If you looking for a simple, last-minute dessert and have store-bought puff pastry and heavy cream available, you can quickly create these delightfully golden, cream filled puff pastry shells. They are perfect to serve for gatherings and potlucks and effortlessly impress your guests each and every time! Worried that you dont have moulds?, later in the post I am also sharing how to make your own cream roll moulds. Ready to use puff pastry is an amazing thing! I love using it in savory recipes like samosa pinwheels, samosa tart and paneer tart. Its comes in so handy during festivals for quick recipes! Cream rolls used to be a childhood delight. They were never made it at home, instead, we relied on the local bakery for our fix. Interestingly, back in the 80s, finding puff pastry in indian stores was a rarity. We used to go to bakeries and gaze lovingly at the stack of cream rolls displayed behind the large glass shelves in bakeries. There weren’t a lot of flavor options, mostly vanilla. On good days, chocolate too. My children also adore cream rolls. I mostly purchase from indian grocery stores on a regular basis. Though I must admit that the store bought ones aren’t anything close to bakery ones, the biggest difference is use of fresh whipped cream in the latter. I wanted to give a try at home and discover what the process of making them entails. I’m currently kicking myself wondering why I didn’t attempt it sooner. These are remarkably easy to make and so better (read fresh) tasting than the store bought ones!
About My Recipe
It is vegetarian friendly. Serve it to pure vegetarians since there are no eggs. Super easy and quick to make once you have ingredients at hand. These cream roll look pretty and something different than mithai when serving. I used store bought puff pastry. If you love to use homemade puff pastry sheets, totally use those. For the cream filling- I wanted to give these a flavor similar to indian mithai. So I added pistachio powder, cardamom, saffron. These taste so amazing! I used moulds available on amazon for the pastry shells. Later in the post I have added instructions and pictures to make cream roll without mould at home. The pistachio cream is not overly sweet, I keep it that way so that the butteriness of pastry shines! You could adjust sweetness as per your wish.
Ingredients
Puff Pastry Sheets- Thawed. One sheet yields about 6-7 rolls. You could double the recipe if you want more. Heavy Cream Cream Cheese- Optional, but adds a hint of tang and body to the whipped cream. Powdered sugar Pistachios - You could coarsely grind or chop the pistachios. Saffron- soaked in some warm cream. I also add green cardamom because I love these two flavors together. Milk - to brush on top of pastry before baking
Equipment
Cream Horn or Cream Roll Mould
I purchased these moulds from amazon. Search up “cream roll moulds”, “cannoli moulds” or “cream horn mould” and many choices will come up. The set I chose had both pipe and cone rolls. You could use either shape.
Cream Roll With No Mould
If you do not want to purchase mould or cannot find them, make your own using aluminum foil and parchment paper at home. Be gentle when handling the foil and paper so that it stays roundish and doesn’t get flat. You will also have to be gentle when wrapping the puff pastry strips around it.
I did not measure the dimensions of foil or parchment paper but the images will give you an idea.
Instructions
Recipe Tips
Puff Pastry
Always use thawed puff pastry. If the pastry is not thawed properly, it will not unfold or unroll and will break. I find it best to leave the frozen puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator. By morning it thaws beautifully and is ready to use. Keep the puff pastry cold at all times. If you are working on a hot and humid day, chill the pastry as needed in between cooling. Roll the pastry thin before using. You will not be able to put it around the mould if is too thick. Don’t worry about it not puffing, even if rolled thin, the pastry will puff beautifully.
Whipping The Cream
Chill the bowl and the whipping blade for better results. Use super cold cream - it whips quickly and is fluffier. Refrigerate as needed to make sure that the cream stays cold. You could sweeten the cream as you like.
Variations
The flavors possibilities with these cream rolls are endless- you could add different kinds of chopped nuts, dry fruits or fresh fruits. You could fold a fruit pulp like mango puree or crushed strawberries with the cream. Dip the shells in melted chocolate and add sprinkles. Let cool off fully and then fill in the cream. This variation is a huge hit with kids!
Storage & Serving
You could store the filled rolls refrigerated in an air tight container for 2-3 days. Take them out 5-10 minutes before serving for best texture of the pastry. Serve with festive drinks like rsamalai boba ,thandai or falooda.
