These rolls are made by rolling short pastry dough thin (0.5 cm/0.2 inch), cutting it in small squares (ca. 5 cm / 2 inches) and rolling a small log of turkish delight (1x1x4 cm, 0.5×0.5×1.5 inches) in the square, resulting in a cylinder filled with turkish delight. They are baked (the turkish delight melts to a honey-like viscosity in the oven, but usually doesn't flow out), left to cool, then confectioner's sugar is sifted over them. The turkish delight filling resolidifies somewhat after cooling, but not to its completely dry state from before baking. They are not supposed to cook hard and dry and brown, they are more like Russian tea cakes in texture.
The problem with this recipe is that more often than not, the pastry is underbaked in the middle. I think that the combination of a thick roll and getting soggy from the melted filling is responsible for the problem. However, I don't have a solution. Using less crust isn't an option – not only would the ratio of crust to filling be disturbed, but if there isn't substantial overlap in the cylinder walls, the melted lokum is likely to flow out during baking (I've had that happen). Blindbaking isn't an option – not only don't I have an idea how to hold the shape, but also the upper part of the crust will overbake during the real baking later. It is already baked at lowish temperatures, so I don't think that lowing it further will help.
Any ideas how to get well-baked rolls while keeping the nice gooey filling?
Best Answer
I would start by rolling the pastry dough thinner; I often have my dough too thick the first time or two that I work with a recipe. Keep the dough cold to make it easier to work with.
Next, I would try different oven times and temperatures. Try a temperature 25-50 degrees (F) higher, and pull the rolls out 30 seconds to one minute sooner. The nice thing about playing with oven times and temps is that you can go through many tests quickly by just putting a few of the items in for each time/temp combination. (Extra mass in the oven, such as a pizza stone or even some bricks, will help keep the oven temp more steady.)
If the outside of your rolls are getting over done before the inside is done, try chilling the rolls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so before baking.