add additional cream, a teaspoonful at a time, until thick but pourable. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 rolls Serving Size: 1 roll
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 429Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 365mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 2gSugar: 22gProtein: 10g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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Adapted from The Food Network

With summer on the way, give your sweet rolls a seasonal twist: fill them with fresh strawberries and sweetened cream cheese, then top with a sweet-tart lemon-flavored simple icing. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

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Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Red Star Yeast, Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, Vidalia Onion Committee, Sage Fruits, Nielsen-Massey, KitchenIQ, and Le Creuset for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up only. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Eight winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #BrunchWeek bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

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