Last Updated on November 13, 2019 by Chef Mireille
Caribbean Coconut Roll is a delicious Caribbean pastry with versions on many different Caribbean islands. A delicious flavored coconut stuffing is baked inside a flaky pastry for the perfect tea time dessert.
When I was a child, every Saturday we used to go to Allan’s Bakery. Practically every Caribbean person who lived in Brooklyn made a weekly trip to this bakery. Even today decades later, on the weekends, the line is out of the store and down the block.
This Trinidadian bakery serves many Caribbean delights like coconut bread, cross buns, meat patties, coconut drops, currant and coconut rolls. Did you notice all the coconut items? Many Caribbean foods and especially our sweets revolve around coconut.
Different islands have different versions of coconut roll. In Guyana, they call it salara and use a yeasted bread crust instead of a short pastry crust and also color some of the coconut red with food coloring.
In this version popular in Trinidad, Dominica and other islands, the coconut isn’t colored with red or pink food coloring as it is in the Guyanese version.
Ingredients
- all purpose flour
- teaspoon salt
- cold butter
- cold vegetable shortening
- frozen grated coconut
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- almond essence
- freshly grated nutmeg
- egg
How to Make Coconut Roll
- Make the pastry by first combining flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
- Add shortening and butter. Using a pastry blender, cut fat into flour until it resembles small peas.
- Add water and mix just until dough comes together.
- Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
- Combine all filling ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- On a lightly floured board, roll out dough into a rectangle. Spread filling on top and roll into a cylinder.
- Brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar on top.
- Bake for 1 hour.
Oh My…I haven’t visited Allan’s in a number of years and this has brought back so many memories…
Perfectly flaky crust with a moist coconut filling…what could be better?
Coconut Roll
Ingredients
Pastry Ingredients
Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen grated coconut defrosted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Topping Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- First make the pastry.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.
- Add shortening and butter. Using a pastry blender, cut fat into flour until it resembles small peas.
- Add water a little at a time, adding just enough until dough comes together. You may not need all of the water.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Combine all filling ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray with non stick spray.
- Make egg wash by whisking together the egg and water for the topping.
- On a lightly floured board, roll out dough into a rectangle.
- Spread filling on top. Starting on the long side, roll into a tight cylinder, sealing the ends. Transfer to cookie sheet.
- Brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar on top.
- Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Don’t forget to visit the RECIPE INDEX with over 1000 recipes from around the world including lots of Vegetarian Recipes and Gluten Free Recipes!
My husband would love this. We get a very similar yeast buns filled with sweet coconut filling in bakeries in India and my husband loves it. I will definitely try this 🙂
Tried them when I bought at a bake sale. They tasted delicious, thanks for sharing this recipe, going to make them soon.
This is so amazing. Bookmarking this. Great share
What a delicious looking coconut roll Mir. Didn’t know so many versions of it exist.
Coconut rolls looks very delicious Mir.Love the coconut filling.
As sandhya pointed out, these rolls remind me of the rolls we used to eat in our childhood 🙂 Love this variations as well.
Its very similar to our thengai bun. It is so good. Love this.
Allan’s bakery sounds like a popular bakery in Brooklyn. Coconut rolls looks delicious and interesting to know different versions of it.
Just finished eating one of these fine confections from Allan’s bakery and googled to see if I could find a recipe to give it a try for myself. Can’t wait to try. Allan’s bakery is so fantastic so I don’t know if I’ll do as well, but I love to cook.
Allan’s is such a community treasure – I hope you like my version as much as theirs 🙂
Your version is very close to Allah’s bakery Brooklyn as with the short crust pastry. My only one correction to the island origin of the bakery founder is from the island of St. Vincent not Trinidad. He has since carried on the tradtion back to his home island where you can find the same coconut rolls as in the flag ship store of Brooklyn
Thanks for the info – I will update that
Can’t wait to make this. One question, about how long and wide should the rectangle of dough measure?
I will have to make it again and record the measurements. You need to make sure it is packed tightly and compactly. You can also make it in 2 smaller versions if you prefer.
Hi should I boil the coconut first or just mix in a bowl
just mix it.