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Lemon curd:
Gluten free lemon brioche dough:
Filling:
Lemon cream cheese icing:
It's best to minimise contact with metal when preparing the lemon curd to prevent it from developing a metallic aftertaste. Therefore, I don't recommend using a metal bowl, metal utensils (such as a metal whisk) or a metal/metal-coated saucepan.Instead, use a glass or ceramic bowl, a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, and a non-metal saucepan such as one with a ceramic coating.
Add the sugar and lemon zest to a bowl, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.Tip: This helps to release more essential oils from the zest and it will make your lemon curd extra fragrant.
Add the egg yolks and salt to the lemon-sugar, and mix or whip them until slightly fluffy and paler in colour (no need to use a stand or a hand mixer for this, just whisk them briefly together by hand with a silicone whisk, a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon).
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the lemon juice until it only just comes to a boil.
Add the hot lemon juice to the egg yolk-sugar mixture in a slow drizzle, mixing constantly until you've added all the juice.Tip: This tempers the egg yolks and reduces the chances of your lemon curd splitting or curdling when you cook it.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook it over low heat with constant stirring until thickened so that it thickly coats the back of a spoon or spatula. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Don't allow the lemon curd to come to a boil – you shouldn't see any bubbles forming.
Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it's fully melted.Tip: At this point, you can pass the lemon curd through a non-metallic (plastic or silicone) mesh sieve to remove the lemon zest if you'd prefer your curd to be perfectly silky-smooth. I left the lemon zest in for this recipe, and it worked great.
Pour the finished lemon curd into a bowl or other heat-proof container and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film. Make sure that the plastic wrap/cling film is in direct contact with the surface of the lemon curd – this will prevent skin formation. Allow the curd to cool to room temperature, then store it in the fridge until needed. (You can also prepare the lemon curd a day or two in advance.)
Gluten free enriched dough:
To make the dough, I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. You can also make the dough by hand, but the mixer makes it much easier and results in a smoother dough.
Make the psyllium gel: In a bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and warm water. After about 30-45 seconds, a gel will form.
Add the sugar and the lemon zest to the bowl of the stand mixer, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.Tip: This helps to release more essential oils from the zest, and it will make your dough even more lemony and aromatic.
Add the tapioca starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, instant yeast, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt, and whisk everything together until combined.Tip: If using active dry yeast instead, you need to activate it first. Mix together the active dry yeast, 1-2 tbsp of the sugar and the warm milk. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture starts frothing. Then, add it to the dry ingredients along with the psyllium gel, egg and melted butter.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the psyllium gel, warm milk, egg and melted butter.
Knead the dough until smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated, then knead for a further 4-5 minutes (if using a stand mixer) or 6-8 minutes (if kneading it by hand). Use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl to prevent any dry patches of unmixed flour.Tip: This extra kneading time will make the dough EXTRA smooth, which is the key to beautiful gluten free lemon rolls.
The final dough will be slightly sticky to the touch – that’s okay, you’ll be working on a lightly floured surface so it shouldn’t be a problem. Resist the temptation to add more flour to the dough, as that can make the final rolls too dense and dry.Tip: If you find the dough too sticky to easily handle (even on a floured surface and with floured hands), you can chill it in the fridge for about 1 hour before proceeding to the next step. This will give the flours in the dough time to properly hydrate and also firm up the butter in the dough – both of these factors will make the dough firmer, less sticky, and therefore easier to handle.
Assembling the lemon rolls:
Lightly butter a 10-inch (25cm) skillet or round baking pan, and set aside until needed.
To make the filling, mix together ¾ of the lemon curd (about 170g or ⅔ cup) with the cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) and set aside until needed.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, give it a gentle knead and shape it into a ball.
Roll it out into a roughly 11×15-inch (28x38cm) rectangle.
Dollop on the lemon curd filling and spread it out into an even layer across the rolled-out dough, all the way to the edges.
Cut the rectangle lengthways into seven 1½-inch (4cm) wide strips, so that they’re 15 inches (38cm) long. I like to use a pizza cutter for this, but a sharp knife will also work well.
Roll up each individual strip into a roll – this will give you the perfect swirl.Tip: Because lemon curd is softer than a typical cinnamon roll filling, rolling up these lemon rolls can be a bit of a messy affair. Don’t stress too much if your lemon curd leaks out a bit, and definitely expect to be left with sticky hands.
Arrange the lemon rolls in the buttered skillet or baking pan, they should only just touch each other.
Proofing the lemon rolls:
Proof the lemon rolls in a warm place for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until about doubled in size. Lightly cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film to prevent them from drying out during proofing.Tip: If your kitchen is on the cold side, you can proof them in a lukewarm oven (the ideal proofing temperature is around 79ºF/26ºC). I usually place a cup of hot water inside the oven, to maintain a fairly humid environment.
Baking the lemon rolls:
While the rolls are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Once the lemon rolls have doubled in volume, cover the skillet or baking pan with a sheet of aluminium foil. Tip: You don’t need to cover it super tightly, just enough so that most of the steam generated during baking will get trapped by the foil. But arrange it so that it’s fairly easy to remove later on, without having to necessarily remove the skillet or pan from the oven, if at all possible.
Bake the lemon rolls at 350ºF (180ºC) covered with the aluminium foil for 15 minutes.Tip: The aluminium foil traps the steam generated during baking, which prevents a crust from forming on top of the rolls. This allows them to expand much more during this first part of baking, so they’ll end up even softer and squishier.
After the 15 minutes, remove the aluminium foil and continue baking until the lemon rolls get golden on top – about 18-22 minutes more.
Allow the baked lemon rolls to cool while you prepare the lemon cream cheese icing.
Lemon cream cheese icing:
In a bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. (You can do this by hand with a balloon whisk or with a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters. The ingredient quantities are slightly too small to use a stand mixer.)
Add the powdered/icing sugar, vanilla and salt, and whisk well until evenly combined, smooth and creamy.
Add the remaining ¼ of the lemon curd (about 55g or about ¼ cup) and whisk until well combined.
Spread the lemon cream cheese icing over the lemon rolls while they're still very warm (if you want extra gooey rolls where some of the icing has melted into them) or while they're lukewarm (for icing that somewhat holds its shape on top of the rolls).You can decorate them with an extra sprinkling of lemon zest (optional).
Enjoy the lemon rolls while they're still warm or lukewarm.
These gluten free lemon rolls are best served while they’re (luke)warm.
Serving and storage:
They're at their best on the day of baking, but you can keep them in a closed container for about 2-3 days. Just before serving, re-heat them briefly in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. This will return them to their original pillowy softness.