Lemon Poppy Seed Elderberry Rolls with Dragon Fruit Frosting

These lemon poppy seed elderberry rolls will be the hit of your next socially distant gathering. They are a step up from your run-of-the-mill cinnamon rolls that pack a punch of nutrients and healthy antioxidants.

Recipe by Tara Snyder (on Instagram @bearnecessities___)

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup of warm oat milk or milk of your choice (110F)
• 1 tablespoon of cane sugar (for the yeast)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast or 1 packet
• 1/4 cup of cane sugar
• 1/4 cup of coconut sugar
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1/3 cup of melted butter
• 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose unbleached flour or bread flour( if using bread flour you might need a bit more milk) Also, with bread flour my dough always rises a lot faster.
• 1 tablespoon +  ½ teaspoon of poppy seeds
• ¼ cup of lemon curd
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon zest or 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Lemon Elderberry Curd

• 1- 1½ cups of lemon curd  (I made my own)
• 2 tablespoons of Sambucol Black Elderberry Syrup

Frosting

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese softened at room temperature
• 1/4 cup of butter softened at room temperature
• 1 3.5 ounce package of frozen dragon fruit puree + 2 tablespoons of water (you could use dried dragon fruit powder too)
• 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon of lemon extract
• Sprinkle of sea salt

Instructions

Dough

1. Using a microwave or small saucepan heat the milk to 110. If heating in the microwave it should take about a minute. Make sure it's not too hot or it'll kill the yeast.
2. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon of cane sugar, and yeast to your stand mixer and wait until the mixture starts to foam. About 5-7 minutes.
3. Once the mixture is foamy add in the cane sugar, coconut sugar, eggs, melted butter, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon curd, and poppy seeds to the stand mixer and mix on medium-low to medium speed using the bread hook until well mixed. Or you can mix by hand or with a hand mixer.
4. Slowly add in the salt and flour until well mixed.
5. Mix the dough until it forms a ball and most if not all of the dough is no longer sticking the pan. You can increase the speed of this. If the dough is still too sticky add in a little bit of flour at a time to form a firm ball that's slightly sticky, but not too sticky. If you’re mixing by hand you can knead the dough until it forms a firm ball.
6. Remove the dough from the mixer and form into a ball with your hands. Place in a well-buttered bowl and cover with a slightly damp cloth. Place the bowl in a warm space. I've found that boiling water in the microwave for 5-6 minutes and placing the bowl in the microwave with the boiling water still in the microwave works really well. I do this for pizza dough or cinnamon roll dough. Let dough rise until it's doubled in size about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

Lemon Elderberry Curd Filling

1. Mix the curd and elderberry syrup together and refrigerate while the dough rises. 

Preparing rolls

1. Butter a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Once the dough has doubled in size remove from the bowl and sprinkle a clean surface with flour.
3. Roll the dough out into 20x12 square. If you're having a hard time doing this sprinkle a little extra flour on top of the dough while you're rolling it out to make it a little easier.
4. Add the filling to the dough once it's been rolled out. Make sure you spread it evenly and so it basically touches the corners.
5. Roll the dough up tightly.
6. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. You can measure these out to keep things even if you'd like.
7. At this point, if you'd like to let them rise and cook them do so if not you can place these in the fridge tightly covered overnight. If you're letting them sit overnight remove them the next day and let them rise( takes about an hour or so ) using a slightly damp cloth. Place the pan in a warm space or use the boiling water trick again.I've found that boiling water in the microwave 5-6 minutes and placing the bowl in the microwave with the boiling water still in the microwave works really well. I do this for pizza dough or cinnamon roll dough. Let dough rise until it's doubled in size about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. They should double in size.

Overnight

1. If you're letting them sit overnight remove them the next day and bring them to room temperature, about 30 minutes. 

Same day

1. If you're not refrigerating them overnight let them rise until they've doubled in size about 30 minutes. You can use the water trick again too. Place the pan in a warm space. I've found that boiling water in the microwave for 5-6 minutes and placing the bowl in the microwave with the boiling water still in the microwave works really well.
2. Preheat the oven to 350.
3. Bake the rolls for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. They will rise more in the oven. I always test them with a knife or fork. My oven cooks fast so I always set my time a little lower and then add one more time if need be.

Frosting

1. In a small saucepan heat the dragon fruit up. Once melted using add in the water. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer.  Discard what’s left in the strainer and use the thick liquid for the frosting.
2. In a standup mixer  with the whisk attachment beat the softened butter, cream cheese, dragon fruit liquid, lavender extract, and vanilla extract together until creamy. You can also make this hand with a whisk or using a hand mixer. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well and scrape down the sides. Mix well
3. Once the sweet rolls are out of the oven to frost them and serve warm.