Robin Roll in 1931

[cecilia]

Looking through the plans for food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only 200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.". It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.

Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

[Ian Goddard]

Post by cecilia
Looking through the plans for food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only 200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.". It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes. It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge. A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll. But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

[john]

Looking through the plans for  food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only  200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.".  It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes.  It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge.  A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll.  But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

From www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Yorkshire Evening Post - Thursday 03 October 1929
ROBIN ROLL Make piece of short crust pastry by sieving half teaspoonful
of baking powder with half a pound of flour. Add a teaspoonful of castor
sugar and rub in four ounces of good dripping or butter and add enough
cold water to make a firm paste. Knead it smooth and roll it out into a
strip. Into a small stewpan put one and a half ounces each of butter and
sugar, and melt these over mild heat; add one ounce of finely shredded
candied peel, three ounces Seedless Sun-Maid Raisins and squeeze of
lemon juice. When wall mixed spread this over the pastry; wet the edges
with cold water, roll up securely and brush over the top with a little
sugar moistened with milk. Bake moderate oven.

It seems to have been a Sun-Maid recipe promoting the use of their raisins.

I would suspect several rolls would need to be made to fit into an oven!

[cecilia]

On Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:29:13 +0200, john

Post by john

Looking through the plans for  food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only  200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.".  It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes.  It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge.  A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll.  But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

From www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Yorkshire Evening Post - Thursday 03 October 1929
ROBIN ROLL Make piece of short crust pastry by sieving half teaspoonful
of baking powder with half a pound of flour. Add a teaspoonful of castor
sugar and rub in four ounces of good dripping or butter and add enough
cold water to make a firm paste. Knead it smooth and roll it out into a
strip. Into a small stewpan put one and a half ounces each of butter and
sugar, and melt these over mild heat; add one ounce of finely shredded
candied peel, three ounces Seedless Sun-Maid Raisins and squeeze of
lemon juice. When wall mixed spread this over the pastry; wet the edges
with cold water, roll up securely and brush over the top with a little
sugar moistened with milk. Bake moderate oven.
It seems to have been a Sun-Maid recipe promoting the use of their raisins.
I would suspect several rolls would need to be made to fit into an oven!

Thank you.

I think that's it.

Armed with the knowledge, I searched the web for recipes like it, and
immediately came across the Cornish "Figgy 'Obbin" at
https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/lifestyle/food/top-5-baked-cornish-treats
(It could just be coincidence that Robin and 'Obbin sound similar.)

I later came across
http://thatothercookingblog.com/2012/10/14/pan-de-jamon/ which offers
a Venezuelan recipe (pan de jamon) that is similar when raisin-filled.
Garabaldi biscuit construction comes to mind as well - they are all
ways of dealing with the same ingredients.

I thank both of you for your interest and help..

[knuttle]

Post by cecilia
On Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:29:13 +0200, john

Post by john

Looking through the plans for  food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only  200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.".  It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes.  It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge.  A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll.  But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

From www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Yorkshire Evening Post - Thursday 03 October 1929
ROBIN ROLL Make piece of short crust pastry by sieving half teaspoonful
of baking powder with half a pound of flour. Add a teaspoonful of castor
sugar and rub in four ounces of good dripping or butter and add enough
cold water to make a firm paste. Knead it smooth and roll it out into a
strip. Into a small stewpan put one and a half ounces each of butter and
sugar, and melt these over mild heat; add one ounce of finely shredded
candied peel, three ounces Seedless Sun-Maid Raisins and squeeze of
lemon juice. When wall mixed spread this over the pastry; wet the edges
with cold water, roll up securely and brush over the top with a little
sugar moistened with milk. Bake moderate oven.
It seems to have been a Sun-Maid recipe promoting the use of their raisins.
I would suspect several rolls would need to be made to fit into an oven!

Thank you.
I think that's it.
Armed with the knowledge, I searched the web for recipes like it, and
immediately came across the Cornish "Figgy 'Obbin" at
https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/lifestyle/food/top-5-baked-cornish-treats
(It could just be coincidence that Robin and 'Obbin sound similar.)
I later came across
http://thatothercookingblog.com/2012/10/14/pan-de-jamon/ which offers
a Venezuelan recipe (pan de jamon) that is similar when raisin-filled.
Garabaldi biscuit construction comes to mind as well - they are all
ways of dealing with the same ingredients.
I thank both of you for your interest and help..

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/cornish-figgy-obbin-521

[Ian Goddard]

Post by john
%><
From www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Yorkshire Evening Post - Thursday 03 October 1929
ROBIN ROLL Make piece of short crust pastry by sieving half teaspoonful
of baking powder with half a pound of flour. Add a teaspoonful of castor
sugar and rub in four ounces of good dripping or butter and add enough
cold water to make a firm paste. Knead it smooth and roll it out into a
strip. Into a small stewpan put one and a half ounces each of butter and
sugar, and melt these over mild heat; add one ounce of finely shredded
candied peel, three ounces Seedless Sun-Maid Raisins and squeeze of
lemon juice. When wall mixed spread this over the pastry; wet the edges
with cold water, roll up securely and brush over the top with a little
sugar moistened with milk. Bake moderate oven.
It seems to have been a Sun-Maid recipe promoting the use of their raisins.
I would suspect several rolls would need to be made to fit into an oven!

We were just discussion this. My wife used to make something like this
with a scone mix. The roll was sliced before baking. They were called
tiger cakes. Perhaps the discussion will prompt her to have another go.
It was years since she last made any.

Ian

[cecilia]

On Tue, 17 Aug 2021 20:42:25 +0100, Ian Goddard

Post by Ian Goddard
We were just discussion this. My wife used to make something like this
with a scone mix. The roll was sliced before baking. They were called
tiger cakes. Perhaps the discussion will prompt her to have another go.
It was years since she last made any.
Ian

https://neillsflour.co.uk/recipe/jenny-bristows-rolled-scone-bread-with-lemon-soaked-raisins-cinnamon-and-plums/

[john]

Post by john

Looking through the plans for  food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only  200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.".  It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes.  It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge.  A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll.  But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

From www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Yorkshire Evening Post - Thursday 03 October 1929
ROBIN ROLL Make piece of short crust pastry by sieving half teaspoonful
of baking powder with half a pound of flour. Add a teaspoonful of castor
sugar and rub in four ounces of good dripping or butter and add enough
cold water to make a firm paste. Knead it smooth and roll it out into a
strip. Into a small stewpan put one and a half ounces each of butter and
sugar, and melt these over mild heat; add one ounce of finely shredded
candied peel, three ounces Seedless Sun-Maid Raisins and squeeze of
lemon juice. When wall mixed spread this over the pastry; wet the edges
with cold water, roll up securely and brush over the top with a little
sugar moistened with milk. Bake moderate oven.
It seems to have been a Sun-Maid recipe promoting the use of their raisins.
I would suspect several rolls would need to be made to fit into an oven!

I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Sun-Maid had French pain aux
raisins (escargots) in mind when devising the recipe. They are made in a
similar way although they use a yeast pastry.

[cecilia]

On Mon, 16 Aug 2021 08:56:57 +0100, Ian Goddard

Post by Ian Goddard

Post by cecilia
Looking through the plans for food and drink of a large (400 invited,
but only 200 accepted) garden party given by one of my grandmother's
cousins in 1931, I was puxzzled by references to a "robin roll.". It
seems to be a sort of cake, and i20 slices is about 3/4 of a robin
roll.
Has anyone come across a reference to a robin roll??

Robin *cake* was one of my mother's regular bakes. It was a sort of
sponge cake but not as light as a Victoria sponge. A thin one might
well be suitable for making a sort of Swiss roll. But a Swiss roll
capable of being cut into 160 slices sounds vast.

Sorry - my typing is getting worse. i20 should have been 20 (slices
from 3/4 of a robin roll)..

Thank you for the Information about your mother's cake.