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Tall cinnamon rolls topped with purple whipped creme fraiche and fresh blueberries.

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

developed & tested by:

Carissa Erzen
These soft blueberry cinnamon rolls are made with a lemon blueberry sauce & whipped crème fraiche. They rise just once for 60-90 minutes!
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Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Rise Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 8 cinnamon rolls
Calories 664 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2¼ teaspoon instant yeast (one packet)
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

LEMON BLUEBERRY FILLING

  • 3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • zest from one large lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (from about half a lemon)
  • 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 Tablespoon cold water

BROWN SUGAR FILLING

  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

WHIPPED CREME FRAICHE

  • ½ cup creme fraiche
  • ½ cup heavy cream, cold (or heavy whipping cream)
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons reserved blueberry filling

Instructions
 

Make the Blueberry Filling

  • In a small saucepan, add the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Simmer on medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the blueberries soften and release a lot of their juice.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with one tablespoon of cold water until it’s smooth.
  • Bring the saucepan to a boil, add the cornstarch slurry, and boil for 1 minute. Stir constantly, until it’s thickened. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.

Mix the Dough & Let it Rise

  • Warm the milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, until it's between 105°F and 115°F (40°C to 46°C).
  • In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm milk, instant yeast, granulated sugar, room-temperature eggs, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is well-combined.
  • Add the flour and mix with a large spoon just until there are no clumps of dry flour, after a minute.
  • Cut the softened butter into small squares & add it to the dough. Mix either in the mixing bowl with a large spoon or with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer until it starts to form a sticky dough, after 1-2 minutes.
  • Knead by hand on a work surface dusted with flour for 8 full minutes, or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 5-6 minutes, until the dough springs back to its original shape when you indent it with your finger.
    • I prefer kneading this dough in my stand mixer to avoid adding excess flour. If you're kneading by hand, sprinkle a little flour on the counter as needed while kneading the dough to prevent it from sticking to the counter. The dough should be pretty tacky and still grabbing (not sticking) to your fingers and the counter at the end of kneading. Keep extra flour in a small bowl, to avoid putting dough-covered hands into your flour bag and getting it all dirty.
  • Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball back in a clean mixing bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel or dinner plate. Let it rest at room temperature for just 15 minutes, to let the gluten relax.

Prepare the Filling & Shape the Rolls

  • Grease a 10-inch round baking pan or deep pie dish. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix brown sugar filling by combining the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  • On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 12-in by 17.5-in rectangle (30cm by 45cm).
    • Make sure you sprinkle flour on your counter before rolling out the dough, otherwise it’ll stick and be really difficult to roll up. And if your dough has become really warm & sticky (mine does that if I’m baking in the heat of summer) stick the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
  • Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top, and gently press it down into the dough with your hands.
  • Set aside two tablespoons of the cooled blueberry filling in a small bowl for the glaze later. Then spread the rest of the blueberry filling on top of the dough.
  • From a short edge, cut the dough into eight 1.5-inch (4cm) long strips.
    • To get all the rolls the same size, I lightly score the top with a knife using a ruler to measure 1½-inch rolls before cutting them. And I find a pizza cutter is much easier than a knife to cut the strips of dough.
  • Roll each strip of dough in a spiral. Aim for rolling it tight enough that it doesn’t have any gaps, but not so tight that the center squeezes out.
  • Arrange the rolls evenly spread out in your prepared baking dish. Rolling the dough can get a little messy, so scoop up any blueberry filling from the counter onto the tops of the rolls.
  • Cover with plastic wrap (which retains moisture better than a towel) and let them rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, until they double in size.

Bake the Rolls & Add the Whipped Topping

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Bake the rolls for 45-48 minutes, until they're puffed up and golden brown on top. A wooden skewer inserted into the bread part of the rolls should come out clean (since the filling will still be wet even after it’s done baking). Let the rolls cool for 15 minutes before adding the topping.
    • If the tops of your cinnamon rolls start to turn brown before they finish baking, tent a large piece of foil over the top.
  • While the rolls cool, add the creme fraiche and heavy cream to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix until it forms soft peaks, after 4-6 minutes. Add the brown sugar and reserved blueberry filling, then mix again until it forms stiff peaks, after about one minute. Dollop the whipped creme fraiche on top of each cinnamon roll, and add a few extra blueberries on top.

Notes

  • Blueberry Filling: You can make the blueberry filling ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days.
  • Equipment: Make sure the walls on your baking dish are at least 3-inches (7.5cm) tall, otherwise the cinnamon rolls could spill over as they bake.
  • Summer Baking: If your kitchen is hot and your dough feels really soft and sticky, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool down & be easier to roll out without sticking. 
  • Shaping: To get perfectly uniform cinnamon rolls, I use a ruler to lightly score where to make each cut with a pizza cutter. 
  • Avoid Over-Baking: Be sure to watch your cinnamon rolls in the oven after the halfway mark and loosely cover them with a large piece of foil if they start to turn golden brown on top before the center is baked. Since they’re taller than most other cinnamon rolls, the top has a tendency to finish baking first. 
  • Cool First: Let the cinnamon rolls cool for at least 15 minutes, otherwise the whipped creme fraiche could melt and slide off.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 roll (of 8)Calories: 664kcalCarbohydrates: 104gProtein: 13gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 410mgPotassium: 283mgFiber: 5gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 802IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 114mgIron: 4mg
Keyword blueberry cinnamon rolls, cinnamon roll
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