diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index c46ba6faf..147d68128 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ task ci: ['engine_cart:generate'] do
   SolrWrapper.wrap(port: '8983') do |solr|
     solr.with_collection(name: 'blacklight-core', dir: 'lib/generators/spotlight/templates/solr/conf') do
       Rake::Task['spotlight:fixtures'].invoke
+      within_test_app do
+        system 'bin/rake spec:prepare'
+      end
 
       # run the tests
       Rake::Task['spec'].invoke
diff --git a/lib/generators/spotlight/assets/propshaft_generator.rb b/lib/generators/spotlight/assets/propshaft_generator.rb
index 99f1afc20..0d9eb260f 100644
--- a/lib/generators/spotlight/assets/propshaft_generator.rb
+++ b/lib/generators/spotlight/assets/propshaft_generator.rb
@@ -106,12 +106,6 @@ def configure_esbuild
                   'esbuild app/javascript/*.* --bundle --sourcemap --format=esm --outdir=app/assets/builds --public-path=/assets --main-fields=main,module'
       end
 
-      # Build the app frontend assets
-      def build_assets
-        run 'yarn build'
-        run 'yarn build:css'
-      end
-
       private
 
       # Some versions of the blacklight gem do not have a corresponding blacklight-frontend package on npm.