Lemon Lime Breakfast Rolls

I have to apologize right up front for the lack of photo’s here.  These fresh and warm Lemon Lime Breakfast Rolls were eaten up pretty fast!

Remember here, when I made my Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns?  Serious ooey goey business and so yummy on a lazy week-end morning.  These are the same idea, I used the same dough recipe but I added a tangy lemon/lime mix just before rolling them up.

These were a huge hit on a cold and dreary spring morning.  There is nothing better than taking warm bread out of the oven on a cold day.  It fills the whole house with the most amazing smell.  The beauty of these kind of breakfast treats is that they can be made well ahead of time and frozen before the second rise.  Just pop these in the oven when you wake up!

I topped these with a simple Cream Cheese Glaze while they were still warm.  When the whole week is spent waking with the dreaded sound of an alarm clock, I relish the days when I can wake up on my own time with a pot of strong coffee and some breakfast pastries.  Right off the bat I know this is going to be a good day.

On another quick note, I just wanted to share with you that this week-end my family participated in the annual Multiple Sclerosis Supercities Walk.  It’s a charity near and dear to my heart.  My daughter and I baked up some goodies for their cake table this year.  What an honour for us!

Enjoy!

Make the same dough recipe that I used here and follow the same directions for the rolls.

Lemon Lime Filling

Note: this is enough filling for one batch of lemon lime rolls.  The dough yields enough for two batches.

• 6 lemons zested
• 2 limes zested
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

1.  Put the lemon and lime zest in a bowl with the white sugar and mix with your fingers coating the zest with the sugar.  This will release an amazing citrus smell!

2.  The dough recipe will give you enough for two batches of rolls. One for now and one to freeze! Roll out one half, on a lightly floured surface. Make a rectangle, about 10 x 8 inches, with the long end facing you. Spread rectangle with butter and top with the zest mixture.

3.  Start at the long end farthest from you, and begin to roll the dough into one long tube. Cut the tube into 12 even portions and place side by side in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

4.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven, invert on a plate if you wish, and drizzle glaze on top.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 0z cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1.  Whisk all ingredients together and continue to add lemon juice until you reach the glaze consistency you desire.  Spread on warm rolls.

Buttermilk Scones with Clotted Cream

What a beautiful morning!  The sun is shining through every window and I can hear the birds outside!  It’s a bit unusual though because my house is eerily quiet and I’m the only one home this morning.  It’s just me and the dog.

I must say the peace is heavenly…..

O.K. ….two really important things are happening today…

First, it’s my friend’s birthday.  Happy Birthday girl!  She lives in London, England and is currently roaming the streets of Italy with another friend of ours.  I am so jealous, envious, HAPPY for them!  They will be eating great food and drinking great wine.   Cheers to you my friend, have a wonderful day.

Second, I made Clotted Cream yesterday and am feeling all smug and proud of myself.  It’s a cross between butter and whipped cream.  I sometimes buy English Double Devon as a treat for myself but it is hard to find and costly.   My girlfriend and I had a Cream Tea on one of my last nights in England a few years ago and it was “lovely’ as she says.  Homemade scones piled high with Clotted Cream and preserves, and of course a cup of tea.  Delish.   How appropriate that I made it the day before her birthday then.  And here I sit, birthday morning, thinking of my friend, eating one of these goodies with the homemade preserves I made here.

The Clotted Cream is ridiculously easy.  Almost embarrassing frankly, for my inflated ego at the moment.  Use the heaviest whipping cream you can find, with a high fat content (mine was 35%).  Pour 4 cups into a heavy-bottomed oven safe pan.  Cover and place in the oven at 180° and leave it for 12 hours.  Untouched.  Done.  No kidding.  Remove after 12 hours (try not to slosh the cream during transport) and allow to cool for about an hour.  Place in the fridge over night and tah-dah!  When you wake, there will be a glorious, thick layer of clotted cream on top.  Skim off with a slotted spoon and put in a jar.  Use on scones, pancakes, muffins, etc.  The remaining heavy cream can still be used for baking.  Shamelessly easy, but still feelin smug.

The scones are Buttermilk Scones from Nigella Lawson.  These are not sweet which makes them a perfect fit for cream and preserves.  So easy to make and I made them this morning in under 1/2 hour.  One of the reasons scones tend to be so dry is because they are baked far too long.  Twelve minutes is all that’s needed.   Once the scones are dry on the bottom, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Nigella Lawson’s Buttermilk Scones

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons soft vegetable shortening
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten, for an egg wash (optional)
• 1 large lipped baking sheet or half sheet pan
• 1 (2-inch) biscuit cutter, preferably fluted

Preheat the oven to 425° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

1.  Put the flour into a bowl with the baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Chop the butter and the vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour. Rub the fats into the flour – or just mix any old how – and then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.

2..Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough into a round-edged oblong about 1 3/4 inches thick and cut out 2-inch scones with a biscuit cutter. (Mine are never a uniform height, as I only pat the dough into its shape without worrying whether it’s irregular or not.)

3.  Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet, and brush with beaten egg (to give golden tops) or not as you wish.

4.  Bake for 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel. Remove them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and your favourite jam.