Raspberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls

If you're bored with traditional cinnamon rolls and are ready to venture out and try a new sweet roll recipe, then you're in luck! These raspberry sweet rolls are what you need! Smooth cream cheese filling and juicy raspberries wrapped in soft, fluffy rolls! Trust me, they are as good as they look!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
• Couple Things You'll Need
• Step by Step Instructions
• Recipe FAQs
• More Unique Sweet Roll Recipes
• Raspberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Whether you call them raspberry rolls or raspberry cream cheese rolls, this family favorite is a fun twist on classic cinnamon rolls!
• A sweet treat for Easter brunch or Christmas morning!
• This sweet roll dough recipe is soft, moist, and never dry!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Flour - All-purpose flour, not bread flour.
• Butter - I used salted butter, but unsalted butter can be used as well.
• Yeast - Active dry yeast is the same as instant yeast or rapid-rise yeast.
• Raspberries - You may use fresh raspberries in place of the frozen raspberries.

Couple Things You'll Need

Step by Step Instructions

• I prefer to use my stand mixer for my convenience, but this recipe can be done just as well with hand beaters.  If using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the butter, salt, and sugar.
•  In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, scald the 1 cup of milk.  To scald milk, heat it until nearly boiling, then remove from the heat.  Pour the scalded milk over the contents of the mixing bowl.  Allow to cool down to a warm but not hot temperature (a bit warmer than a baby’s bath water).  

• In a small bowl, dissolve 1 Tbs. active dry yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar in ⅓ cup warm water and let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.  
• Pour the foamy yeast, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of flour into the mixing bowl with the warm milk mixture.
• Mix on low just to get everything mixed together, then beat at a medium-high speed for 5 minutes.  Don’t skimp on the time.  You need to beat the batter for 5 minutes.

• Following 5 minutes of beating, add 1  ½ cups more flour and mix just until incorporated.
• Picture 12 is what your batter/dough should look like.  This particular kind of roll is called a batter roll or batter bread.  Meaning it is not going to come together in a ball like typical dough.  It will be sticky and gooey.
• Remove the paddle attachment and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, not plastic wrap.
• Let the dough rise until doubled.  This should take an hour to an hour and a half.  
• Gently punch down the dough, recover, and allow it to rise a 2nd time until doubled.  This time, it will rise in about half the time it took before.

• While the dough is rising for a second time, make the cream cheese filling by beating the room-temperature cream cheese, softened butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
• Also, prepare a 9×13 baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray.

• Dump the risen dough onto a generously floured surface.  Gently knead the dough with a little flour, just enough that it is not terribly sticky.  Do not add a ton of flour. You really only need a bit.  This dough should not toughen up and be stiff dough like regular bread dough.  
• Roll the dough out with the help of a rolling pin into roughly a 20 x 14-inch rectangle on a floured surface.
• Spread the cream cheese filling on the rolled-out dough.
• Place the frozen raspberries in a gallon size Ziploc type bag, measure the cornstarch into the bag with them, close, and shake to coat.  You want to wait until this point to get the raspberries out of the freezer.  If the raspberries thaw too much, they just make a mess.  The dough is harder to slice up nicely, and the juice runs everywhere.
• Sprinkle the cornstarch-coated raspberries across the cream cheese filling and roll up the dough jelly-roll style, starting with the long side.  
• Slice into  1 ½-inch thick slices.  I usually get 12-15 sweet rolls.  I also use dental floss to slice these because you will get a nice clean cut every time, and it is faster.  Just take a long string of floss, slide it 1 ½ inches under the end, cross the end in your left hand with the one in your right, making an X, and pull each end tight.  It will cut right through the roll.
• Place the slices in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  These won't double in size.  The frozen raspberries will slow the rising down a bit.  

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while they rise.
• After 30 minutes, you should see that they have risen some, but probably not doubled.  That's fine.  
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.  The tops should be lightly browned, and the center roll should be done.  
• Make the icing while these bake.  Allow to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before drizzling with icing.
• Store by covering the baking pan with a lid or with plastic wrap. No need to transfer to an airtight container.

Recipe FAQs

More Unique Sweet Roll Recipes

• Lemon Danish Sweet Rolls
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
• Orange Sweet Rolls
• Maple Bacon Sticky Buns
• Nutella Rolls

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Thanks for stopping by! Before you go, be sure to check out a few of my most popular recipes!

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