Strawberry Rolls with Lemon Glaze

Perfect for weekend breakfast, these sweet strawberry rolls topped with a subtle lemon glaze are soft, pillowy, and beaming with strawberry flavor. They are easy to make and you can even prepare them ahead of time to save you time in the morning! 

Here’s a perfect summer version of your favorite cinnamon rolls. Easy to make (with make-ahead instructions), these sweet rolls taste like cinnamon rolls, but with incredible fresh strawberry flavors in every bite. They’re also 100% kid-approved and can be enjoyed with or without the lemon glaze on top. Now, set the breakfast table elegantly, add some fresh cut flowers in the center, and let’s get this summer brunch started!

The best strawberry rolls around!

• Soft, fluffy and pillowy ✔
• Easy to make, with make-ahead instructions available ✔
• Loaded with fresh strawberry flavors ✔
• Optional (but recommended) lemon glaze for a shiny final touch ✔
• Possibly one of the best summer breakfast out there! ✔

Strawberry rolls ingredients:

• Strawberries. Use fresh strawberries, cut into very small pieces, for fresh flavors. For a quicker version, you can simply go for strawberry preserve!
• All-purpose flour. It’s a key ingredient of the sweet rolls. Note that you do not need to use pastry flour for these sweet rolls, all-purpose will do just fine.
• Yeast. You can go for fresh or instant yeast, following my yeast guide instructions below.
• Milk. It makes the rolls soft and tender. Milk is also used to make the lemon glaze.
• Butter. It brings some rich flavors to the sweet rolls. I recommend unsalted butter over salted.
• Egg. One large egg is all you need to bind all the ingredients of the dough together.
• Sugar. I used granulated sugar for the dough and cane sugar to sweeten the strawberry filling with deeper notes. You can do it all with granulated sugar if easier.
• Cornstarch. It helps thickening the strawberry filling, don’t skip it.
• Lemon. If you go for the lemon glaze, both the lemon juice and zest will be required. If you skip the glaze, use lemon zest only to bring some refreshing notes to the strawberry filling.
• Confectioners’ sugar. It’s a necessary ingredient of the glaze and helps make it a little thicker.

How to make strawberry rolls

1. Prepare the strawberry filling. I used fresh strawberries as they are in season, and added a twist of lemon, to bring a touch of acidity. Useful tip: cut the strawberry into very small pieces, to make sure they do not escape from the dough once you rolled it up and sliced it.
2. Make the dough. You can make the dough by hand or use a food processor to make your job easier (you will skip the kneading part by hand). Mix about 70-80% of the flour with the other dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, warm milk, water and butter in a saucepan until butter is melted and just hot to the touch. Combine dry and wet ingredients together, then add the egg and mix. Add the remaining flour and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and slaps the bowl, adding more flour if necessary. First rise: cover the bowl and let rise for about 20 minutes.
3. Shape and assemble the rolls. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a large rectangle, then spread the cooled strawberry filling on top, leaving a boarder around. Roll the dough up tightly on the long side, then cut the rolls into 10-11 pieces. Transfer to a prepared 9-inch (23 cm) round or square baking dish. Second rise: cover the rolls and let rise for about 1h30 mins in a warm environment.
4. Bake the rolls for about 25 minutes, or until slightly browned. After 15 minutes, cover the rolls with aluminum foil, to avoid heavy browning.

Let’s talk about yeast

In this recipe I used instant dry yeast, which can be added to the ingredients directly. However, active dry yeast and fresh yeast need to be activated in a lukewarm liquid mixture before being used. Place crumbled fresh yeast or active dry yeast granules in a small bowl and combine with a few spoonfuls of lukewarm milk (not too hot or it will kill the yeast!) and a teaspoon sugar. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbling slightly. It’s ready to use!

The final touch: a lemon glaze

The final touch is the lemon glaze. I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese icing on top of sweet rolls so I prepared a gentle lemon glaze to drizzle over. The glaze is thinner than a classic icing, but still enhances the sweet rolls flavors and bring a shiny final touch. I do not recommend to skip the glaze entirely as it will make your rolls a little dry, but you can however replace it with a simple syrup consisting of water and sugar.

Make ahead tips and freezing instructions

What’s better than freshly baked rolls coming straight from the oven to your table? But because of the rising parts of the recipe, this may take some time. To make sure you can wake up to delicious strawberry rolls, I recommend you prepare the recipe up to the baking point the night before. After the second rising, simply cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The following day, bake according to the baking instructions, and make the glaze in the meantime. Drizzle over the rolls, and serve right away!

For freezing, let the rolls cool completely and skip the glaze. Then, wrap individually or together in a ziploc bag, and freeze up to a month. When ready to serve, transfer the rolls onto a baking sheet and bake in a 350°F (180°C) preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes while preparing the glaze. Drizzle over, and enjoy!

Variations around the recipe

This summer version of your classic cinnamon rolls is easy to customize. When strawberries are in season, you can make your own strawberry filling, or you can go for ready-to-use strawberry preserve for a quicker version (for this recipe I like the Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves).

Other berries could also be used for the filling, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even mixed berries together. All of them will pair perfectly with the lemon glaze. Also, note that you can cook them plain (no need to cut them like you do with the strawberries), and simply smash them gently with the back of a wooden spoon once cooked.

Other sweet rolls you may like:

• Swedish Cinnamon Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls
• Swedish Rhubarb Cardamom Buns
• Swedish Blueberry Vanilla Buns
• Swedish Cardamom Buns

Spring and summer breakfast ideas

• Brown Butter Dutch Baby Pancake with Strawberries
• Lemon Poppy Seed Blueberry Pancakes
• Cardamom Raspberry Streusel Muffins
• Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Pudding

Strawberry Rolls with Lemon Glaze

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• Author: Delphine Fortin
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Rising Time: 1 hour 50 mins
• Total Time: 2 hours 45 mins
• Yield: 10-11 servings 1x
• Category: Breads and brioches
• Cuisine: American recipes

Perfect for weekend breakfast, these sweet strawberry rolls topped with a subtle lemon glaze are soft, pillowy, and beaming with strawberry flavor. They are easy to make and you can even prepare them ahead of time to save you time in the morning! 

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Ingredients

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For the strawberry filling*:

• 1 ½ cups (250g) fresh strawberries, chopped into tiny pieces
• ⅓ cup (70g) cane sugar
• 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the dough:

• 2 ¾ cups (330g) all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 Tablespoons (45g) granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ teaspoon instant dry yeast
• ½ cup (120 ml) water
• ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
• 3 Tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For the lemon glaze:

• ½ cup (30g) of confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1–2 Tablespoon(s) milk

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Instructions

For the strawberry filling*:

1. Place the chopped strawberries in a small saucepan over medium-heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the strawberries are very soft and their juices have been released.
2. Add in the sugar and cornstarch and continue to cook – and stir – for another 1-2 minutes. The mixture will thicken up dramatically during this time. Add lemon zest and stir well. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the filling into a small bowl. Let cool completely before using.

For the dough:

1. In a large bowl combine 2 ¼ cups (270g) flour, granulated sugar, salt, and yeast. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan placed over medium heat, warm water, milk, and butter until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is hot to the touch but not scalding (it should be between 110-115°F, or 43-46°C).
3. Stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Add in the egg, then add the remaining flour (you may need to add up to ½ cup of additional flour). Knead for about 5-10 minutes in a food processor or a little longer by hand. Your dough is at the right consistency when it gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and is slightly elastic in consistency.
4. Lightly grease a clean bowl with vegetable oil (neutral in taste, for ex. canola oil), then place the ball of dough inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.

For assembling and baking:

1. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a 14×8-inch (35×20 cm) rectangle. Spread the cooled strawberry filling on top, leaving a 1-inch (2,5 cm) boarder around the edges. Roll the dough up tightly along the edge (cigar style).
2. Cut the roll into 10-11 pieces, then arrange them in a lightly greased 9-inch (23 cm) round or square baking dish. Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap and set them in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes.
3. Once the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375°F (180°C).
4. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until slightly browned. After 15 minutes, cover the rolls with aluminum foil, to avoid heavy browning.

For the lemon glaze:

1. In a small bowl combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and zest, and until creamy. Whisk until smooth, adding more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
2. Drizzle over the rolls right after you removed them from the oven. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

Notes

* If you are running out of time or if strawberries are not in season, you can make these rolls by replacing the homemade strawberry filling with strawberry jam (I recommend Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves).

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