So I recently posted this lemon roll recipe and ever since I have been asked non stop to re-do it with a blueberry icing rather than vanilla, so hear we are! If you thought lemon rolls were good, imagine them topped with sweet blueberry icing, a match made in heaven!

I think we can all agree lemon and blueberry is one of the best combinations and also a sign of summer being just around the corner, and bearing in mind it has been raining non stop for the past month, these are not just a need, they are a MUST!

Lemon rolls with Blueberry Icing

I’m sort of a breakfast roll fanatic, and I feel like at the moment I am on a quest to discover as many combinations as possible. I mean, I have a full list on my phone of different ideas for breakfast rolls that I want to test out, and that list just keeps of growing, which, to be honest, I’m so excited about.

Anyway! About these rolls… picture a sweet and citrusy roll topped with the most delicious blueberry icing that just screams spring. They are perfect for whipping up as we approach Easter… or any time really, I mean, who needs an excuse to have breakfast rolls?!

So what’s in these rolls?

• The dough is made with a very basic recipe consisting of bread flour, sugar, milk, butter and yeast. I know some people add eggs to their breakfast rolls, but I like to keep it simple without them.
• The rolls are filled with more butter and sugar mixed with lemon zest. I like to scrub the lemon zest and the sugar with my fingers to infuse the sugar with the beautiful lemon flavour.
• Finally, the rolls are topped with cream cheese, blueberry compote and icing sugar.

These rolls are so good while they are still warm, they basically melt in your mouth and the icing makes them even even softer and it’s just the perfect finishing touch.

Tips for the best rolls

• Be patient: dough takes a while and the raising time is proportional to the room temperature, so if your room is cold, it will likely take longer than usual. So be patient and don’t lose your sh*t, I know it’s easier said than done, but just wait and wonderful things will happen.
• Do not over bake: we all love doughy, gooey rolls. I mean, I particularly love underbaked rolls, but if that is too much, just make sure they’re still slightly soft in the middle and remember they will keep baking once you take them out of the oven!
• Use blueberry compote or very good jam: this is really optional, but I love the fact that the icing has actual blueberries instead of just mashed blueberries.

Lemon Rolls with Blueberry Icing

Ingredients:

• For the rolls:
  • 400 ml of whole milk
  • 90 gr of butter
  • 750 gr of flour
  • 22 gr of yeast
  • 150 gr of sugar
• For the filling:
  • The zest of 2 and 1/2 lemons
  • 90 gr of sugar
  • 50 gr of butter at room temperature
• For the icing:
  • 100 gr of cream cheese at room temperature
  • 30 gr of butter at room temperature
  • 35 gr of icing (powdered) sugar
  • 2 tbsp and 1/2 of blueberry compote

Method:

1. Warm up the milk and let the butter melt in it. In the meantime, mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Pour the milk and butter into the dry ingredients and mix them well until you get a dough. Knead it over a floured surface for 5 minutes, then, put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest for at least an hour or until doubled in size.
3. Once the dough has risen, mix sugar and lemon zest, I like to “massage” the sugar with my hands so it gets really infused with the lemon zest. Punch the dough to get rid of the air and in a floured surface roll it until you have the shape of a rectangle. If you are struggling to get that shape, just cut the edges so it acquires that shape.
4. Have the shortest edge of the rectangle closer to you and spread the butter over it up until the edges, I usually just use my fingers to do this. Then, sprinkle the sugar over it.
5. Grab one of the long edges (to your left or right) and start rolling the dough until you get a long log. Cut the top and bottom edge if those edges seem uneven. Cut the rolls into 2.5-3 cm sections using either a very sharp serrated edge knife or floss (I used floss and found it extremely satisfying).
6. Place the rolls into a greased baking tray, don’t squeeze them together, leave some space between them to allow them to grow. Let the rolls rise for another hour.
7. Once ready, pop them in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until they start getting brown on top.
8. When they are ready or while cooking, make the icing by mixing all the ingredients listed above with a hand mixer and spread it over the rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy them hot or cold.