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Lemon Poppyseed Rolls

Fluffy sweet rolls studded with poppyseeds and plenty lemon juice and zest to give you the perfect indulgent bite.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Lemon, Poppyseed, rolls
Servings 6
Author Leona G.

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer fitted with a dough hook

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2¼ C all purpose flour 300g
  • ½ C whole milk lukewarm
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream plus ¼ cup for topping the rolls
  • ¼ C creme fraiche or sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp melted butter preferably salted
  • ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1½ tsp instan yeast
  • ¼ cup poppy seeds

Filling

  • 4 tbsp softened butter
  • ⅓ C grandulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or extract

Frosting

  • 4 oz cream cheese softened
  • 4 tbsp salted butter softened
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/4 C lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • pinch of salt if not using salted butter

Instructions

Dough

  • To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast, sugar, milk, heavy cream, crème fraîche, egg, butter, lemon zest and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Next add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix on medium with a dough hook attachment, until well combined. 
  • Continue mixing for 5 minutes until a cohesive dough forms. It should be soft but not sticky. Add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until no longer sticky. 1 or 2 usually does the trick.
  • Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. 1-2 hours.

Filling

  • Add the sugar to a small bowl along with the lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. This helps to release the natural oils in the zest, making it more fragrant. 
  • Add in the softened butter and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Set aside 

Frosting

  • Whisk the cream cheese, butter & vanilla together until smooth.
  • Add in the powdered sugar and salt and blend.
  • Lastly, add in the lemon juice, zest & poppyseeds and whisk until smooth and creamy. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembling

  • Once the dough has risen, punch down to deflate. Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle, roughly 12 in in width. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Evenly spread your filling and tightly roll the dough up lengthwise to form a log. Using a sharp knife or string, cut it into 6 even pieces. Place them on a parchment lined sheetpan to rise for another 30 minutes.
  • Once risen, drizzle heavy cream onto each roll and bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes. 
  • Frost the rolls when warm. Enjoy!