Parwana’s Cream Rolls

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

When my parents were living in Afghanistan, these light, crisp, cream-filled pastry horns were bought from special patisseries known as kulchah feroshees. They are usually served during celebrations such as Eid or for birthdays. This recipe is my sister Fatema’s; guided by my mother, the flavors of Afghanistan, and her natural talent, she has become an expert sweet maker.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes
2/3 cup chilled water
Scant 1/2 cup ground pistachios
Small handful of dried rose petals
Salt
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 cups extra for rolling
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions

Whisk the flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl to combine. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, quickly and loosely rub the butter into the flour. You still want to see bits of the butter in the flour, so take care not to overwork.
Create a well in the center of the flour and pour in the chilled water. Using your hands, mix the ingredients to combine and form a firm but rough dough. Cover the dough with a tea towel and refrigerate for 25-30 minutes to chill. Dust a work surface with flour, turn out the chilled dough and knead gently, until smooth. Work the dough into a rectangular shape by hand, then roll with a rolling pin in one direction to make a rectangle roughly 20 inches x 8 inches. Streaks of butter should be visible, indicating that it hasn't been overworked. Fold the top third down to the center and fold the bottom third up to overlap. Turn the dough 90 degrees, either to the left or right, and roll again to a 20 inch x 8 inch rectangle. Repeat this folding and rolling one more time, then cover with a tea towel and refrigerate for 25-30 minutes to chill.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the chilled dough into 3 equal portions. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll 1 portion to a rectangle about 10 inches x 8 inches and about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1-inch wide strips along the length of the rectangle so that each strip is 10 inches long.
Lightly grease some cannoli tubes with oil and wrap a strip of pastry around the length of one tube in a spiral, overlapping as you go, to ensure there are no gaps. Repeat the same process with the remaining 2 portions of dough.
Place the tubes on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Place each cannoli tube with the pastry wrapped around it on a wire rack to cool for an hour or so, before gently separating the pastries from the tubes.
While the pastries are cooling, prepare the cream filling. Add the cream, confectioners' sugar, and cardamom to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whisk, and whip until stiff peaks form. Place the cream into a pastry bag and pipe it into the cooled pastries to fill. Place the extra confectioners' sugar in a bowl and roll the filled pastries in the sugar, to coat all sides. Serve, sprinkled with the pistachios and dried rose petals.
Cream rolls are best enjoyed fresh, on the day they are made.