Name: Blackberry Sweet Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp active dry yeast; 1 cup whole milk; 1/3 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter; 1 tsp sea salt; 2 eggs; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted); 1 cup blackberry jam of choice (homemade or store-bought); 1 cup fresh blackberries (washed and roughly chopped); 4 oz cream cheese (softened); 1/4 cup soft unsalted butter; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1/2 cup whole milk

These blackberry sweet rolls are the perfect summer breakfast. They combine sweet bread with juicy blackberry filling and cream cheese icing to create a delicious recipe that is sure to be a hit with the whole family! Plus, they are a great way to use fresh blackberries and a fun alternative to cinnamon rolls!

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Cinnamon rolls and sweet rolls are some of my favorites to make, pillowy soft sweet dough, with sweet fillings and topped with creamy icing, or caramel sauce. I mean, what’s not to love?

They are perfect for breakfast, brunch, snacks, and even dessert. Plus, I enjoy the fact that they are actually way easier to make than most people think.

And while I can whip up the best and fluffiest cinnamon rolls you’ll ever eat(thanks, mum!), I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about this recipe when my baby sister first requested it earlier this year.

At first, I thought about making blackberry cinnamon rolls, but decided I’d rather not have cinnamon with my berries.

I tossed around a few different frosting and icing ideas, but if you know me, it probably isn’t any surprise that I landed back on a cream cheese icing.

I had a good dough base, but the rest of it was up in the air, even while I was actively making these delicious blackberry sweet rolls.

And though I might have been winging it most of the time, I can still say that these sweet rolls came out pretty darn good! I created a sweet filling that lets the blackberry flavor shine.

someone holding a sweet roll, turned so you can see the top of it

Added a drizzle of icing, because cream cheese makes everything better. And all in all, created a delicious new breakfast recipe that was instantly a hit with the whole family!

These sweet rolls are the perfect late summer recipe; they are easy to make, call for simple ingredients, and are perfect for any day or occasion. Not to mention, they are just downright delicious!

someone holding a sweet roll in front of a pan of sweet rolls

Blackberry Sweet Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

For the dough

active dry yeast
whole milk
white sugar
soft butter
sea salt
eggs
all-purpose flour

for the blackberry filling

unsalted butter, melted
blackberry jam of choice, homemade or store-bought
fresh blackberries, washed and roughly chopped

Cream cheese icing

cream cheese, softened
soft unsalted butter
vanilla extract
powdered sugar
whole milk

a pan sweet rolls that has one taken out of it

How To Make Blackberry Sweet Rolls (and cream cheese icing)

You can make your dough in a large mixing bowl, as directed below. Or you can make your dough in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until it reaches 110 degrees F.

Pour the warm milk into a large mixing bowl, add the instant yeast, and whisk gently. Allow the mixture to sit for 3 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly and smells very yeasty. Be sure that your milk isn’t too hot when you add it to the bowl. If the milk is too warm, it can kill the yeast!

Add the salt, butter, sugar, and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix. (I love to use my Danish dough whisk for this, but you can also use a wooden spoon or your hands.) Add the 4 cups of flour, and mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and soft, about 5 minutes.

Return your ball of dough to the bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot to rise. Allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Though the rise times will vary slightly depending on the temperature of your house.

a close up of a sweet roll on a wooden dish, you can see a pan of sweet rolls behind it

After your dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Spoon half of your melted butter over your rolled dough, and spread it out so it covers all of the dough, leaving roughly 1/4 inch gap around the edge.

Then spoon your blackberry jam in dollops over the dough, and spread it out with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon, doing your best to keep it evenly spread over all the dough.

Sprinkle the chopped blackberries over the jam, and finally drizzle your remaining melted butter over the top of the berries.

Then, starting on one of the long sides of your dough, fold over roughly a 1/2 inch and gently press it down. Gently roll the dough up(like a cinnamon roll), doing your best to keep it as tight as possible, until you have a finished log/roll.

Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12-16 rolls, depending on how large and thick you want them. I usually make 16. Grease a 9×13 baking dish, and arrange your rolls in the pan. Cover and set in a warm place for 30 minutes. This will be your second rise

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Once the rolls after doubled in size, place the pan in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

While your sweet rolls are baking, prep your cream cheese icing.

Place your cream cheese and soft butter into a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Reduce your beaters to low speed, and add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the milk, and beat until smooth. Add more milk if needed until you have reached a drizzable consistency.

Once the rolls are cooked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 15-20 minutes before drizzling the cream cheese icing over the top.

Serve warm and enjoy!

a pan of sweet rolls on a wooden cutting board

Recipe Notes

If you don’t plan on eating all of the sweet rolls at one time. I recommend icing the individual rolls instead of the whole pan; that way, they can be stored separately, and the rolls don’t have to be stored in the fridge.

Uniced sweet rolls can be placed in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days! Leftover cream cheese icing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days!

If you like, you can add some lemon zest or lemon juice to the filling of these sweet rolls, to make blackberry lemon sweet rolls!

You can also use different frostings or icings for this recipe! Lemon icing and blackberry cream cheese frosting would both be delicious!

You can also use dental floss to cut your rolls. I use this trick often when I don’t have a sharp enough knife, or my filling isn’t wanting to stay in the rolls! It always works great, just be sure to use an unflavored floss!