Als het goed is zit ik nu enorm te ontspannen met een boekje aan een riviertje in Zuid Frankrijk. Om toch wat te lezen te hebben, hierbij een blogje uit de oude doos – in het Engels, omdat hij ook zo het eerst online kwam (en inmiddels is verdwenen van het internet). Het is nog een kerstverhaal ook, dus dat is enorm handig eind juli, maar om eerlijk te zijn kan het altijd. Zeker met citroen en verse bosbessen in het seizoen! Enne, dit is sowieso fantastisch, want het kan gevuld worden met alle combinaties die je maar kunt verzinnen. Go wild.
Lemon Blueberry Rolls
The best part of Christmas, for me, is the breakfast. Not the giving of presents, or the Christmas dinner, no, I love the breakfast. Usually, I’m a very boring breakfast person. I always eat the same thing, and every year or so, this thing makes place for another thing Yoghurt instead of bread, bread instead of yoghurt. Now I think about it, even the sequence is boring. But Christmas breakfast, oh dear. The start of a day already filled with so much food breakfast would not be even necessary. I love to sit at a table surrounded by family, all eating, talking, laughing. Handing over the cheese, the croissants, the kerstbrood filled with almond paste and raisins. If I’m lucky, there is even a tulband cake. Cake for breakfast, could life be any better?
I would like to say: yes. Because of this recipe. Let’s face it; you’re going to the gym anyway in January, so you might as well eat some really good stuff anyway. And this is one of these things. I had to make it to write this column, and I instantly felt guilty and insanely happy at the same time. Because now, I have to make it again. It’s a sweet bread roll filled with a mixture of sugar, lemon zest and blueberries. But I can’t wait to fill it with other, more Christmas-y stuff – maybe sugar, rosemary and dried cranberries, with an orange zest glaze? Or what about the classic combination of sugar and cinnamon, maybe add some raisins with a coffee glaze? Some very finely chopped chocolate, mixed with a pinch of cinnamon and some sugar would also be awesome.
The best part about this dish is that it just askes to be shared, or to be given away. This amount turned out to be about three 22 cm round cake tins full – one for yourself and two to give away – or to fill the Christmas breakfast table. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? As a whole, it looks gorgeous, and you just break off the little rolls. And it still looks awesome – I mean, there is no way this would not look pretty. And for the taste: it is simply the best bread I have ever made. It’s sticky and moist, with enough lemon to counter the sweetness. The blueberries are this little bursts of fruit flavour. It’s also one of those recipes which kids love to make: you can make the dough in advance (I made it the day before, but beware: it rises fast, even in the fridge!) and roll it out and fill it together. Go and check the website of the Pioneer Women for her awesome recipe and a photo manual. Below you will find the recipe adapted for Dutch cooks. Enjoy Christmas!
Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
This will make about three 22 cm round cake tins.
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 480 ml whole milk
- 100 gram caster sugar
- 120 ml vegetable oil (I used arachide)
- 1 package of instant yeast
- 560 gram flour
- 1/2 tablespoon salt (heaping)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (3/4 full)
- 1/2 heaping teaspoon baking powder (heaping)
Filling:
- 120 gram butter
- 150 gram suger (basterd)
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 400 gram (frozen) blueberries
Glaze:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 500 gram powdered sugar
- 150 ml milk
- 40 gram butter, melted
- A pinch of salt
Heat milk, sugar and oil in a large pot until it is very warm, but not boiling. Let it cool a bit until it is still warm but not hot. Add the yeast to 500 grams of the flour, and add to the milk/oil mixture. Stir until the mixture is evenly combined. Cover with a tea towel and let it stand in a draft-free spot for about an hour.
Add the remaining 60 grams of flour, the salt, baking soda and baking powder, and mix thoroughly. Transfer to large bowl and keep in the fridge, covered in plastic foil, until needed. The cold dough is easier to handle.
Preheat your oven to 190 °C. Butter your cake tins (I used a pretty oven dish). Melt the butter for the filling, let cool down a little. Mix the zest with the sugar.
Sprinkle some flour on the countertop, and roll half of the dough in a very thin square (you will repeat this with the other half). Spread half of your butter on the dough, sprinkle evenly with half of the lemon/sugar mixture. Divide half of the blueberries on top. Starting at the far end, roll the dough towards you; make sure it’s nice and tight. Cut your roll in 1,5 cm thick slices, fill the tins/baking dishes, arrange them not to close together. Let it rise for 20 minutes, (mine didn’t rise after a night in the fridge, so don’t freak out if they don’t). Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they’re golden brown on top.
Mix the ingredients for the filling, adding as much milk as you need to make it smooth and somewhat liquid. Pour it over the rolls as soon as they leave the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature.