Heart Shaped Raspberry Rolls

These little cuties are here just in time for Valentine’s Day. Now, could you make cinnamon rolls? Yes. But would these heart shaped raspberry rolls be better? I think so.

These rolls are a soft brioche style bread, filled with raspberry jam or preserves and topped with a white chocolate cream cheese glaze. I love the raspberry white chocolate combo, and I have made raspberry sweet rolls in the past. But I wanted to take it to another level and make them heart shaped for Valentine’s day.

I started with the recipe from my Super Soft Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls and adapted the dough ever so slightly. Then instead of filling them with cinnamon sugar, we use raspberry jam or preserves. A different flavor could easily be substituted if you’re not into raspberry. I prefer it over strawberry and wanted red for the holidays.

I’ve seen lots of heart shaped cinnamon rolls and usually the ends are rolled in towards each other. I remembered the shape of Russian plyushkas and decided to try using the same shaping technique. Basically instead of rolling all your dough into one log you cut the dough pre shaping, and then fill, roll, and cut after. The result is very cute heart shapes.

Heart Shaped Raspberry Rolls Key Ingredients

• Raspberry Jam/Preserves – In lieu of a traditional cinnamon filling, we are using a sweet jam. Using just a little bit in each one will help keep your heart shaped raspberry rolls neat. If you want a little extra jam, once they have been shaped and cut you can add a little extra on top.
• White Chocolate – Instead of making a regular cream cheese frosting using powdered sugar, we swap the sugar for white chocolate. White chocolate pairs wonderfully with raspberry and also helps the glaze be extra creamy and sweet.
• Milk – Milk in the dough is going to add fat and help the dough be super soft and tender.

Heart Shaped Rasperry Rolls

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Prep: 3 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Bake: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 Rolls

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• 20 g Bread Flour
• 3 tbsp Water
• 3 tbsp Whole or 2% Milk

Dough

• 250 g Bread Flour 2 cups
• 80 g Whole or 2% Milk ~¼ cup plus 1½ tbsp – Warm
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ½ tbsp Instant yeast
• 1 large Egg room temperature
• 3 tbsp Unsalted butter melted

Filling + Glaze

• ⅓ cup Raspberry jam or preserves
• 2 oz Cream cheese room temperature
• ⅓ cup White chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp Milk room temperature

Instructions

• In a small saucepan add milk, water, and bread flour and whisk together until not lumpy. Place on a burner over low to medium low heat.
• Whisk the mixture while over the heat. After about 2 minutes it will begin to thicken. It is ready when your whisk begins to leave clean trails in the pan.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl to allow to cool.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, with dough hook attached, add together all the dough ingredients plus your cooled tangzhong.
• Mix your dough together on low until combined and then one speed higher for about 15-25 minutes until dough is smooth and stretchy, no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
• Transfer dough to the counter, shape into a ball. Lightly grease your bowl and place dough back in. Cover and allow to proof for 1-2 hours or until roughly doubled in size.
• Gently punch down the dough and move to your work space. Divide your dough into 6 equal pieces.
• Roll out a piece of dough into roughly a 6.5"x 4" rectangle/oval.
• Spread about ½ tbsp of raspberry jam over the dough, leaving about a ½" border along one of the long edges.
• Roll your dough along the the long side, sealing by pinching together along the seam.
• Take the two ends and pinch them together, creating a tear drop shape.
• Using a knife or a bench scraper, place the dough on the counter so the two sides of the teardrop are on top of each other. Place your tool along the center, leaving about 1 inch at the bottom (where you joined the ends together) and cut all the way through.
• Pick your dough up and lay it on it's side, moving the now two halves into a heart shape on your baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Cover your hearts and allow them to proof for about another 45 minutes or until they have puffed up.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F while your rolls proof.
• When the rolls are ready to go in the oven, bake them on the center rack for about 22-25 minutes. They will be lightly golden brown when ready.
• Transfer rolls to a wire cooling rack,
• While rolls are cooling, in a small bowl place your cream cheese and whisk until smooth and creamy.
• Microwave your white chocolate chips for 30 seconds, stir, and then microwave in 12 second intervals. Stir after each to prevent overheating.
• When your white chocolate is smooth and melted, add to your cream cheese and whisk together. This mixture could be put directly onto the rolls if you want a thicker frosting.
• Add 1-2 tbsp of milk depending on how thin you would like your glaze and whisk together. Drizzle over your rolls when it reaches the desired consistency. Enjoy!