Currants rolls are made like coconut rolls but of course using currants instead of coconut. I will admit that I am not a fan of currants but Trinis love their currants rolls so I wanted to share my recipe for these.
Add butter/margarine and shortening to the flour and salt in a bowl. Use your fingers to break up the shortening and margarine/butter into small pieces and combine with the flour. Add cold water and mix until you have a neat and smooth dough ball. Kneading isn’t required.
Wrap the dough with clear plastic and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours.
Combine sugar, currants, butter/margarine and cinnamon. Mix well.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and break into 2 equal size pieces. Roll each piece out into a rectangle shape. See notes below for guidelines in this step.
Add half of the sugar/currants mixture to each of the rolled out dough.
Carefully roll the dough from one end to the next to form a tightly rolled ‘log’
Place both logs on a greased baking tray.
Brush with the beaten egg. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until nicely golden brown.
Allow to cool before cutting.
Enjoy your currants rolls
NOTES:
When baking, butter is usually preferred instead of margarine. However I use margarine most times as I usually have this in my refrigerator more often. Also, the butter cost a lot more than margarine. If you are able to get your hands on the butter, feel free to use it though. Be mindful that there’s the salted and unsalted option. Whichever you choose to use, be sure to adjust the additional salt measurement required in the recipe accordingly.
Ensuring the dough is chilled before use aids in the flakiness when baked so it is always recommended that you allow it to chill before using. Extra dough can be frozen for future use as well. When ready to use, allow it to thaw out from the night before. You can leave it in the refrigerator until it’s soft but chilled enough to be used.
The dough was cut in half to make it easier to work with. If you are able to work with the large dough feel free to eliminate the step of cutting in half.
The dough can be rolled out to any thickness you want depending on how much of the pastry you want in the finished product. I rolled out the dough to about a 10″x17″ rectangle. Be sure not to roll it out too thin as it may burst easily.
You can try the ‘folding’ method for more layers and flakiness in the finished product. To do this, roll out the dough, then fold in half, then fold in half again. Roll this out and repeat 2-3 times.
Currants rolls are classic Trinidadian desserts so I do hope that you try making these. If and when you do, I’d love to see your pics of the finished products. You can send them to my Instagram or Facebook Page
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