Lemon Rolls With Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

I began this long holiday weekend planning to make another batch of lemon pull apart bread. I'd been looking forward to it all week and the big bag of lemons sitting in my fruit basket teased and tantalized me with the promise of delicious baked goods. So what changed that plan? 

I discovered another photography challenge I'm tempted to try. You may have noticed I flaked out and gave up on the photography challenge I began at the beginning of the year. I have a million excuses from life getting in the way to my camera crapping out on me but the bottom line is I lost my mojo and haven't felt like picking up my camera for a while. I guess I go through phases like that in my life. A friend sent me the link to a photography challenge hosted by Lululemon, a workout clothing company that I've become more than a little obsessed with. I figure if I spend so much of my life working out I might as well invest a little in looking and feeling cute while I do it. Anyway, the challenge features 30 days of prompts that look to combine my love of being healthy with my love of photography. Let's ignore the fact that today's picture focuses more on butter and sugar than healthy living. It was such a simple switcheroo to find a lemon roll recipe that incorporated the same elements as that lemon pull apart bread, thus perfectly meeting the qualifications for today's photography theme: Centre. We all know the center is the best part of the roll.

The recipe I found was so similar to the pull apart bread that I knew it would be just as delicious. The recipe upped the yummy quotient by adding ginger and nutmeg, two of my favorite things. As I expected, the lemon flavor is strong in this one. Just the way I like it. Eating a few of these in place of lunch was a great way to kick off the holiday weekend.

 

Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn 

For the dough:
1 envelope (0.25 ounces, or 2 1/2 teaspoons) active yeast

3/4 cup milk, warmed to about 100°F (warm but not hot on your wrist)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft, plus 3 tablespoons more for roll assembly
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you may not use it all)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs

Zest of one lemon

For the sticky lemon filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

Zest of two lemons

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons orange zest

For the lemon cream cheese glaze:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons milk
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Make the dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes or until foamy. With the mixer paddle, stir the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup of the flour into this milk and yeast mixture. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and the lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pliable.

(If you do not have a stand mixer, stir together the ingredients by hand, then turn the soft dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Knead the dough by hand for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, pliable, and stretchy.)

Lightly grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise until nearly doubled — about one hour.

Make the filling:
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, then work in the lemon zest (1/3) with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles soft sand. Slowly pour in the lemon juice, stirring. Stop when the sugar and lemon juice form a thick, clumpy mixture like wet sand. (You may not use all of the lemon juice depending on how much juice you got from your lemon.)

Assemble the rolls:
Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish or two 9" cake pans with baking spray or butter. On a floured surface pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle — about 10x15 inches.

Spread the dough evenly with 3 tablespoons of very soft unsalted butter, then spread the lemon-sugar mixture over top. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Stretch and pull the dough taut as you roll, to keep the lemon sugar firm inside. Cut the long dough roll into 12 even rolls. Pinch the bottom of each roll closed to help keep the lemon sugar inside, and place each one, open and cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (You can also refrigerate the rolls at this point. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap or a towel, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the rolls, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour before proceeding with baking.)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into a center roll reads 190°F. Check the rolls after 20 minutes and if they're getting dark on top cover loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Make the glaze:
While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small food processor (or with a mixer, or a sturdy whisk), whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and blend until well combined. Add the milk and the powdered sugar and blend until smooth and creamy.

Finish the rolls:
When the rolls are done, smear them with the cream cheese glaze. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving, but do serve while still warm.

A Taste of the Season: Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

 
I know I've said before that one of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit. In fact, I feel unmotivated to bake during the summer both because of the heat and also because it's kind of unnecessary when I have so many naturally sweet treats sitting in my kitchen. However, I had no choice but to bake for our book club meeting. I fear there would be an uprising if they were to show up and find I'd neglected to make something yummy. After sending them waddling out the door last month, stuffed to the brim with Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes, I figured I should give them a bit of a break this time around. Plus I'd just stocked up on fresh blueberries and always love the combination of lemon and blueberries. 

The cupcakes I settled on are perfect for the season. Buttery cake studded with blueberries and lots of lemon flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice. The lemon cream cheese frosting is tangy and refreshing. Honestly, you can't go wrong with this combination and this recipe is a simple way to make those flavors shine.

My only complaint is that some of my cupcakes were a little puny. It's been so long since I last made these that I can't recall if that happened before. Next time I might make the same amount of batter but make just 10 cupcakes. Several of mine only hit the top of the paper liners once they'd domed.

I've had this recipe in my baking arsenal for years and somewhere along the line lost the source. If you recognize it please let me know as I feel incredibly guilty not having anyone to cite.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Recipe from ??? (Please let me know if you recognize this recipe)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon oil or lemon extract
2/3 cup fresh blueberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners. If you would like bigger cupcakes try 9-10 liners instead.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3) In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and egg until smooth. Add yogurt, lemon zest and juice, and lemon oil/extract, beating until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Gently fold blueberries into the batter.
4) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1) In a bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, and salt until creamy.  

2) With mixer on low speed, beat in two cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy. 

3) Add lemon zest and juice, beating until mixed. Add extra powdered sugar if necessary. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes before spreading/piping onto cupcakes.

Pull Apart Sweet Lemon Bread

The alternate title for this post is, "How Pinterest is ruining my diet." Since I became addicted to the site just a short week and a half ago I've pinned about 80 recipes I'm dying to make. I've already gotten a few good dinners out of it including an easy spicy tomato egg dish perfect for a weeknight, black bean tortilla pie from Martha Stewart, and these indulgent grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, apple, avocado, and pepperjack cheese:


The recipe I saw and just knew I *had* to make was a luscious-looking pull apart sweet lemon bread. Those flaky layers of dough interspersed with citrus-flavored sugar and that lemony cream cheese topping just had to be killer. My instincts were right as this is one of the best recipes I've ever made. Seriously. If you have a fear of baking with yeast this is the recipe to try to get you over that fear.

Yes, there are a lot of steps and yes, it is time consuming but it is so worth it. If only my traitorous stomach would have allowed it I could have happily eaten half of the loaf in one sitting. The dough is sweet, but not too sweet. The cream cheese topping is tart but not too tart. Everything about this recipe is spot on.


The only change I made was a minor and unnecessary one. I happened to have some Fiori di Sicilia on hand, a citrusy vanilla flavoring. Since I thought it would lend an extra fun kick of flavor to the dough I added a splash.

I would also caution you to keep an eye on the dough for those first 15 minutes and if it starts to brown too much be sure to cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking process. Mine was perhaps a tad too brown and crispy around the edges by the end, not that I let that stop me from devouring it.

Pull Apart Lemon Loaf
Recipe from Clockwork Lemon


Sweet Yeast Dough
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (You might not use all of this)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (optional)
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Sugar Filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of three lemons
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Tangy Cream Cheese Icing
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Make the dough: In the microwave heat the butter and the milk together until the butter melts. Set aside to cool slightly. While it is cooling mix two cups of the flour with the yeast and the sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Then add the water to the milk mixture and stir in the vanilla extract and optional Fiori di Sicilia.

2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixer and stir until combined. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until it is combined. Add another 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt and mix until combined.

3. Sprinkle the dough with 2 tbsp of flour and knead it with the dough hook for 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky but should become soft and smooth from the kneading. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Make Ahead Tip: If you want to make the dough the night before you bake it just gently deflate the dough after its first rise, place back in the bowl and cover it with plastic. Stick it in the fridge overnight (it will continue to rise, but at a much slower rate). Plus you get added flavor in the bread from the benefit of a slow, cold rise. The next day take the dough out and bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the next steps.

4. Mix the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest. It will draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan or spray it with baking spray

6. Forming the loaf: Deflate the dough with your hand. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20″ by 12″ rectangle. This part is a lot easier with a ruler on hand. Use a pastry brush to thickly coat the dough with the melted butter

7. Use a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12″ by 4″ (it might not be this exact size, but try to make the five strips be equal sizes). Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle and gently press the sugar in. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well. Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12″ by 4″ rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.

8. Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4″ by 2″.) Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes.

9.Bake the loaf for 15 minutes and then check to make sure that top isn't browning too quickly. If it is, just cover the top of the loaf with tinfoil and continue baking. My loaf took a little over 40 minutes to bake completely. When done, transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the milk and lemon juice. Stir until creamy and smooth. Spread over the warm bread (you might want to put some plastic wrap or parchment paper under the bread to catch the drips)

11. Eat!

Citrus Brined Roasted Chicken

I know many of you out there have been dealing with cold temperatures and even snow for weeks but around here we just got our first cold snap of the year. Sunday felt like a "hole myself up in the house in an effort to keep warm" sort of day, perfect for roasting a chicken in the oven for a few hours. This was my first attempt at cooking any sort of large bird on my own so, in typical methodical German fashion, I made sure to do ample amounts of research first. I came away with the feeling that as long as I cooked the thing long enough I could be as creative as I wanted with the preparation and flavors. In other words, it would be difficult to screw it up.

Left with a lot of orange and lemons after making the Glühwein before Thanksgiving I figured this would be the perfect way to use some of them up. I found an intriguing-looking recipe for a citrus brine and while I'd never brined meat before either alone or with my mom I was ready to go whole hog with this bird. My chicken soaked for about two hours in a bath of chopped oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, black pepper, and thyme. And, of course, salt. Lots and lots of salt. I don't typically use much salt when cooking but, again, figured I'd follow protocol and poured the salt in.

Taking inspiration from a number of different recipes, after removing the chicken from its bath I rubbed a combination of butter, orange zest, thyme, pepper, and salt under the skin and in the cavity. For a little extra oomph I chopped up an orange and a lemon and stuffed the wedges inside the bird. I even took a stab at tying the poor thing up with string so the legs and wings wouldn't get overcooked and dry out. Not sure I did it properly but whatever I did seems to have worked.

I was also eager to try an orange glaze recipe from December's issue of Cooking Light. While the chicken was cooking, I juiced my remaining oranges, made a few adjustments to the recipe including adding some sugar, and cooked it down enough to make a thick sauce instead of a glaze. It was absolutely divine when drizzled onto the chicken. Heck, it was divine when I ate it with a spoon. No chicken required to make it delicious.

A few hours later I had a nice, juicy, flavorful bird to hack apart. I was picturing the scene from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when Clark cuts into the turkey only to find it's so overcooked that it bursts and deflates into a dry husk. Fortunately, mine didn't turn out like that at all. If anything it was too juicy, which I didn't mind but is something my husband complained about. Not sure if that's because of the brining or if I needed to cook it longer even though the meat was all thoroughly cooked. Oh well. You don't hear me complaining. It was a perfect end to a chilly weekend.

Citrus Brine
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Cold water

Rub salt onto your chicken and place remaining salt, lemons, oranges, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper into a large pot. Place the chicken in the pot and fill with enough water to cover. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Discard brine after removing chicken.

Rub chicken with a combination of orange zest, salt, dried thyme, black pepper, and softened butter under the skin and inside the cavity. Chop an orange and a lemon into wedges and insert into the cavity. Truss the chicken and place on a roasting rack above a pan lined with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F, 20 minutes per pound plus an additional 15 minutes.

Orange Sauce
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2-3 thin slivers of chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced to a sauce-like consistency. Strain and serve over chicken.

German Holiday Traditions: Lebkuchen Hearts

I'm starting to get a little of my Christmas spirit back now that I've started thinking about all of the holiday foods that come with the season. Christmas is probably the time of year I'm most in touch with my German heritage as my mother made sure to include a lot of German holiday traditions as I grew up. I've chosen to keep most of those traditions now that I'm grown and live on my own, but the one tradition I refuse to uphold is waiting until December 24th to put up the Christmas tree. That's all good and well when you're a kid and believe that Santa sneaks into the house on Christmas Eve to deposit your presents and tree but now that I know better I want to enjoy my tree for longer than two weeks.

Of course, there are wonderful German traditions I'm only too happy to incorporate, namely the food. Christmas wouldn't be complete for me without a marzipan pig for good luck in the upcoming year and Gebrannte Mandeln (toasted sugar almonds) threatening to shatter my teeth. Another of my favorite treats is Lebkuchen, a soft, spiced cookie with citrus flavors.
My mom and I pay a pretty penny every year to buy some imported from the fatherland. Considering how frugal we both are the rest of the year this is a testament to our love for the stuff.

Lebkuchen is often sold in giant heart-shaped forms with little messages written across the middle. They're usually nice, sweet messages like, "I love you" but I made a few for my brother that are less than kind. I wouldn't want to miss out on an opportunity to insult him.

Dummkopf = stupid head
Ich liebe dich = I love you
Schatzi = darling
Frohe Weihnachten = Merry Christmas

The recipe below is a nice substitute when the real stuff can't be found but I have to say it's nowhere near as good. The flavors are all there but something is lacking. Must be that magical German air. Still, they herald the start of the holiday season for me and I'm happy to have them to tide me over until my international shipment arrives. Although similar to gingerbread cookies with the variety of spices, I prefer these because they're softer and the chewy bite from the mixed peel stands out. This is the reason I made that candied citrus peel and I think it was well worth it. I hope you give them a try to bring a little German spirit into your Christmas this year!

Lebkuchen Hearts
Recipe from Taste.com.au


60 grams unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/4 cup mixed peel, finely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, slightly broken
1 egg
Dark chocolate, melted (optional)

1) Place the butter, honey and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until butter melts and mixture comes to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

2) Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom into a large bowl. Add the lemon rind, mixed peel and almonds and stir to combine. Add the egg and the honey mixture and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 1/2 hours to rest.

3) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Roll out to a 5mm-thick disc. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes from dough and place on the lined trays, leaving space for spreading. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside on trays to cool completely.

4) When cool, if desired, spread melted chocolate on the bottom of each cookie.

Buttercream Frosting (For Decorating)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 heaping cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon heavy cream
Food coloring

1) Beat butter and sugar until combined. Add cream and beat until smooth.
2) Divide frosting and tint with food coloring. Pipe decoratively onto cookies.

Candied Citrus Peel

I'm gradually compiling and making the ingredients for a special German-inspired holiday cupcake to be revealed in a guest post on another blog after Thanksgiving. As some of those ingredients are delicious in their own right I'll start posting recipes for you now beginning with candied citrus peel. I'm assuming this is more or less what my final recipe means when it calls for "mixed peel." While I know I could just head to the store to buy some I'm feeling like a food snob today and decided to make my own. I'm sure it's much cheaper too.

It's a simple process involving more sugar than I care to think about boiled into a thick syrup and combined with strips of lemon and orange peel. While I plan to use mine for baking I think they'd make a delicious and attractive snack if dipped into melted chocolate and cooled. They remind me a little bit of those gummy orange and lemon slices you can get in the candy store, which I happen to adore.

Most recipes I found called for removal of the pith, which seemed very time consuming and detrimental to my fingernails. Always looking for the easy way out, I found one blogger who skipped that step and instead blanched his peels several times in fresh water to remove some of the bitterness. I tried breaking up the 20-minute cooking process called for in the original recipe to use three batches of water and while there's still plenty of citrus flavor in the finished product there's very little bite.

Candied Citrus Peel
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

3 lemon peels, cut into 1/4 inch strips
2 orange peels, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/8 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar for coating

1) Place lemon and orange peel in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for five minutes. Drain and refill pot with water and add lemon and orange peels. Again bring to a boil and heat for another five minutes. Drain and refill with water, lemon and orange peels, and boil for eight minutes. Drain and set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture reaches thread stage, 230 degrees F (108 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or small amount dropped in cold water forms a soft thread. Stir in peel, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain.

3) Place peel on a wire rack over a baking sheet and let dry for several hours. Put sugar in a bowl or airtight, lidded container and add small amounts of peel. Toss to coat. Repeat until all pieces are coated with sugar.