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.

Spring Cupcakes and a Symbol of Hope

I always eagerly await the first signs of spring.  Bright and cheerful bursts of tulips and daffodils are a welcome sight after a cold, bland winter.   They invigorate us and announce to us that spring has sprung!

Thank you for arriving spring I am so ready for you!  I’m ready for open windows, bed sheets on the clothesline, sitting in the sun and drinks on the patio!

I thought these cupcakes would be the perfect fit for our Easter table.  Beautiful sunny yellows amid pops of white, blue and pink colours.

It’s doesn’t hurt when your pops of colour are candy coated and full of milk chocolate either.  Another wonderful sign of spring. Easter chocolate.

Remember here when I made lime cupcakes with Tequila frosting?  These are identical, just substitute the lime for lemon.  Omit the step of brushing on the Tequila.   Swirl on a generous amount of Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream (below).  These  are keeper lemon cupcakes.  Really moist with a good hit of lemon followed by, you guessed it, the creamiest lemony Swiss Meringue icing.

Did you know April is also Daffodil Month for the Canadian and American Cancer Society? Daffodils are a symbol of hope for those living with cancer.  Unfortunately everyone has a cancer story.  All of the monies raised from the Daffodil Campaign go to life saving cancer research.

I hope this spring leaves you feeling rejuvenated.  I hope spring has sprung where you live!  Happy Easter everyone.

Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 5 egg whites
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 3/4 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup lemon curd or lemon pie filling (or more to taste)

1. Fill a saucepan (large enough to fit your mixing bowl just a few inches) with two inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low so water continues to simmer.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, hand whisk the egg whites and the sugar just until combined. Place over simmering pot and whisk for approx 4 mins until the egg whites are hot (about 150 degrees). The sugar should be dissolved by this time as well. Place bowl on stand mixer and attach the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until whites have increased in volume, are thick and glossy and the outside of the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes!).

3. Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle attachment. Beat on low-speed until mixture is completely cooled. Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time. Scrape the bowl and continue to beat until buttercream is glossy, smooth and thick. It may separate at first, but continue beating and it will emulsify. Add vanilla flavouring, a pinch of salt and lemon curd and beat until combined. Use immediately.

Early Spring Crop

Rhubarb is a “do like” or “definately don’t” kind of thing.   It’s a tart and sour fella that can produce the yummiest cobblers and coffee cakes.  And we all, I’m sure, have tried the rhubarb/strawberry combo.  My father-in-law has a patch in his large garden and I have recently been asking, “Is it ready yet??”  The season usually starts here in late May or early June.   His won’t be ready until next week so I hauled my sorry self out of bed early this morning to go to the market in search of freshly picked stalks for todays post.  I strolled by a few vendors who didn’t have any yet and then almost ran to the vendor who had a nice big basket full of freshly harvested stocks (I think she was taken aback by my excitement, it is only rhubarb after all…)…

Enjoy todays post, just in time for the rhubarb season to start.   A really simple Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb sauce served warm over homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.   And I guarantee that once you make your own ice cream (without the ice cream maker…) you will turn your nose up at any store bought carton again!  Enjoy,

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop 

1 cup homogenized milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups half and half cream- you can also use heavy cream for a creamier texture

6 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and let milk infuse for one hour.

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Pour the half and half into the 2-quart bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Put the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens. It should be thick enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.  Several hours or overnight is best.

Once the mixture has chillled for several hours you can remove the vanilla bean* and put it in your ice cream machine and follow manufacterers instructions or do it without a machine as outlined below:

1. Remove the vanilla bean and pour ice cream into a freezer safe bowl (I use stainless).  Leave in the freezer (uncovered) for 45 minutes.  Remove from freezer and whisk for approx. 3 minutes.  Back into the freezer for another 30 minutes and whisk again.  Continue freezing and whisking for about 2 1/2 -3 hours until set.  Place ice cream in a sealable container and freeze until ready to use.

*Keep that vanilla bean!  Wash it with water and allow it to dry out.  Put it in your sugar canister to give an extra kick to baked goods.  And, you can use it again for your next batch of ice cream!

Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb Sauce

*Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine

2 cups jarred sour cherries (reserve juice)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sliced rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp amber rum

1.  In saucepan, bring 1/4 cup cherry juice, sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high heat, until sugar dissolves.  Add cherries and rhubarb: cook over medium heat until rhubarb is tender, about 5 minutes.

3.  Blend cornstarch with rum; stir into fruit mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened.

Spoon warm mixture over ice cream.

Spring~ New Beginnings

   It’s official!  Spring has arrived and with that many new beginnings.   To top it off, it’s Mother’s Day today, so in honour of my mom, who has been a great teacher in my life in all things sweet, I have decided to launch Sweet Revelations today.  I am passionate about scratch baking and will regularly post some of my best work (along with recipes for you to try of course!) .     Today my husband and I had both of our fab moms over for tea and we served one of the best carrot cakes I have ever made~ if I do say so myself!  So simple, with an amazing maple syrup and cream cheese icing.

  Enjoy the beauty of the new season.

Single Layer Carrot Cake

Adapted from The Kitchen Sink

Oven 325

1/2 cup toasted pecans- finely chopped

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup buttermilk *

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs- room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 cups carrots coarsely shredded

Butter and flour one 9-inch cake pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until pale (approx 3 mins).  Beat in the oil, milk and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.   Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until moistened.  Stir in the carrots and pecans.

Bake for 1 hour until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then unmold on to a wire rack to cool completely.

* to make buttermilk/sour milk place 1 tbsp of lemon juice in a glass measuring cup.  Pour in enough milk to equal one cup.  Let the milk sit for 5 minutes.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Kitchen Sink

1 pkg (250 g) cream cheese – room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter- room temperature

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add icing sugar and mix until well blended.  Mix in maple syrup.   Icing may need to be chilled for a few minutes to be firm enough to spread.

Before serving, drizzle each piece with pure maple syrup.