May was a bit of a crazy month for me and didn’t lend itself to a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. During May, I had three different parties to make cakes for and needed to use tried-and-true recipes to make sure they turned out as expected.

On a personal note, I also was in the middle of applying and interviewing for a new job this past month. Happily, I did get the job and I’m starting on Monday. However, work has been a bit hectic while I was getting ready for the transition, and I also made a few final dessert requests for people at work.

But finally, last weekend, I had some time to experiment in the kitchen and I came up with these blueberry lemon buns.

I started with an enriched dough and added some lemon zest to it. Then I rolled out the dough, topped it with homemade lemon curd and fresh blueberries, rolled it up and sliced it, just like you would with cinnamon buns. I let the rolls proof overnight in the fridge and then in the morning baked them until golden before slathering the still-warm buns with cream cheese frosting.

Lemon curd is surprisingly fast and simple to make at home, but you can always use store-bought if you don’t feel like making it from scratch.

And man, these buns are delicious. The dough is soft and fluffy, the lemon curd and blueberry filling is summery and bright, and the cream cheese frosting is…well, it’s cream cheese frosting. What more do you have to say about it? If you’ve got a brunch to host, these buns would definitely be a welcome addition. If not, make them anyway and just have a great breakfast ready to go for the week. Basically, make them ASAP.

Ingredients

Dough

• 3/4 cup milk, warm
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 egg
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
• 4 Tbsp butter, softened

Lemon Curd

• 6 egg yolks
• Juice of 3 lemons
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter, cubed

Cream cheese frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
• Splash of milk

Other

• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 1 egg for egg wash
• Splash of milk for egg wash

Directions

Start by making the lemon curd. Stir together the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir the butter in. Pour the curd through a sieve into a bowl to remove any large chunks of zest or cooked egg; cover with a layer of plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate the curd until the dough is ready.

Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the milk, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.

Add the egg, flour, salt, lemon zest, vanilla, and butter the the yeast mixture. Mix together with the paddle attachment. Once a shaggy dough forms, switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.

Roll the dough out on a floured board and line a half sheet pan with parchment. Spread the lemon curd over the dough and then sprinkle on the blueberries. Roll the dough and slice into 12 buns. Place the buns on the lined sheet pan and cover loosely with plastic. Let rise 45 minutes to 1 hour before refrigerating overnight.

In the morning, remove the buns from the the fridge and let sit at room temp for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Whisk the egg and milk for the egg wash and brush the rolls. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until just golden.

While in the oven, make the cream cheese frosting by beating together the ingredients in a mixer. Once the rolls are done, let cool for about 5 minutes and then top them while still warm with the cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!