The height of another strawberry season means that I have the typical yearly excess of strawberries. I just can’t resist the local berries. They may be smaller. But what they may lack in size, they make up for in sweetness!
I knew that I wanted to make a batch of jam with some of these luscious red jewels. But I didn’t want to make a chia jam, so how would I be able to make up a quick but glossy and thick jam?
Roasted Strawberry Jam
Step in a great recipe from Barry over at Rock Recipes, a great Canadian blogging institution of sorts! His recipes always work for me. So when he suggested roasting the berries and sugar in the oven to create a thick glossy fragrant jam, I knew he must know something I don’t.
And seriously, it is as easy as I described. A baking pan with berries, sugar and vanilla into the oven, and maybe an hour or so later, depending on your oven and how thick you want the jam, you are left with a perfect strawberry jam. I couldn’t be happier with this new found method. I did take it up a notch by adding some rose harissa powder to them while they baked, and a little smidge more when they came out of the oven. You are left with an intensely flavourful jam which will elevate your next peanut butter sandwich to the stratosphere! All you need to do is mash up the berries with a fork, and let it cool. As it chills in the oven, the remaining juices will thicken into a perfect syrup to surround the mashed berries.
Depending on the size of pan you use, it will affect the length of time in the oven. If the liquids have more room to spread out, they will evaporate and thicken quicker. So try not to have the berries in too small a baking vessel. Or else be prepared to increase the time in the oven. You want most of the liquid to disappear, but not so much that there is nothing left to turn into a syrup. I aim for about 3-4 tbsp, depending on how many berries I am roasting off.
Strawberry Rolls
Once I had the jam, I knew that these rolls just had to happen. The idea of spreading that thick, magnificent jam over a tender vanilla scented brioche dough just made me weak in the knees. But those knees held me up long enough to take an offset spatula and spread the jam all over. I may have gone a little wild with the jam, as it did leak out the side and the ends as I rolled it up, but that’s alright. I cut the dough into 6 large rolls, and let them rise in the baking pan before baking them.
As they baked, I prepared the dusting sugar. I had a bag of freeze dried strawberry powder just begging to be used sitting in the cupboard. So I took the fabulous suggestion from Erin over at the Cloudy Kitchen blog, and mixed it with granulated sugar. I had it ready to go so that when the rolls came out of the oven and cooled just a little bit (dust them too early and the sugar will just melt into the roll) I tossed all sides of the strawberry rolls in a bowl of the sugar. I decided to leave four uncovered. This way I could reheat them the next day to refreshen the texture, and then brush them with a little melted butter and spoon fresh strawberry sugar over them. This way I won’t have the rolls turning the strawberry sugar all syrupy if I don’t eat them right away. Only dust with sugar as you actually want to eat some.
A fresh roll, with a cup of coffee, and this is the best breakfast or coffee break. And the colour is just so charming, isn’t it! Have you ever used freeze dried strawberry powder before? Add it to anything strawberry you are baking, and the final flavour and colour are immediately intensified. I use it in my No Bake Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Cheesecake. If you are having trouble sourcing it (although these days it can be found at most bulk stores, you can always try online. I get mine from Nuts.Com
This recipe makes 6 rolls. Of course, you can double if you have a lot of people to feed or share with. But I find 6 is manageable for just the two of us. They will keep in a sealed container for a few days, and can be refreshed in a 300F toaster oven in about 5 to 8 minutes. Dust with sugar once they’ve cooled just a bit. You will have strawberry sugar left over. Use it in lemonade, ice tea, even pancakes!!
Hope everyone out there is doing good. Sorry about the sporadic posts and lack of newsletter. Just so swamped with the book at the moment. Hope you understand!
Love Jen
Roasted Strawberry Rolls with Strawberry Sugar
Tender brioche rolls filled with roasted rose harissa strawberry jam and dusted with strawberry powder infused sugar. This and a coffee is all you need to escape the stress of the world for a few moments!
Ingredients
Rose Harissa Strawberry Jam
- 2 pounds very ripe strawberries washed and quartered
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp rose harissa powder divided
Bourbon Vanilla Brioche
- ½ cup milk warm 115°F
- 2¼ tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp bourbon vanilla bean paste
Strawberry Sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp freeze dried strawberry powder fee free to use a bit more if you want
Instructions
Rose Harissa Strawberry Jam
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Toss the strawberries, sugar, vanilla and 1/2 tsp of the rose harissa together in a glass baking dish. Make sure that it is large enough that the juices can spread out and bake off.
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Roast in the oven at 350 F stirring occasionally until the jam reduces and the juice boils off.
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Watch it closely toward the end of the cooking time because the sugars will be very concentrated and will more easily burn. Ensure that there is still about 3-4 tbsp or a bit more to create a syrup as it cools. If not the jam will be too thick. Cool completely.
Bourbon Vanilla Brioche
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In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast and the milk together with a fork. Add the egg, butter, flour, salt, sugar, and vanilla bean paste and using the paddle attachment, mix until the ingredients are just barely combined. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes so the flour has time to hydrate. Once it is all combined, replace the paddle with the hook attachment.
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Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 6 minutes longer. (If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step).
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Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough over so that all sides are lightly oiled. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
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Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 6 cup oversized muffin pan with butter. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, punch it down and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 14×6 inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick. It should be going up and down in front of you. You can also use a baking dish that has been well greased, just make sure it leaves room for growing, but not too much room.
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Spread about 1/2-3/4 cup of the jam all over the dough. Starting with the shorter end, tightly roll up the dough to form a 6-inch-long log and cut it into 6 even rolls. Arrange them in the prepared muffin cups. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
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Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
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Once the rolls have risen, bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the centre of the rolls are cooked through. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you blend up the strawberry sugar.
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Blend the two ingredients together well. Place them in a shallow bowl. Once the rolls have cooled down and can be removed from the muffin tin, roll all sides in the sugar. You can also use a spoon to cover the top and nooks and crannies.
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If you are only going to eat two at the beginning, forego dusting all of them with the sugar. Instead, rewarm them the next day or so in a toaster over for 5 or so minutes at 300F to refresh. Then you can dust them with the sugar and eat.
Recipe Notes
Cooking time will vary depending upon the water content of the strawberries and the depth of the baking dish. Allow up to 90 minutes for the jam to cook fully.
If you have a baking pan large enough to allow the rolls to proof correctly, then feel free to use this for baking them up in instead. But the muffin tin is the perfect size for generous proofing and baking.
The brioche recipe is from Mike Bakes NYC, his Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
The Rose Harissa Strawberry Jam is a riff on the Rock Recipes Roasted Strawberry Jam.
These sound fabulous, Jennifer!
Thanks so much Kristin! I’m really happy with the flavours as well! Hope you’re having a great summer. Love Jen