strawberry cheesecake rolls

these strawberry cheesecake rolls blur the line between breakfast and dessert in the most delightful way, featuring pillowy soft dough wrapped around sweet swirls of strawberry jam, all crowned with a cloud of tangy cream cheese frosting.

the recipe for the dough here is adapted from the ‘fluffy cinnamon rolls’ by the woks of life. it has been adapted to make it a smaller batch, and to make it an egg free dough.

why you will love this strawberry cheesecake roll recipe

• perfect size for smaller households – this strawberry cream cheese rolls recipe makes 6 big strawberry cheesecake rolls. perfect for those who have small families or for those who want to indulge in some fresh, homemade strawberry rolls without having too many leftovers.

• rich flavour without eggs – the heavy cream in this recipe gives these strawberry cheesecake rolls a uniquely rich flavour and tender texture. this recipe is great for those who can’t have eggs or for those who just prefer eggless baking.

• simple process – the stand mixer does most of the work in this small strawberry cheesecake rolls recipe, which makes the dough-making part of the process a lot less intimidating, especially if you’re a beginner baker!

learn how to make strawberry cheesecake rolls

to make these homemade strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls, we’re going to start off by making the dough. in a stand mixer, we’ll add room temperature heavy cream, room temperature milk, sugar, flour, instant yeast and then salt. then we’ll just let this mix on the lowest setting for about 15 minutes, until a soft dough forms. cover the bowl, and let it rest in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

to make the strawberry filling, we’re going to cook fresh strawberries in a pot over medium heat along with sugar, water and cornstarch until the strawberries soften and the mixture begins to thicken up. once the mixture has thickened up, remove it from the pot and place in another bowl to cool.

once the dough is ready, punch the air out, or place it back in the stand mixer and mix for about 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.

next, we’ll assemble our strawberry cheesecake breakfast rolls – roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. spread softened butter over the dough. add light brown sugar on top and gently press it into the dough until it’s covered in the mixture. then do the same with the cooled strawberry sauce. spread the sauce all over the dough, then slice the dough into six equal sized strips and roll these up tightly.

place the strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls into a greased baking dish, putting some space between them to allow them to expand. cover these, and let them rest in a warm place for around 1 hour and 15 minutes.

once your strawberry cheesecake sweet rolls have expanded, pour some extra heavy cream over the top of each one, then place in a preheated oven and bake for a total of around 35 minutes.

while the strawberry cheesecake buns are in the oven, start making the cream cheese frosting. in a bowl, add softened butter and softened cream cheese. use a mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese together until combined. whip icing sugar or powdered sugar into the mixture in small amounts at a time until it’s completely mixed in and your cheesecake frosting looks smooth. mix in vanilla extract.

remove the rolls from the oven, and top the strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting while they’re still warm. top with fresh strawberries and graham cracker or biscuit crumbs, and we’re done!

strawberry cheesecake rolls ingredients

• heavy cream or double cream – i’m using heavy cream in the sweet roll dough as well as some extra to pour on top of these strawberry cream cheese rolls before baking – this will make our strawberry rolls extra soft and rich. make sure this is at room temperature before you add it.

• milk – we’ll be using full fat milk in the dough. make sure this is at room temperature.

• granulated sugar – we’re going to be using granulated sugar to sweeten the strawberry cheesecake roll dough. we’ll also be using it to sweeten the strawberry filling.

• flour – i’m just using all purpose flour or plain flour for this strawberry cheesecake rolls recipe.

• instant yeast – i’m just using instant yeast for this recipe – there is no need to activate the yeast first, you can just add it straight into the mixture.

• salt – we’ll just be adding around 1/2 tsp of salt to the strawberry cheesecake roll dough.

• strawberries – i’m using fresh strawberries for the strawberry filling. you’ll want to chop them up into relatively small pieces so that they’re easier to mash and you get a smoother filling. you can use fresh or frozen strawberries. you’ll also need fresh strawberries to add on top of the strawberry cheesecake rolls at the end.

• water – i’m just using a little bit of water when making the strawberry filling just to get the right consistency.

• cornstarch – a small amount of cornstarch will help thicken up the strawberry filling so that it’s not too runny.

• butter – once the dough is done, we’re going to roll it out and spread softened butter over it. i’m using unsalted butter in this recipe. i also use unsalted butter for the cream cheese frosting.

• brown sugar – i’m also using brown sugar to fill these strawberry cheesecake rolls for a nice, caramel-like flavour.

• cream cheese – you’re going to need softened, room temperature cream cheese so that it’s able to combine easily with the rest of the ingredients and give you a smooth, lump-free frosting.

• icing sugar or powdered sugar – we’ll be using this to sweeten the cream cheese frosting and to ensure that the frosting is smooth and lump-free.

• vanilla extract – optional, but a splash of it will add a nice, subtle vanilla flavour to your cream cheese frosting.

• graham cracker crumbs or biscuit crumbs – to sprinkle on top of these strawberry cream cheese breakfast rolls once they’re done.

tools:

• stand mixer with dough hook attachment – this will make it a lot easier to make the dough (if you don’t have a mixer, you can knead by hand but this will take a lot longer)

• something to cover the bowl with when you leave the dough to rise

• a small pot – to make the strawberry filling

• small bowl – for the strawberry filling so that it can cool

• rolling pin – to roll out the dough

• sharp knife or floss – to slice up the dough into individual rolls

• medium bowl – for the cream cheese frosting

• hand mixer or stand mixer – to beat cream cheese and butter together when making the cream cheese frosting

• baking dish – any size baking dish works, just make sure that there’s enough room between each strawberry cheesecake roll to allow them to expand – i used a 9×13 dish

step by step instructions

for full measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe below.

step one: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add heavy cream, milk, sugar, flour, instant yeast and salt. make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature and that you add them in the order that is stated here.

step two: turn on the mixer to the lowest setting, and let it mix the ingredients together for around 15 minutes. once the 15 minutes are over, the dough will have come together. it might be sticking to the bottom of the bowl slightly, but it shouldn’t be sticking to the sides of the bowl at this point.

step three: cover the bowl, and let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour or two, or until the dough has doubled in size.

step four: make the strawberry filling. in a pot add fresh chopped strawberries, sugar and water. mix all of these together and cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken up. be sure to stir the mixture and mash the strawberries every once in a while as you cook them.

step five: to the mixture, add a mix of cornstarch and water and stir it through. cook the mixture again over medium heat, stirring as you cook it, until the mixture thickens up.

step six: once the mixture has thickened up, remove the pot from the stove and transfer the strawberry filling to another bowl so that it can cool.

step seven: once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out, then mix again using the stand mixer on the lowest setting for 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.

step eight: roll out the dough. roll dough into a 9×16 inch rectangle, until the sides are about 1/4 inch in thickness.

step nine: add softened butter to the dough. use a knife or spoon or offset spatula to spread the soft butter all over the dough.

step ten: add the brown sugar on top of the butter on the dough and gently press it in until all of the butter is covered in the mixture.

step eleven: add the cooled strawberry sauce mixture on top of the butter and sugar and spread it out until the dough is covered in a thin layer of it.

step twelve: use a sharp knife to slice the dough horizontally into six equal strips.

step thirteen: roll up each strip tightly until it looks like a cinnamon roll.

step fourteen: grease a baking dish, then place the filled rolls on the dish, making sure that there is space between them so that they have enough room to expand.

step fifteen: cover the baking dish, then let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

step sixteen: preheat oven around 15 mins before baking your strawberry cheesecake rolls.

step seventeen: once your strawberry cheesecake rolls have expanded slightly, pour heavy cream on top of each strawberry roll, then bake the rolls at 180c for 18 minutes on the bottom rack and 18 minutes on the middle rack, depending on your oven.

step eighteen: while they’re baking, make the cream cheese frosting – in a bowl, add room temperature butter and room temperature cream cheese. beat the cream cheese and butter together until combined. the mixture should look soft and creamy.

step nineteen: add powdered sugar or icing sugar to the cream cheese and butter mixture in small amounts at a time, whipping it in with a hand mixer each time. continue to do this until you’ve added all of the powdered sugar and the frosting looks completely smooth.

step twenty: add vanilla extract and mix it into the cream cheese frosting.

step twenty one: remove your strawberry cheesecake rolls from the oven, and top each roll with a generous amount of frosting while the strawberry rolls are still warm.

step twenty two: top each strawberry cheesecake roll with fresh strawberries and graham cracker or biscuit crumbs.

step twenty three: let’s eat!

tips and notes

• make sure your ingredients are at room temperature to ensure that they incorporate nicely with the rest of the ingredients. leave out the heavy cream, milk, butter and cream cheese on the counter around 30 minutes before using them.

• if you forgot to remove these ingredients from the fridge, you can warm them in the microwave in 10 second intervals until they reach room temperature.

• make sure you add all of the ingredients to the bowl in the order that is stated in this recipe.

• make sure you check the expiration date on your yeast – old yeast might not activate properly, which might lead to dough that doesn’t rise.

• once the dough has been mixed for a total of 15 minutes, it should be soft, only slightly sticky and very easy to handle. there should be no need to add any extra flour to the dough. however, if you are in a humid climate and find that the dough is too sticky, you can add an extra tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough comes together.

• to keep these strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls easy, i’m using a stand mixer to make the dough. however, it is definitely possible to make these strawberry cheesecake rolls without a stand mixer if you don’t have access to one. you can knead the dough by hand, just bear in mind that kneading the dough by hand will take longer. it’ll take about 20-25 minutes for the dough to come together if kneading by hand instead of the 15 minutes written in the recipe.

• you’ll know the dough is ready when it feels soft and smooth, and springs back slightly when you press it gently.

• if you live in a cooler environment and don’t have a warm place to place your dough so that it can rise, there are a few things that you can do:

  – turn your oven on, on its lowest setting for just 1-2 minutes, then turn the oven off. then just place your covered dough inside and let it rise – the heat from the oven will create a perfectly warm environment for your strawberry cheesecake rolls to rise.

  – place a mug of hot water in the microwave for around 2 mins to create a warm environment inside. then, after those 2 minutes, place the covered dough inside the microwave next to the mug of hot water. do not turn the microwave on, just place the dough inside the warm microwave and let it rise.

• don’t rush the rising process. the dough should roughly double in size during the first rise, and the strawberry cheesecake rolls should also increase in size slightly during the second rise.

• when making the strawberry filling, we want to make sure that the filling is not too runny and not too thick. it should be almost like jam and should be easy to spread.

• cut the rolled out rectangle of dough into strips with a sharp knife, and then roll each of the strips up tightly into individual rolls. alternatively, you can use roll up the rectangle of dough first and then use unflavoured dental floss or a sharp knife to slice the dough into individual strawberry rolls if this method is easier for you.

• i would recommend using a baking dish that’s on the smaller side over one that is overly big, as even though you need some room between each cinnamon roll so that they’re able to expand, having less space between them means they will be able to expand upwards – this makes for a nicer looking roll. you want a balance between too much space and not enough space.

• if you don’t want to be switching racks in the oven, i would recommend covering the strawberry rolls with foil and baking for the first eighteen minutes, and then removing the foil and baking for the other eighteen minutes. this will ensure that the strawberry cheesecake rolls are cooked through and don’t have tops that are overly brown.

• you’ll know that your strawberry cheesecake rolls are done when the tops look golden brown and the center roll is fully cooked.

• adjust baking time as needed. every oven is different, so i recommend keeping an eye on your strawberry cheesecake rolls as they bake.

• once your strawberry cheesecake rolls are out of the oven, let them cool in the baking dish slightly for around 5-10 minutes. they will still be warm at this point but not overly hot, so the cream cheese icing won’t completely melt into them, and only melt slightly when you add it on top.

• use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. while i add both metric and cup measurements for this recipe, i always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for most accurate results.

• if you do decide to use cups, bear in mind that this recipe uses higher than typical flour measurements, as it takes into account the fact that most people tend to scoop their flour.

• store any leftover strawberry cheesecake rolls in an airtight container in the fridge.

frequently asked questions

1. can i make this strawberry cheesecake roll recipe without a stand mixer ?

   – to make these strawberry cheesecake rolls quick and easy, i opted for using a stand mixer instead of kneading the dough by hand. however, if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can absolutely make these strawberry cheesecake rolls without one. you can knead the dough by hand, just be aware that it will take a bit longer. when using a stand mixer, it took about 15 minutes for the dough to come together, so when kneading by hand, it will likely take a good 20-25 minutes to get a soft, smooth dough.

2. can i use milk instead of heavy cream for the dough in this strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls recipe ?

   – i use a mix of milk and heavy cream in this recipe for strawberry cheesecake rolls – this is what helps give these rolls their richness and makes them extra soft and fluffy, especially since their is no egg in this recipe. you can use extra milk instead of the heavy cream, but bear in mind that the strawberry rolls won’t be as rich and soft.

3. do i have to pour heavy cream over the strawberry rolls before baking them ?

   – no, you don’t, but i would highly recommend doing this. pouring heavy cream over these strawberry rolls before baking them not only makes them extra soft and rich, it also gives you that gooey, caramelised bottom that brings these strawberry cheesecake rolls to another level.

4. how do i know when the dough has risen enough ?

   – you’ll know when the dough has roughly doubled in size. it should take about an hour or two for this to happen – for me, it took about an hour and thirty minutes.

5. can i prepare these strawberry cheesecake rolls in advance – e.g. prepare them the night before and bake them in the morning ?

   – yes, you can. once you’ve assembled the strawberry rolls and placed them in a greased baking dish, just cover the dish and place it in the fridge overnight. in the morning, let them come to room temperature, then just pour heavy cream over the strawberry rolls and bake them. follow the rest of the recipe as stated.

6. why is my dough not rising ?

   – this could be because of a number of different reasons. check your yeast’s expiration date as yeast that is out of date might not activate properly. another thing you need to make sure of is that all of the liquid ingredients such as the milk and heavy cream that you add to the dough are at room temperature and are not too hot, as this can kill the yeast. lastly, you need to make sure that you cover your dough and let it sit in a warm place so that it’s able to rise properly.

7. how long do these strawberry cheesecake rolls stay fresh ?

   – these strawberry cheesecake rolls are best eaten on the day that they’re made, but will stay fresh for 2-3 days stored in an airtight container.

8. my strawberry rolls are touching after rising – is this okay ?

   – yes, that’s absolutely fine! if your strawberry rolls are touching before you bake them, it just means that they will rise upwards instead of outwards – this is going to give you taller and fluffier rolls.

9. what do i do if the tops of my strawberry rolls are browning too quickly in the oven ?

   – if you notice that the tops are browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with some foil. this will protect your strawberry rolls from direct heat while allowing them to finish baking.

10. why did my cream cheese icing curdle ?

    – cream cheese icing can curdle if the cream cheese or butter is too cold when mixed. to avoid this, make sure your cream cheese and butter is soft and at room temperature before you start making the frosting. beat the soft cream cheese and butter together using a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is completely smooth, then gradually add the powdered sugar and beat that into the mixture in small amounts at a time. this will ensure that you get a smooth, lump-free icing that doesn’t curdle.

11. can i make the strawberry filling with frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones ?

    – you can definitely make the strawberry filling with frozen strawberries instead! it just might take a little longer, but you can follow the same steps stated in the recipe for frozen strawberries as well.

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