Gluten Free & Dairy Free Blackberry Roly Poly
Photo of the Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free Blackberry Roly Poly
Photos of the Dairy-Free Blackberry Roly Poly with Wheat Flour
Tip from Donna: I baked a nondairy wheat flour version of blackberry roly poly and it was really good. I used unsweetened almond milk instead of milk, and plant butter instead of butter. I used 1/4 cup less of plant butter on top of the berries because the last time I made it had a lot of oil on the pan. (It still produced a lot of oil). I put the 1/4 cup of plant butter in the freezer for a few hours so it was very cold when I cut it to make the dough. It took a while to cut the butter in with the flour mixture, and then I used my hands to work it, and then I just added the almond milk and mixed with my hands. It’s quite dry before the milk is added and very sticky when the milk is added, so you have to keep mixing with your hands and eventually you have created a lovely dough that is a pleasure to knead. Parchment paper is a remarkable tool and helps you finesse the dough to roll it up with all the berries and butter and sugar into a very respectable roll. You gently press the dough over the berries. And remarkably, the parchment paper doesn’t stick to the roly poly or even tear when you cut the pastry.
Recently, Kelly’s Kitchen received a request for a recipe to make Blackberry Roly Poly.
We used a recipe from Nancie’s Table, which you can access and view by clicking here.
For those of you that don’t know what this is, Blackberry Roly Poly is, it is a traditional dessert with roots in the United Kingdom. The roly poly shows up in confectionary history in the 19th century, and varies in ingredients, shape, and cooking methods. It’s always a sheet of dough, spread or filled with something sweet, rolled up like a jelly roll, and then cooked until done.
The recipe that Chef Donna Valente with Kelly’s Kitchen used is below. We will share what the gluten-free and dairy-free substitutions are in BOLD BLUE font color so you can see how to make this in an accessible way.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE ROLY POLY
2 cups flour (substituted 2 cups of Bobs Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour)
TIP: Gluten free flour has a finer texture and absorbed the liquid quickly, so I had to work with it a bit to get a good consistency. It’s pretty delicate.
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup very cold butter (substituted 1/4 cup very cold plant butter)
About 2/3 cup milk (substituted 2/3 cup almond milk)
3/4 cup melted butter (1 1/2 sticks / 6 ounces) (substituted 1/2 cup melted plant butter to reduce the amount of oil in the pan)
About 2 1/4 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen (two 6-oz containers) (Donna used 18 ounces of Blackberries so it would be juicier)
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup cup granulated sugar (Donna substituted Golden Moreno Sugar as a personal preference)
FOR THE BLACKBERRY SAUCE
2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
2/3 cup granulated sugar (Donna substituted Golden Moreno Sugar as a personal preference)
1/2 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F, and combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk or stir with a fork to mix well..
Chop the butter into small bits, toss with flour mixture, and then use a pastry blender, two knives, or your hands to work most but not all of the butter into the flour, pinching and squeezing to made a raggedy, lumpy mixture with pea-sized bits of butter still showing.
Add most of the milk and use your hand or a big spoon to transform the dry mixture into a raggedy dough.
Turn it out onto a flour counter or cutting board and knead gently about 5 turns, until you have a nice soft dough, dipping hands in flour to help sticky goo join the dough.
Set the dough on a large, floured sheet of baking parchment, big enough to line an 11 x 17 sheet pan.
Roll it out into a rectangle about 10 by 12 inches and about ¼ inch thick.
Pour half the melted butter over the center portion of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border.
Scatter the berries over the buttered dough, and arrange them somewhat evenly, leaving a 1-inch border all around the edges.
Sprinkle both sugars evenly over the buttered dough and berries. Pour the remaining half of the melted butter over the sugared berries.
Reaching up and across the berry covered dough to the far edge, gently roll the dough toward you, enclosing the sugared berry filling and making a big fat roll. Roll it into a cylinder as tightly and evenly as you can, using the parchment paper to help you manage the unwieldy shape.
Stop rolling when the open edge is on the bottom, and let this be the center seam underneath the roll.
Carefully transfer the roll on its parchment paper bed to the baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees until the roly poly is nicely browned and firm, and the doughy center of the roll is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Donna’s Tip: I managed to roll it up into quite a respectable looking roll. I rubbed some melted plant butter on the roll and sprinkled it with a tablespoon of golden sugar and brown sugar before baking it at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
OR slice the roly ply into 1 inch thick rounds and transfer to a well-buttered 9-inch round cake pan; or a spring form pan; wrapping the base of spring form pan well with aluminum foil to catch any syrup.
Meanwhile, make the blackberry sauce, combining the 2 cups blackberries, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Stir well and boil gently for 5 to 7 minutes, using a potato masher or a large metal slotted spoon to mash berries well..
When they have released their juices and formed a lightly thickened sauce, set aside to cool.
When the roly poly is ready, remove it from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes; then let cool to room temperature.
Slice or scoop out portions, hot, warm, or at room temperature, and serve in bowls, anointed with the blackberry sauce, and if possible, topped off with a flourish of ice cream or whipped cream.
Note: To remove the seeds, press the berry mixture through a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and scrape the rounded outside of the strainer to capture every drop of the rich, sweet berry sauce.
Original Nutrition Facts Before Substitutions:
