Made with Samosa sheets, these Rafaello Rolls have been trending in the past few years.

They are crispy, sweet and hard-to-stop-at-just-one-roll type of treat, which you really should not miss out on.

I am a bit late to the party, as I got to know about them only a couple months back. It was served in one of the family parties I attended, made by an aunt of mine.

I loved the sweet coconut taste inside the crispy rolls. Even the concept is great, this makes for a delicious, freeze-ahead party appetizer or a unique item on the dessert table.

Rafaello Rolls make for a great appetizer for Ramadan and Eid as well.

Ramadan is coming soon and I know I will be preparing more of these for Iftar gatherings. Here are some of my other favourite Ramadan Food/Drink Ideas: Honeycomb Bread, Turkish Ramadan Pide and Ground Almond drink. I will be sharing more Ramadan and Eid recipes in the upcoming weeks.

If you feel you are not ready for the holy month, do check out this blogpost for some helpful tips. I hope we all make it and are able to take advantage of the divine blessings inshaAllah.

Getting back to this recipe, it’s made with only a handful of ingredients and is fairly simple to roll out. This is deep-fried and doesn’t require any much cooking. As soon as the Rafaello rolls turn lightly golden brown, you can remove from the oil. And then coat it in sugar syrup before serving.

I must admit that the Rafaello rolls that I have in my pictures are slightly burned at the corners. I may have given the frying job to my younger sister without advising her on when to remove it (Ooops!). Although that was completely ignored by my siblings when it came to indulging it.

We recently had a BBQ party, and while this isn’t a typical outdoor sweet, it was loved by everyone who had it. A cold evening in the desert and I fried these fresh on the spot. Served warm with the good weather, it made for a memorable, sweet starter.

And since I got a positive response from a handful of people, I knew it was a great recipe to share here with you all. Hoping you enjoy them just as much as we did!

RECIPE for Rafaello Rolls:

Rafaello Rolls

Recipe by Aysha SaihaCourse: Sweet AppetizerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Ingredients

1 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 cup condensed milk (more, if needed or to taste)
10 samosa leaves, cut in half
Flour + Water (Paste for sealing the edges)
For Sugar Syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of saffron

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together desiccated coconut and condensed milk. The mixture needs to come together and if it looks too dry, then add more condensed milk.
Take a small amount of the coconut mixture. Make a thin log out of it and put it in one edge of the cut samosa leaf. Start rolling the samosa leaf tightly and then seal the end with the Flour paste.
PRO TIP: Before you start rolling, first make a small triangle on top of the coconut filling by flapping the two corners in the middle forming a mini equilateral triangle. Continue rolling to create a cigar.
This extra step helps ensure that the filling stays inside the roll when frying, than falling out. I personally, have been successful multiple times even without doing this step but it helps!
Prepare Sugar Syrup
Keep the prepared rolls aside on a parchment lined tray and start making your sugar syrup. You can also do this in advance.
In a saucepan, add sugar and water. Stir well and put it on medium-high heat until it starts to bubble up and start boiling. Lower heat and let it simmer for about 5-10minutes. Add saffron and remove from heat. Let it cool completely.
Fry the Rafaello Rolls. Coat with Syrup and serve!
In a deep frying pan, preheat oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add in the Rafaello rolls. After they get golden brown, remove from oil and onto a kitchen paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
Coat with sugar syrup and serve. You can also get extra and give an additional coating of desiccated coconut and/or chopped nuts.

Notes

You most probably will have excess sugar syrup in this recipe. Don’t throw it away, save and use it later as a sweetener for any dessert or drinks you make.
You can easily double, triple or even make multiple batches of this recipe, and store in the freezer for future use.