lemon scrolls

lemon scrolls

• 29 Jan 2023

Last year I made a batch of passionfruit custard filled scrolls. Whilst they tasted lovely, trying to roll them was a challenge and the kitchen bench ended up awash with custard, so it was back to the drawing board. I'm going to try making them again using today's recipe for the base then I'll top the roll with the custard prior to baking. I still haven't decided on the topping, so watch this space.

The good news is that these lemon filled scrolls turned out really well. They are lovely and light and nicely perfumed and flavoured with lemon and I think will make an excellent base for the custard scrolls. 

When I was researching ways to shape cinnamon rolls, I came across the Finnish cinnamon roll known as Korvapuusti. They looked really cute so when I made these lemon scrolls, I tried out this new to me shaping method. 

If you'd like to make a batch of these scrolls, here's the recipe for you which makes 10 -12 scrolls. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 

Lemon scrolls

Dough

1 tsp yeast

125 mls milk, lukewarm

30g honey

1 egg at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups (300g) plain flour 

½ tsp salt

75g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

Filling

60g caster sugar

4 tsp grated lemon rind

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Pinch salt

60 g room temperature unsalted butter

1 tbs almond meal

To finish

2 tbs melted butter or cream

2-3 tbs pearl sugar

Lemon Syrup 

1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar

1/3 cup water

1 piece lemon rind

40 ml fresh lemon juice

Dough

Grease a large bowl and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and honey in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the egg and the vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, 1 minute. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. The dough will be very sticky, and you will need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours.

Filling

Combine the sugar, lemon zest, cardamom and a pinch of salt in a small bowl then using your fingers rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon until you have a smooth paste.

To Assemble

Flour a work surface and knead the dough 10 to 12 times to activate the gluten. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the top lightly with flour, and cover with a tea towel and let come to room temperature. Line a tray with baking paper and set to one side. 

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to form a 40 x 30 cm rectangle. Spread the filling evenly out onto the dough then roll up firmly from the long edge. Using a very sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough on the diagonal to form 10-12 triangular shapes. Place the roll on the wide base then using your fingers or the blade of a knife, flatten out the roll. Step by step shaping instructions can be found here.

Set the rolls on baking trays covered with baking paper, about 5 cm apart. Cover with a cloth and leave the rolls to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. Just before baking, brush each roll with some melted butter or cream then top with a sprinkle of pearl sugar. 

Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes on the centre rack or until the rolls are golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through. While the rolls are baking, prepare the lemon syrup. 

Syrup

For syrup, combine sugar, water and lemon rind in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Take off the heat then mix in the lemon juice. Set aside until needed.

As soon as the scrolls leave the oven, drizzle 1-2 tbs of the syrup over each bun. Cool on the tray for a few minutes to let the buns absorb the syrup and then cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian