It’s like a cream cheese danish with a touch of home.
Simple and fun to make, and much quicker since you don’t need to go to the trouble of making a yeast dough.
This is my secret ingredient– King’s Bakery Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.
They only used to come in the big one pound rounds, and not these handy little rolls, which are much better for portion control.
Growing up, those large rounds of sweet bread were a staple for us.
A nice, soft wedge spread with butter made a nice breakfast or snack, and I could cut my wedge as big or as little as I wanted.
So soft, with a touch of sweetness.
They’re nice for making little sandwiches. In fact, my kids like having a packed lunch with two little sandwiches made with these rolls, rather than one big sandwich.
More importantly, they make a perfect base for a danish so you don’t have to go through the time, trouble, and mess of making a sweet yeast dough from scratch.
Besides, these little pillows of goodness are pretty much perfect themselves.
Use a small, sharp paring knife to cut out a cone shaped piece from the center of each roll.
I cut down a little past halfway in depth. This creates a well for the cream cheese custard.
Now for the filling: cheesecake + custard = cream cheese custard
Originally I baked a cheesecake-like filling into the rolls, but I felt they weren’t moist enough. So I decided to try a custard version. This household is a custard household– everyone here loves custard. It worked out perfectly, keeping the rolls soft and moist.
Light cream cheese, non-fat milk, sugar, egg yolks and cornstarch–that’s all it takes, along with a bit of butter and vanilla. Full fat cream cheese and milk would make the custard even richer, but I usually try to keep the fat content down.
Simply place all the custard ingredients into the blender.
Give it a whirl for a minute or so, until everything is incorporated well.
Pour it into a pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until it thickens.
Just a pat of butter melted in…
Followed by a touch of vanilla whisked in.
Pour the custard into a bowl and let cool about five minutes.
Spoon about a tablespoon of cream cheese custard into each roll.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the topping.
This concentrate is really very handy. Last week it was used to make Ice Cream Slushies. Now we’ll use it to make a guava topping for the danishes.
You could vary the flavors, if say you were in the mood for passion orange, or even a combination like pass-o-guava.
Just make sure it’s thawed first.
Pour half a can into a small saucepan and add a little cornstarch to thicken it up.
Whisk the cornstarch in until all the lumps disappear.
This is where it helps for the concentrate to be thawed.
Cook the topping until it is bubbling and thickened.
Pour into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
Spoon one teaspoon of the guava topping on top of each roll.
You could even use guava jam or any kind of fruit jam if you don’t have the juice concentrate.
Place rolls in an airtight container and chill. It’s really important to keep the rolls tightly covered to keep the bread moist.
Here you don’t want to use plastic wrap because it will smear the topping. I use large, rectangular plastic containers with lids.
They’re ready to eat immediately, or you could wait a bit until the guava topping firms up in the refrigerator.
Great for a breakfast buffet, snack, or dessert.
Kids just can’t seem to get enough of these.
Speaking of kids, if you have any hanging around, they’ll be glad to take a bowl of these little cones off your hands for you.
Otherwise, you could make some breadcrumbs, or a small bread pudding, or maybe even an apple brown betty.
Hmm… we’ll see, that may be for another post.
Hope you enjoy!
- 3 dozen King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1-1/2 c. milk
- 6 T. sugar
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 T. cornstarch
- 1-1/2 tsp. butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ c. frozen guava juice concentrate, thawed
- 2-1/4 tsp. cornstarch
- Place rolls on large baking sheets. Use a small paring knife to cut a cone shaped piece out of the top of each roll, going a little past halfway deep. This creates a well for the custard filling. Set aside the cut outs for another use.
- Place all the custard ingredients except for the butter and vanilla into a blender. Blend for 30-60 seconds until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour into a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, whisking frequently until the mixture is thickened and starts to bubble. Lower heat to medium and cook and whisk another 2 minutes. Don't let the bottom burn. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, until it is melted in, then the vanilla. Pour into a bowl and cool 5 minutes.
- Spoon 1T. custard into each roll. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
- For the topping, pour guava juice concentrate into a small saucepan. Whisk in cornstarch until there are no lumps. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently until it is thickened and bubbling. Allow to cook 30-60 seconds more, then pour into a shallow bowl and cool to room temperature.
- Spoon 1 tsp. topping onto the top of each roll. Place rolls in airtight containers (like large, rectangular plastic containers with lids) and chill. The topping will take a couple of hours to gel firm, but these can be eaten immediately. Keep tightly covered in the refrigerator to keep rolls soft. They can also be heated in the microwave for a few seconds to warm if desired, or soften if needed.
