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These strawberry poppy seed cinnamon rolls with strawberry cream cheese frosting are the sweet rolls you never knew you needed! Each bite is bursting with strawberry jam, fresh berries, and speckles of poppy seeds.
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What makes this recipe special
When I was a kid, I used to eat fruit constantly. I loved every type of fruit; give me whatever was available, and I would happily gobble it down. Not much has changed over the years, as I still crave fresh fruit daily. One of my absolute favorites, other than peaches, persimmons, and figs, is strawberries. It only seemed natural that I create a strawberry dessert to satisfy both my fruit and dessert cravings.
Inspired by cinnamon rolls, these strawberry poppy seed cinnamon rolls have quickly climbed the charts as the best summer dessert (alongside passion fruit caramel chocolate bars and red velvet funnel cake). With just the right amount of sweetness, these rolls are filled with strawberry preserves and fresh strawberries and then covered with a strawberry cream cheese frosting for the ultimate berry dessert. Go make these now, I urge you.
Ingredients
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream serves multiple purposes in this recipe. In the dough, it adds richness and fat content that creates a tender, soft texture and helps keep the rolls moist. The fat also contributes to the golden color during baking. At the end, brushing heavy cream on top before baking creates a beautiful golden, glossy finish and adds extra richness to the crust.
- Active dry yeast: This is the leavening agent that makes the rolls rise and creates their light, fluffy texture. You can also use instant yeast; if using instant, skip activating step.
- Poppy seeds: Poppy seeds add a subtle nutty flavor and pleasant textural contrast with their slight crunch. You can omit the seeds if preferred.
- Strawberry jam: The jam serves as the base of the filling, providing concentrated strawberry flavor and the right consistency to spread evenly on the dough. It's thick enough not to make the dough soggy but sweet and flavorful enough to create distinct layers.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries appear in two forms - chopped in the filling for bursts of fresh, bright flavor and texture, and pureed in the frosting for natural strawberry taste and color. For the best results, use fresh berries for both components.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese is essential for creating the signature tangy, rich frosting that balances the sweet rolls.
Substitutions and variations
- Fruit: Try this recipe with raspberries, blackberries, or peaches.
- Add-ins: You can omit the poppy seeds or substitute them with chocolate chips or a touch of cardamom.
Recipe
Strawberry Poppy Seed Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup milk, warm (100-110 degrees F)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, warm (100-110 degrees F)
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
Strawberry filling
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries (150 grams)
- ½ cup strawberry jam (160 grams)
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Strawberry cream cheese frosting
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (150 grams)
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup butter, softened at room temperarture (57 grams)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Remaining ingredients
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk with heavy cream and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast is activated and the mixture is foamy.
- Add the flour, sugar, egg, salt, and yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, and continue to knead for 8-10 minutes or until a smooth dough forms. The dough will be a little sticky, but resist adding more flour. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. Combine 1 cup sliced strawberries with water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to simmer until the strawberries soften. Remove from heat and puree strawberries until smooth. Let cool.
- Beat together the softened butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and pureed strawberries, mixing until smooth. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine strawberry jam and poppy seeds in a medium bowl.
- Lightly dust a clean work counter with flour. Roll out the dough into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Spread the strawberry jam mixture in an even layer, leaving a ½ inch border. Sprinkle chopped strawberries on top and roll the dough into a log, starting with the long side to make a 16-inch log. Cut the log into 2-inch portions for a total of 8 rolls. Place the rolls, cut side facing up, in the prepared baking dish. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Brush 2 tablespoons heavy cream on the rolls and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Spread a generous amount of strawberry cream frosting on top and serve.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare dough
You may be looking at the total cooking time for these strawberry poppy seed cinnamon rolls and be thinking, "3 hours?! Who has time to make these?!" If it helps at all, 1 hour and 45 minutes are spent letting the dough rise so it's actually not that much active time. Plus, once you make these, you'll push those doubts away, trust me.
Start by making the dough. Unlike other cinnamon roll recipes, we're incorporating milk and heavy cream into the dough. The fat from both liquids will help develop the softest rolls, making them much better than the standard rolls.
Heat the milk and heavy cream until it reaches about 100 degrees F. The quickest method is to use the microwave. Heat in 20-second intervals to avoid overheating the liquids. If it gets too hot, just let it sit and rest. You don't want the milk and heavy cream to get too hot, or it will kill the yeast.
Combine the milk and heavy cream with the yeast and let it sit until the yeast is activated, about 5 minutes. The mixture won't be as foamy as it would be if we used water, but the yeast should bloom at least a little.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the dough hook, knead until a dough forms. The dough will feel a little sticky, but don't worry. As it rests, it will rise beautifully and yield a soft roll.
Step 2: Make frosting
While the dough is rising, chop the strawberries for the filling and the frosting. You will need to chop the berries and slice them for the filling. You can also slice them for the filling, if preferred. I just chose to slice them because it's quicker.
Set aside the chopped berries for the rolls and combine the other cup with a dash of water in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the berries soften.
Then, puree the berries in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Set it aside, letting it cool completely.
Once cooled, get ready to make the frosting.
Recipe tip
If you forget to leave out the cream cheese and butter beforehand, you can soften them using this handy method I recently discovered. Microwave a bowl of water for 5 minutes.
Cut the cream cheese and butter into small chunks, remove the bowl of water, and place the two inside the microwave. Close the door and let the residual steam and heat work their magic. Ten minutes later, the butter and cream cheese should be ready.
Beat the softened butter and cream cheese until well combined and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cooked strawberries and beat until smooth.
Step 3: Shape rolls
Now comes the fun part, making the rolls! The dough has enough fat in it that you don't need to dust your counter with that much flour. A little sprinkle should do the trick.
Roll out the dough until it's about 12x16 inches in length. The rectangle doesn't have to be perfect since it'll be rolled up.
Spread the strawberry jam with poppy seeds in an even layer and sprinkle the strawberries evenly on top. Roll the dough starting with the long side to create a 16-inch-long log.
Cut the log into 8 equal rolls using dental floss or a sharp knife. Just make sure the floss isn't flavored! It might sound bizarre to use floss, but I promise you, it works like a charm.
Place the rolls cut side up in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover the rolls and let them rise once more.
The rolls will appear wet from the jam and fresh berries, but don't worry, that's how they're supposed to be!
Step 4: Bake
Now it's finally time to bake! Brush on heavy cream to help the rolls develop a lovely golden brown color and bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned.
Remove from the oven, let it cool slightly, and spread on that delicious strawberry cream cheese frosting.
This recipe makes a generous amount of frosting, but I chose to stick with the amount because I know some people prefer extra frosting. However, if you prefer less frosting, you can make half the amount, and it should be sufficient.
Oh my goodness. Friends. These strawberry poppy seed cinnamon rolls are everything. The dough for these rolls is insanely soft, while the filling and frosting deliver on the strawberry flavor to the max.
I mean, strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, plus strawberry cream cheese frosting? You really can't get more strawberry flavor than that. I'll have another, please!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: You can make the dough the day before and let it rest in the refridgerator overnight. I don't recommend shaping the rolls the day before because the filling adds quite a bit of moisture. Instead, let the dough come to room temperature the following day and shape it once ready.
- Store: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The frosting may soften, so you can remove it before storing and re-frost individual portions when serving.
Frequently asked questions
I don't recommend adding more than what the recipe calls for. Strawberries have high water content, so they can make the rolls soggy if you add more than what is called for.
Fresh strawberries work best for the filling; however, you can use frozen for the frosting. Cook the frozen berries straight from frozen until softened.
You can substitute whole milk for the dough, though the rolls may be slightly less rich. For the frosting brushing, milk will work as well.
If too thin, add more powdered sugar gradually. If too thick, add a teaspoon of the strawberry puree or a little milk.
Freeze unfrosted baked rolls for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and make fresh frosting when ready to serve.
More strawberry dessert recipes
Looking for more strawberry dessert ideas? Try these:
David says
Strawberries is one of my favorites as well and using strawberries in this manner is an absolutely genius idea. Love the pictures and the presentation. Thanks for sharing this gem.
Cherry on My Sundae says
Thanks so much for visiting!