These sweet and citrusy lemon rolls are packed with delicious lemon zest and topped with tangy lemon drizzle, the perfect treat to welcome March and spring. The months for cinnamon rolls are long gone and it’s time to have more seasonal treats starting with these perfect lemon sweet rolls.

Lemon Drizzle Sweet Rolls

Happy 1st of March friends! Finally we’re slowly exiting the winter months and starting to feel spring. Days are definitely getting longer and I for one cannot wait until the clocks change and we can stay out for longer, here in the UK at the moment it gets dark just before 6pm, and all I keep dreaming about is seeing the sun past 8pm. I also cannot wait to stop wearing coats and just walk around with a cardigan or even a t-shirt! That time will come, but for now, I am cherishing seeing the days getting longer and some flowers on trees.

These lemon drizzle sweet rolls make me think of all those things I long for in the spring, I don’t know if it’s just me, but lemons definitely make me think of the sun, the warmth and the summer, they make me really happy and that’s why I love baking with them, beware, there’s quite a few lemon bakes coming your way! These rolls pack a lot of flavour, they are filled with lemon infused sugar and for that extra citrusy flavour, they have a beautiful drizzle on top.

So, what are these made of?

These are actually super easy to make and require less ingredients than cinnamon rolls. All you’ll need is:

• Milk
• Butter
• Flour
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Lemons
• Double cream

Some frequent asked questions

• What’s the best way to proof my dough? A great tip to have the perfect dough is to turn your oven on to the lowest temperature (mine is 50 degrees celsius) for about 2-3 minutes. We don’t want the oven to get to 50 degrees, we just want some hot air in there, you should feel warmth but should be able to touch the inside of the oven without burning your hands. This will help the dough rise quicker.
• Can I leave these in the fridge overnight? Yes, you can make these the night before, however, you must keep the dough in the fridge for no longer than 16 hours. Also, make sure you leave them outside the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
• Can I freeze them? Yes! you can bake them, freeze them and them warm them up in the microwave. You can also part bake them until they’ve expanded (usually for half of the full baking time, so around 15 minutes) and then let them cool down completely. Then wrap them up and freeze them. The night before eating, put them in the fridge and let them defrost overnight, then bake them for the rest of the time (another 10-15 minutes).
• Can you include the measurements in cups? I am not familiar with cups and therefore not comfortable sharing any measurements in cups. Kitchen scales are the most reliable method and I would advise getting one from Amazon to get the perfect results.

Lemon Drizzle Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:

Ingredients (makes 9 large rolls or 12 small ones):

• For the rolls:
  • 400 ml of whole milk
  • 90 gr of butter
  • 750 gr of bread flour
  • 15 gr of fast action dried yeast
  • 150 gr of granulated 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:
  • The juice of 1 lemon 
  • 1 tbsp of melted butter
  • 40 gr of icing sugar 
  • 1 tbsp double cream 

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 melted 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 (I use olive oil to grease) and let it rest for at least an hour or until doubled in size.
3. While the dough is rising, rub together the sugar and lemon zest to infuse it.
4. Once the dough has risen, punch it 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.
5. Have the shortest edge of the rectangle closer to you and spread the butter over it up until the edges, then, evenly sprinkle the infused sugar.
6. 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/or bottom edge if they 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).
7. Place the rolls into a greased baking tray (I use butter for this), don’t squeeze them together, leave some space between them to allow them to grow. Let the rolls rise for another hour.
8. Once ready, pop them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until they start browning on top (every oven is different, so cooking time may vary).
9. When the rolls are ready, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool down. In the meantime, make the icing by mixing all the ingredients listed above and drizzle it over the rolls. Enjoy them hot or cold.