Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls are a delicious variation of a cinnamon roll with a soft, buttery dough filled with lemon curd and a lemony butter-sugar mixture, they are glazed with cream cheese frosting.

  We interrupt the delicious Coconut Rice that was supposed to go live today with an important announcement! Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting are a fantastic brunch time treat. Okay, lets be honest, they are also a delicious lunch, main course, afternoon snack, heck I would eat this ANY TIME you gave them to me. I love them so much I would even try to convince myself eating a second and third one were totally within my dietary restrictions (spoiler: they aren’t) and that I wouldn’t have to go to an extra spin class that day (spoiler: I would).

The Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls dough is a basic cinnamon roll dough but instead of slathering on the brown sugar and cinnamon, we add in lemon curd and a lemon butter mixture that elevated the rolls to a new height. Top it off with a lemon cream cheese glaze and you’re officially off the charts as the best friend ever for bringing these to a playdate. I made 24 of them for a visit back home in Los Angeles. A very good friend had sent me a list of desserts she was open to and I saw this one and my mind was made up immediately. I did alter some things in the recipe and added in the lemon curd, but the original recipe looked amazing too!

If you want to make these Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls for brunch next weekend I highly suggest getting to the step where the rolls are in the greased pan, then wrap with cling wrap and a layer of foil and put it in the fridge. The next morning. Take them out and let them rest at room  temperature for an hour right when you wake up. Then go upstairs, put in your contacts, brush your teeth, take you time getting ready for the day before you leisurely walk back to your kitchen to these beauties ready to go into your warmed oven. You won’t regret the efforts you put in to this recipe!  There are more than just a few steps here, so lets get started!

For the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk. Let it sit for five minutes (you want it to look foamy) 

 On low speed in your stand mixer, mix the softened butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and 1 cup of the flour into the milk mixture. Add in the salt and nutmeg. Quickly add in the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead at low speed for about 5 minutes. You want the dough to be smooth, pliable, and stretchy. In a lightly greased bowl put the dough in. Cover with a light layer of oil.
Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled.  Make the sticky lemon filling: Clean your stand mixer.  Add the sugar and lemon and mix for 15-20 seconds just to combine the two and bruise the lemon zest. Add the butter and nutmeg and whip until thick and creamy. Slowly add the lemon juice and whip until fully combined.

Assemble the rolls: You will do this twice. Butter a 13×9-inch baking dish. On a floured surface, roll half of the dough into a 10 x 15 inch rectangle. Spread the with half the lemon curd. 

 Then layer on half of the sticky lemon filling.  Roll the dough up tightly, moving from one end to the other and pulling tight as you go.  Using a thread, wrap the thread around the dough in 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch increments, loop and pull (just like the first step in tying a shoelace)
Cut the long dough roll into 12 even rolls and place each in the prepared baking dish.   Repeat with the second half of the dough.  Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for 1 hour or until puffy and doubled.    Bake the rolls: Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Make the glaze: While your rolls are baking, whip the lemon juice, lemon zest and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and blend until smooth and creamy.

Glaze the Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls: Let the rolls rest for a good 10-15 minutes. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Add more zest if you would like. 

 Making it ahead? If you want to make these the day before, refrigerate the rolls before the final rise. Let them rise for an hour in the morning before baking. Want to freeze the Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls to enjoy them later?

• Once you’ve cut the rolls but before letting them rise and don’t make the icing.
• You can put them in the pan you’ll want to bake them in or to save space, freeze them on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper and once they’re frozen toss them into a big ziploc bag.
• When you’re ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer and let them thaw out for 3 hours (defrosting and rising time) and cook like normal.

Note, I’ve frozen them after baking, but they are sort of “eh” when you unfreeze the baked rolls, there is something magical about that just baked experience.

 Not a fan of Lemon Curd Sticky Rolls? Try this with orange marmalade, zest and juice. You can also use strawberry or lime or if you are daring, you can make a peanut butter and jelly one like I just did for a friend. Using grape jelly instead of curd and in the butter mixture. Then top with a peanut butter glaze by using two tablespoons of peanut butter in the glaze instead of lemon. I’ll be making it again soon and post it on the blog. If you are a pb&j fan, you’ll go gaga for this!