Lemon Raspberry Sweet Rolls

Bursting with sunshine and sweetness, these ooey, gooey Lemon Raspberry Sweet Rolls are so soft and fluffy and twisted up with fresh raspberries and lemon zest for a wonderful Spring treat. They are slathered with a lemon raspberry cream cheese icing that really puts them over the top in the best possible way!

An overhead image of lemon raspberry sweet rolls in a white baking dish with some of the rolls removed already. - 2

If you love cinnamon rolls and fresh, fruity desserts, you’re sure to fall head-over-heels for these lemon raspberry rolls. They are perfect for spring and summer holidays like Easter morning breakfast or a Mother’s Day brunch, but don’t limit yourself because you will want to eat these all year long.

The dough is soft and sweet with a tender chewiness and it is so fun to work with. Meanwhile the filling is a simple combination of butter, sugar, and fresh raspberries and lemon zest with some cornstarch to help thicken the juices from the raspberries as the rolls bake. And you can’t forget about the luscious raspberry cream cheese frosting!

If you love spring baking, don’t miss some of my other favorites like Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake , Berry Breakfast Cake , Strawberry Pancakes , Lemon Brownies , and Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes .

An overhead image of a lemon raspberry sweet roll on a white plate. - 3

What You’ll Need

Yeast: I prefer using instant yeast. It is more reliable than active dry yeast and doesn’t need to be proofed first, plus it rises slightly faster than active dry yeast.
Raspberries: I recommend using fresh raspberries for this recipe, although you can get away with frozen in a pinch as long as you thaw them and drain the juice first.
Lemon Zest: This recipe uses only the zest from the lemons to get that bright pop of lemon flavor. If you want even more lemon flavor, you can increase the zest in both the filling and the frosting.
Flour: I tested this recipe using regular unbleached all-purpose flour. If you want even more texture and chew to the rolls, you can use bread flour in its place instead.
Sugar: A combination of white granulated sugar and light brown sugar gives the best flavor for the filling, while you’ll also need some powdered sugar for the icing.
Milk: Including milk as part of the liquid in the dough adds enzymes that help tenderize the dough.
Butter: I always use salted butter in my recipes but if you only have unsalted butter on hand, just add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt for each ½ cup stick of butter.

Ingredients for making lemon raspberry sweet rolls. - 4

How to Make Lemon Raspberry Sweet Rolls

Heat milk and butter. We are essentially scalding the milk here, which means heating it just below boiling. This helps break down the proteins in the milk and results in a better softer, fluffier texture in the finished rolls.
Proof the yeast. Even though instant yeast doesn’t technically need to be proofed, I like to combine it in a small bowl with warm water and just a little sugar to wake it up for 5 minutes until foamy. You can skip this step if using instant yeast, but it’s necessary for active dry yeast and I feel like I still get a better rise even with instant yeast if I let it proof first.
Combine ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the proofed yeast, remaining sugar, egg, 1 cup of the flour, salt, and the cooled milk mixture. Beat well using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until smooth and combined, then switch to the dough hook for more serious kneading.

Heating butter and milk in a saucepan. - 5

Knead. Add the remaining flour and switch to the dough hook attachment. Knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough starts to pull off from the sides and is nice and smooth. It should be soft and tacky, but not too sticky. If it is really sticky, keep adding flour, about ¼ cup at a time, but remember that the more flour you add the denser the rolls will be.
Rise. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let it rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.

PRO TIP: If you are new to working with yeast breads and your dough feels sticky and you feel like you have already added a lot of flour, here are some things to consider.

Humidity can play a factor. It can impact the flour and how much you need.
Measuring matters. Adding too much liquid or too little flour can both affect the texture of the dough. I have a whole post on how to measure flour and other baking ingredients .
Let the milk & butter cool. Liquids that are too warm can cause the dough to be more sticky.
Let the dough rise anyway. Unless your dough is so thin that it puddles (which is definitely a measuring problem), even a sticky dough will firm up a bit as it rises. Try covering it and then turning it out onto a well-floured surface once it has risen and it should be workable.

Finished sweet roll dough in a glass mixing bowl next to lemons. - 6

Roll out. Once the dough has risen, roll it out until about ¼ to 1/2-inch thick on a lightly floured surface until you have a roughly 9×12-inch rectangle.
Fill. Gently spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Toss the raspberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and cornstarch in a bowl, then scatter the raspberries evenly over the dough.
Shape. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 12 strips, then roll up each roll individually, tucking in any raspberries that try to escape. Transfer the shaped rolls to a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. You can roll the dough up as a long, then slice it into rolls with a sharp knife or using the thread or floss method, but I have found that it’s easier for me to use the other approach of slicing them first.
Second Rise. Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for about 30 minutes while preheating the oven until the rolls look puffy.

Sweet roll dough spread with softened butter and sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, cornstarch and raspberries. - 7

Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes. If the rolls are browning too much on top, cover them loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. The internal temperature of the rolls should be between 190 and 200°F if you test them with a digital thermometer. The rolls should be a nice golden brown when they are done.
Make the icing. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until creamy, smooth, and completely combined. Add powdered sugar, sour cream, mashed raspberries, vanilla, and lemon zest, then mix again until spreadable and combined.
Frost. I like to spread the icing on top of the rolls while they are still warm from the oven so it sort of melts down into them for an extra gooey factor. Let the rolls sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Yes, absolutely. I would recommend using the dough from my small batch cinnamon rolls recipe and then halving the filling and icing in this recipe.

I haven’t tried them myself, but my friend Erin from Meaningful Eats has a great gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe using King Arthur gluten-free bread flour that sounds perfect with my filling and topping.

Yes, you can definitely knead your dough by hand. It might take a couple minutes longer, but it’s actually great practice to work with dough and get a feel for it. Usually 8-10 minutes of hand-kneading will do the trick.

Kneading yeast dough is important to develop the gluten structure of the flour. You can use the windowpane test where you tear off a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers until it is thin enough that you can see light through it without it tearing to know it is ready. The dough should also hold it’s shape without spreading too much and feel smooth and springy.

Yes, you can make these overnight sweet rolls by rolling out and shaping them, then immediately placing them in the fridge for a slow rise overnight. Just pull them out the next morning and let them sit out on the counter at room temperature while the oven preheats for about 30 minutes, then bake like normal.

An overhead view of homemade raspberry sweet rolls with lemon on white plates next to lemons and raspberries. - 9

Storing and Freezing Instructions

Storing: Keep leftover rolls covered with plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days. I recommend warming them for a few seconds in the microwave before enjoying.

Freezing: You can freeze leftover sweet rolls for up to 2 months in an airtight container in the freezer. Let them thaw on the counter for a few hours or in the fridge overnight, then gently warm in the microwave before enjoying.

An overhead image of a white pan of lemon raspberry sweet rolls next to fresh lemons, raspberries, and plates of rolls. - 10

Substitutions and Variations

Mix-and-match fruit combos. Swap the raspberries with another berry for a different flavor. Lemon blueberry sweet rolls would be delicious, as would a strawberry lemonade flavor using diced strawberries. Or swap the lemon for lime, which is also a great flavor with raspberry or strawberry for a different sweet-tart profile.
Omit the citrus. Want something more sweet and less tart? Simply leave out the lemon altogether for delicious raspberry sweet rolls.
Use vanilla icing. If you want more of a subtle flavor, a simple vanilla icing like you would use on regular cinnamon rolls works great with these. Just leave out the lemon zest and mashed raspberries.

An overhead image of sweet rolls glazed with a raspberry cream cheese icing. - 11

More Sweet Bread and Roll Recipes

Deborah’s Knotted Orange Rolls
Pecan Sticky Buns
Liège Waffles
Apple Fritter Bread