Fluffy, sticky, & sweet raspberry rolls

Make the dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until lukewarm (no need to use a thermometer, but to be precise: about 35°C.) Pour the warm milk into a bowl. With a spoon, manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. On low speed, beat in the softened butter until it is slightly broken up. Next add the eggs, one at a time, and then the salt. The butter won’t really be mixing into the mixture, so don’t be alarmed if it stays in pieces. On low speed, gradually add the flour. Once it is all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 8-10 minutes longer. *If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours. Here’s what we do: Rising at room temperature is usually fine, but on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 70°C. Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.

Butter/grease/spray with nonstick spray the bottom of a 23×33 cm baking dish, then line with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 30×45 cm rectangle. I used a ruler for accuracy. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.

Make the filling: In a medium bowl, toss the frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Spread the cold sugared raspberries evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 45-cm-long log. Cut into 12 even rolls (about 4 cm in width each). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy, about 2 hours OR overnight (see note). The berries will release their juice at the bottom of the pan – this is OK.

After the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 200°C. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream until smooth. Add more sugar or cream, depending how thick you want the glaze. Pour glaze over the rolls and serve warm. Cover rolls and store at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Baked rolls can be frozen for up to 2 months and warmed up to enjoy at a later date. Glaze them right before serving.