Vegan Lemon Sweet Rolls

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

115g of dairy-free butter

400ml of dairy-free milk (room temperature)

50g of caster sugar

1 pack active dry yeast (approx 7g)

500g of plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

2 lemons (zest only)

80g of lemon juice (from fresh lemons)

125g of coconut milk (cream only)

125g of caster sugar

3 tablespoons of cornflour / cornstarch

Pinch of turmeric (or yellow food gel) optional

1 pot of Renshaw Lemon Icing

Fresh lemons (zest and slices)

Directions

Method (lemon curd)

Drain the clear liquid from a can of coconut milk, as you only want to use the thick white cream. Add all of the lemon curd ingredients into a medium sized saucepan. Stir to combine.

Heat over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens (this will take around 5 minutes). Stirring with a heat proof spatula or whisk will prevent any sticking and burning, and will remove any clumps.

Once the mixture is thick and glossy, remove from the heat. Once cool, give it a vigorous stir and transfer into a piping bag. If the curd thickens too much, add a squeeze more lemon juice and whisk vigorously until creamy.

Method (rolls)

In a small saucepan melt the butter on medium heat.

Add the warm melted butter into a mixing bowl and add in the room temperature milk, sugar and active dry yeast. Whisk to combine, then cover with a tea towel and set aside somewhere warm for 10 minutes. I like to place mine in my conservatory, near a heater or near a pre-heated oven. Just somewhere where the bowl can warm up, but not in the oven as this will kill the yeast. The mixture will froth up, as the yeast actives. You’ll know it’s activating as you’ll be able to smell the yeast.

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, pour in the activated yeast mixture along with the lemon zest.

Knead the dough until its smooth and when you press it, it bounces back. The dough should smooth out and become less tacky. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook or you can do this with your hands on a clean floured surface. Don’t over knead or the rolls will be tough. If you need to add some more flour, add a little bit at a time to get it to a smooth, bouncy dough.

Form the dough into a neat and smooth ball and place into a bowl which has been lightly greased with some oil (I like to use sunflower oil, or a neutral flavoured oil.) Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm area for 1 – 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Assemble the rolls

Once the dough has doubled in size, grease an 11 x 9 inch square or similar sized round dish with oil and set aside.

Turn the risen dough out on to a floured surface. Use a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 16” x 24” rectangle. The thinner the dough, the more swirls you’ll get.

Using a spatula or spoon, spread the lemon curd over the entire rectangle of dough, making sure to leave an inch border around the edge. Sprinkle over some lemon zest (optional).

Using a sharp knife or pizza roller, cut the dough into strips then roll up to form the roll (watch the tutorial here). Place the rolls into the greased dish, leaving a tiny bit of space between the rolls as they will puff up when they prove and bake!

Cover the dish again with a tea towel and allow the rolls to rise in a warm place for a further 40 minutes – 1 hour. During this second prove, they will be very puffed up and fluffy.

Pre-heat your oven to 180° C fan. When the rolls are puffed up, brush the edges of the rolls with some dairy-free milk and place into the middle of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen and golden in colour. You can test they are baked by inserting a toothpick/skewer into the rolls. If it comes out clean, they’re ready but if the toothpick has some dough or batter on, they need more time in the oven to bake.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully in the dish before frosting.

Spoon the icing over each lemon roll and spread / swirl over using a off set spatula or the back of a spoon. You want each roll to be covered with icing.

Decorate the rolls by zesting some lemon zest over the rolls and serve with a lemon wedge.

Tuck in and enjoy!