It’s a little crazy that Easter is this weekend. To me, that means we’re well into Spring and to be honest it’s kind of scary. The school year is starting to wind up, but that means there’s a million things to do.
With that being said, we have to have a talk about May. So I had originally planned to publish 3 recipes in May. Now it’s seeming like at most I will post one recipe. This is making me a little upset because I’ve managed to post at least three recipes a month for two years now, but I simply don’t have the time to test them right now. I have too many exams to study for and too many dance rehearsals to attend. So May is very uncertain right now, but I’ll try to keep updating.
Let’s move away from that stressful stuff though and talk about these rolls. I think these rolls might be my favorite recipe from this month. They taste like a cross between carrot cake, cinnamon rolls, and hot cross buns. And that makes them absolutely perfect for Easter.
Describe These Rolls to Me
Taste: The dough is a nice canvas for these sweet rolls. It’s got subtle carrot cake spices to compliment the filling and a slightly sweet buttery flavor. The filling has sweet carrots sprinkled with rivers of crystalized ginger and raisins. The frosting has a tanginess from the cream cheese as well as subtle nutty notes from the brown butter.
Texture: These rolls are unbelievable soft and fluffy. The frosting on top adds the perfect amount of moisture and the filling adds a butteriness that sinks into the dough.
Ease: These are maybe a tiny bit harder than cinnamon rolls. But not really. I think, if you can make cinnamon rolls then you can make these. The filling and frosting might have one or two extra steps, but the process is more or less the same.
The Dough
I used the same base dough I always do for my sweet rolls. It uses all the kitchen staples, milk, yeast, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. I toss in some spices that compliment the carrot cake filling, which gives the dough a slightly sweet flavor without really adding much brown sugar. This dough absorbs some of the moisture from the filling, which makes it very fluffy and soft.
The Filling
This filling starts with the same basic ingredients as cinnamon rolls: butter, brown sugar, and some spices. To that, we add in some shredded carrots, raisins, and crystalized ginger. The crystalized ginger adds the perfect zap of ginger flavor, while also adding a little contrast. Also, it’s important to blot out some of the moisture in the shredded carrots so that it doesn’t seep too much into the dough.
The Frosting
I have to confess, I’m not a fan of cream cheese. But I approve of this cream cheese frosting which is saying something. It uses salted brown butter which balances out the sweetness and tanginess. The nuttiness from the brown butter is perfect with the carrot cake flavors in the filling, and really just ties everything together.
Carrot Cake Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together the warm milk, yeast, and brown sugar. Cover with a paper towel and let rest for 5 minutes. The yeast should foam up during this time, and if it doesn't your yeast is dead and you should start over with new yeast.
- Add in the butter, eggs, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and 1 cup of the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and use a large rubber spatula to fold together until you have a sticky dough.
- Turn the dough out on a heavily floured work surface and knead it gently for roughly 2 minutes, until you have a sturdy ball of dough. It should be sticky, but if it's so sticky to the point that it is difficult to handle, add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
- In the last 10 minutes or so of rising time, make the filling. Line a bowl with a paper towel and place the shredded carrots on top. Place another paper towel on top and press to remove some of the moisture from the carrots. You should have about ½ cup of packed shredded carrots.
- In a medium sized bowl using a rubber spatula, spread mix together the carrots, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Stir in the raisins and crystalized ginger. The mixture might look a little split, that's ok.
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter and set aside
- On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a 12×16 inch rectangle. Spread the filling in an even layer on top. Slowly and carefully, roll the dough into a 16 inch log. Slice the log into 12 rolls. Arrange the rolls in the previously prepared baking pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or cling wrap and let the rolls rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Bake the rolls uncovered for 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned and hollow sounding when you tap on them. While the rolls cool a little, make the frosting.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, keep cooking, stirring frequently until the butter begins to sizzle and foam, and it will then start to brown. Once the butter has turned a dark amber color, remove from the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes or so.
- Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, in a medium sized mixing bowl whip the cream cheese on medium high speed until smooth and cream. Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla, salt, and brown butter. Mix on low speed until mostly combined before turning the speed up to high to whip the frosting for one minute. The frosting should be creamy and slightly runny.
- Serve rolls warm with a generous dollop of cream cheese frosting!
- Rolls will stay fresh sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store frosting and rolls separately so they will last longer.