There is a nostalgia in the Cream rolls. For a very long time, these cones of flaky pastry filled with cream ruled the Indian bakeries. Today you will find a thousand options to choose from, as the bakeries are packed with new products influenced by the western market. But there was a time only fewer items were seen on the shelves of glass cased display of bakeries. 

Cream rolls, Pineapple pastry, Black Forest cake were prime products and these still hold a vibrant presence in the hearts of many. We, who as a child have touched those refrigerator displays of the bakeries with tiny hands looking with popped out eyes, choosing to buy, still love them. I am one of those. Buying cream roll with papa is a memory I hold close to my heart. 

I made these beautiful cream rolls at home using puff pastry. The puff pastry I have used is ready to use sheets. I received them as a sample product from Deep Sing Bawa who is founder of Deep’s Studio Kitchen. Its a Freezer to Oven Gourmet Bake Company. They offer frozen Puff Pastry Sheets, Pie Crusts, Cookie Doughs, Croissant Sheets, and many more products. I found these sheets very useful and of great quality. You can find them on Facebook. 

Honestly, I am not a big fan of doing puff pastry at home. Tried it and failed in it. I can blame my failure on Mumbai humidity or on the unavailability of the equipment at home. 

Truth is, you need patience, precision, temperature-controlled environment, equipment, experience for doing real good puff pastry. 

Here is an article about types of pastries and the pastries you can do at home for different types of bakes. 

Types Of Pastry – Filo Recipe

Let’s move forward with our Cream Roll Recipe. Its simple to do at home. You will need these cones to shape them. 

You can substitute Metalic cone frames by making the cones at home using a thick chart paper. Roll the paper sheet into a cone shape and cover it with a foil paper. 

I prefer using the metal ones as they provide a sturdy shape and are easy to use. 

STORE77® 12 Pcs DIY Non-Stick Stainless Steel Baking Cones & Tubes Set. Spiral Horn Pastry Cream Roll Tubes/Cake Cone Mold/Cannoli Forms/Croissant Shell Metal Ice Cream Roll/Funnel Shape/Kitchen/Party

Do you know many bakeries use the scraps of puff pastry leftover from other items to make cream rolls? This is quite an economical method. But at home, we take the puff pastry sheets and use a pizza cutter to make stripes and then roll them on the cones. 

How to thaw the puff pastry sheets

If you live in a hot humid climate, someplace like Mumbai, don’t thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature. 

Take the pack out of the freezer (unopened) and place it in the fridge. Thaw them in the fridge dor 3-4 hours. 

Never ever try to unfold the sheets when they are frozen. The sheet will brake immediately. 

Do not try to use the dough while it’s still frozen. Excess moisture from thawing will ruin the pastry.

Never ever try to thaw them in the microwave. 

Do not try to thaw the dough in warm water or it will not rise.

When working with the sheets If moisture is seeping from the edge of the pastry, it means the butter or shortening is melting. Return the pastry to the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes if this occurs.

Lightly dust the work surface with flour prior to handling but be sure to brush off excess flour before filling, cutting or folding, since flour will prevent layers from sticking together.

When shaping, don’t pinch the edges of the pastries so hard this will prevent them from puffing.

Roll dough thinner before using. Puff Pastry can puff up to 8 times its original thickness. That means even a sheet rolled to a thin ¼-inch thickness will rise 2 inches.

Bake puff pastry cones until sides and bottom are dry and the top is rich golden brown. 

You will achieve gorgeous golden brown colour on the top if you use an egg wash. 

If you don’t use egg at home, brush the shaped cones with milk. You will still achieve a nice golden colour, but not as vibrant as egg wash can give you. Taste-wise nothing will differ. 

When you shape the dough onto the cones place the seam side down on the baking tray. 

There is no need to coat the steel cones with butter or any other thing. The pastry won’t stick and will release the baked cones very easily. 

Morphy Richards 60 RCSS 60-Litre Oven Toaster Grill (Black/Silver)

Whipping cream

I generally prefer using non-dairy whipping cream because of ease and its fuss-free use. But a cream roll will not awake those childhood memories if its not freshly whipped heavy cream. A few tips are below for whipping cream at home.

Chill a medium-sized bowl in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

Combine (cold) heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a chilled bowl.

Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream is thick and billowy and stiff peaks form.

It is important to keep all thing chilled during the process. Add sugar gradually to the cream.

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