Esmeralda rolls

Scone-dough scroll with sticky syrupy sauce? Now that's an easy - and budget-friendly - dessert!

Credit: Benito Martin

• makes

  10

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

This recipe, published in a Country Women's Association recipe calendar in the 1930s, reflects the tightened household budgets of the Depression years, and shows how simple ingredients can make for hearty comfort food. Variations (this one, published in Tasmania in 1942, was described as a "a most delicious dessert and inexpensive") were made across the country. 

Ingredients

• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp butter, chopped
• 180 ml (¾ cup) milk, or as required
• 260 g (¾ cup) golden syrup
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 190°C. Generously grease a 30 x 20 cm baking dish.

Sift the flour, baking powder and a large pinch of salt into a bowl. Using your ngertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough milk to make a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to bring it together. Roll the dough out into a 30 x 12 cm rectangle and spread 2 tbsp of the golden syrup over the dough. Roll up dough starting at one long side to form a log and cut it into 10 even-sized pieces. Arrange the pieces cut-side up in a single layer in the dish.

Combine the remaining golden syrup, coconut and the boiling water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Pour over the rolls in the dish so that the mixture reaches two-thirds of the way up the rolls (it’s important that you do not completely cover the rolls).

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rolls are golden and cooked through and the sauce is thick and syrupy.

Recipe from 365 Country Women’s Association Favourites: Inspirational recipes for every day of the year (Murdoch Books, hb, $29.99). This recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the original.

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Nick Banbury. Creative concept by Belinda So.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This recipe, published in a Country Women's Association recipe calendar in the 1930s, reflects the tightened household budgets of the Depression years, and shows how simple ingredients can make for hearty comfort food. Variations (this one, published in Tasmania in 1942, was described as a "a most delicious dessert and inexpensive") were made across the country.