Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Raspberry-swirl sweet rolls + a performance I love

Raspberry swirl sweet rolls / Pãezinhos de framboesa

I love Michael Mann – he’s one of my favorite directors; so when I saw that “The Insider” would be on cable a couple of weeks ago I knew I was going to watch it again. At the end my husband, who had never watched that movie before, told me: “wow, that is an excellent movie!”, and I instantly knew he’d really loved it, like I do.
Russell Crowe is really easy to love, I’m aware of that, but to me Jeffrey Wigand is his finest role so far, even greater than Maximus – I know many will disagree with me here, but think of how much more difficult it is to play a guy with lots of flaws than it is to play a hero, and yet Crowe gets the audience by his side. To top it all off, Crowe’s physical transformation is another thing of beauty and a sign of an actor extremely committed to his craft, and yet his performance is so much more than putting on dozens of pounds – it’s the whole thing, all the details connected, blessed by a talented director. It makes me of think Robert De Niro’s Jake La Motta which to me is the best performance ever delivered by an actor, so you get the idea.

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I have been baking bread quite often lately but mostly savory ones – I decided to switch to sweet mode after seeing this recipe on a magazine that has been growing on me a lot lately; I am crazy for cinnamon rolls and found this raspberry twist so interesting I had to try it. And the rolls turned out delicious, very tender, irresistible. The dough, perfumed with lemon zest, is very soft, easy to work with and tastes wonderful – I bet that a number of different fillings would be used with great results.

Raspberry-swirl sweet rolls
from the delicious Food & Wine

Dough:
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ¼ cups (595g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
One 10-ounce package IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) raspberries, not thawed
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream

Dough: pour the warm milk into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, eggs, lemon zest and salt. Add the flour and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes, then continue beating until the dough is soft and supple, about 10 minutes longer.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands 2 or 3 times. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly buttered bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
Line the bottom of a 22x32cm (13x9in) baking pan* with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend up the short sides. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a 25x60cm (10x24in) rectangle.
In a medium bowl, toss the frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 60cm (24in) long log. Working quickly, cut the log into quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 slices and arrange them in the baking pan, cut sides up. Scrape any berries and juice from the work surface into the baking pan between the rolls. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy and have filled the baking pan, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F**. Bake the rolls for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the butter and heavy cream until the glaze is thick and spreadable.
Invert the rolls onto the rack and peel off the parchment paper. Invert the rolls onto a platter. Dollop glaze over each roll and spread with an offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan

** the temperature worked out for me but apparently did not for other people, who had their rolls too dark; you might want to check the rolls earlier or bake them in a lower temperature

Makes 16

17 comments:

  1. Oh I love these rolls, they take me right back to a bakery I used to frequent for a very similar roll. Must try!

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  2. if only i had a batch in the oven now so i could have one now with my morning cup of tea..

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  3. The Lucky Wife/AnneJune 21, 2012

    These look and sound delicious.... thinking I need to try them out for breakfast soon! :) Thank you!

    Anne
    The Saturday Evening Pot

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  4. I love swirls for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner...I am bookmarking this recipe.

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  5. I love this kind of cakes !! so yummy !

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  6. AnonymousJune 21, 2012

    These look amazing! When I first saw the picture I thought it was white chocolate on top - might try making these and melt some into the glaze for added sweetness!

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  7. Patricia, Those look divine. I can't wait to try them.

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  8. I am so glad to see your post. I was thinking of making cheese danish, but these sweet rolls look so delicious I might just change my mind. Thank you for the recipe.

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  9. I WANT SOME NOW!!! YUUUM

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  10. AnonymousJune 21, 2012

    Patricia, this recipe is great, I love cinnamon rolls, but can't make it at home because my husband doesn't like cinnamon, but this one will be his favorite, a well as mine.

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  11. Yum, these sweet rolls look so delicious! I love the idea of doing them with a raspberry filling instead of cinnamon.

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  12. AnonymousJuly 23, 2012

    Bake at 425* for 25 minutes???? Seriously?? I barely had mine in for 10 minutes and they are almost black!

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  13. Hey Anonymous, is the temperature of your oven correct? The recipe is here, if you doubt the temperature stated on my post is incorrect:
    http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/raspberry-swirl-sweet-rolls

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  14. AnonymousJuly 24, 2012

    Patricia, three of the four reviews of the recipe at foodandwine.com also mentioned that theirs were either burnt or very well done. So it's not just me. I think it could be a fabulous recipe but the temperature needs to be adjusted for most of us. I'm glad it worked for you though. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Hey, Anonymous, you're right - I hadn't read the comments there. It worked for me, though. I'll write something about it on the post - thank you for that.

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  16. I cooked them at 375 for 28 minutes and they were perfect! I took them to a potluck and they were gobbled up. Thanks for such a yummy recipe!

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  17. Bethany, I'm so glad to hear the recipe worked out fine for you, thank YOU for letting me know!

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