Lemon Ginger Sweet Rolls

When you’re the unofficial ‘designated cook/baker’ in your house, a part of the job is cooking to suit the tastebuds of your audience. Special requests excluded, it’s not all about you; gotta feed everybody. Plus, there’s no point in making something that you have to to eat all by yourself (I also can’t really afford to do that).

I think I’ve mentioned here before that my sister doesn’t like cinnamon rolls. I do. But I’m willing to compromise. So I’m always having to find and bake alternatives that satisfy both our tastebuds. This was one of them. Because one thing she does love is citrus, this was another.

Recently I’ve been doing a bit more baking with lemon and really enjoying it. Even though we’re in September and rapidly approaching fall, global warming has us still experiencing those intense summer temperatures. So it becomes a bit easier to still have a taste for the summer flavors, and we all know lemon is certainly one of them.

With my last citrus rolls, I went with a combination of orange, ginger and cardamom to great results. This time around, I only needed to make a couple of adjustments. Ginger and lemon is a classic flavor combination, so I decided to really go for it here.

The dough is flavored with lemon and ground ginger, but for the curd filling I decided to go ahead and add minced crystallized ginger, just to give it that added spiciness. You can always buy crystallized ginger from the store, but my personal recommendation is for you to just make it yourself. It’s easy, cheap, and you get more bang for your buck. There’s a tutorial on my Instagram page if you’re interested.

I mean, what can I really say about these y’all? You’ve got eyes. The lemon in both the dough and the lemon filling keeps the flavors fresh and sharp. The icing on top (that is perfectly optional by the way) of course adds sweetness, but then that ginger comes in to give it that spicy kick that offsets the sweet.

These are really, really, REALLY good and I don’t say that lightly. I did good.

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Lemon Ginger Sweet Rolls

Adapted from a Previous Recipe on Cooking is My Sport

Ingredients

For the Dough

2 teaspoons active yeast
3/4 cup milk, warmed to about 100°F
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
2 large eggs
1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon white sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Filling

1 cup sugar
1 lemon, zested
4 tablespoons, (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup candied/crystallized ginger, finely minced

For Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
A few tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Directions

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm milk, then sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of white sugar on top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until proofed and frothy.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine the butter, eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 cup of flour with the yeast mixture until smooth and combined.

Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour, along with the salt, ground ginger and nutmeg . Knead for about 5 minutes, until a soft slightly sticky dough is formed.

Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour and knead with your hands about 5 more minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable. Grease a separate bowl and punch the dough down into it, then flip it back up so that both sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a damp towel and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

In the meantime make the filling: in the bowl of the standing mixer use your fingers to rub the sugar together with the lemon zest until fragrant. Add the butter and beat together with the paddle attachment until it’s creamy. Add the ginger and nutmeg. Slowly drizzle in the lemon juice until it’s thin, but still creamy. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until you’re ready to fill the rolls.

Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and roll out to a large rectangle, about 10 x 15 inches. Use a spatula to spread the lemon filling on top of the dough. Sprinkle the crystallized ginger on top of the filling in an even layer. Roll the dough up from the long end tightly to keep filling from spilling out. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to divide in half. Divide each half into 6 pieces so that you have 12 rolls. Arrange the rolls cut side down in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and damp towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake rolls for 35 minutes or until dough inner temp reaches 190°F. Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the icing together in a bowl. Pour/spoon some of the icing on top of the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving, but they are best eaten still warm.