Strawberry Roly Poly Recipe With Rhubarb
Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb combine forces to make the most delicious dessert ever: Strawberry Roly Poly!
Say hello to your new favorite dessert: Strawberry Rhubarb Roly Poly! My only concern with this post is that I won’t do it justice—that I won’t convince you how delicious it is, but I will try! I can’t take any credit for this recipe though, my grandma-in-law is a very talented baker and she was gracious enough to let me share it. Thanks Grandma Judy!
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky
What is Strawberry Roly Poly?
Strawberry Roly Poly is rolled, cut, and baked like cinnamon rolls but instead of cinnamon sugar filling, it is filled with strawberry (and rhubarb)! Oh, and the rolls cook in a sugar/water mixture that makes the most delightful sweet syrupy glaze for the rolls. You can serve it with whipped cream like I did, but it’s amazing without it too! Just make sure you serve it warm.
Ingredients
Strawberry Roly Poly With Rhubarb
- Strawberries: fresh or frozen is fine. Just be sure to thaw and drain if you are using frozen
- Rhubarb: the star! You can also use fresh or frozen and follow the same thawing/draining rule
- Baking staples: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter/shortening for the dough
Equipment
Equipment needs for this recipe are very simple. All you need is a 9×13 baking dish, a large bowl and a pastry blender. The pastry blender is the most unique thing you will need. I’ve seen a lot of recipes say that you can also use two knives to cut in the butter, but I’ve never tried that method. I love my pastry blender!
How to make Strawberry Roly Poly
Grandma Judy’s recipe calls for shortening in the dough but I didn’t have any so I used butter and it worked just fine for me.
The first thing you will need to do is combine sugar and water in your baking dish and place a 400 oven until sugar is dissolved. The rolls will be placed directly into the sugar water for baking.
When I first made this I had to reread the directions because I’d never made anything like this before. But trust me, this sugar water is magical.
It combines with the juice from the fruit and makes the perfect sweet glaze on the bottom of the rolls. You could flip them over and have the glaze on top like glazes usually are but it really doesn’t matter. Just make sure you serve it warm!
You start the dough by cutting the butter into the flour using a pastry blender.
Once you get a coarse meal, add milk and stir just until combined. Knead the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. Mine was more of an oval and things still worked out okay.
Spread the strawberry rhubarb mixture evenly across the dough, then roll it up.
Slice and place in the baking dish with the sugar and water.
Serve it warm with whipped cream for the ultimate roly poly experience. I was literally licking my plate. It’s that good! I made this on Memorial Day and my husband and I ate the whole pan in four days. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?
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More summery dessert recipes!
- Mango Cream Tart: it’s dairy-free and no bake!
- Watermelon Mint Popsicles: also dairy free and no bake! And soooo refreshing.
Strawberry Rhubarb Roly Poly
Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb combine forces to make the most delicious dessert.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen (sliced)
- 2 cups rhubarb, fresh or frozen (cut into 1/2 in. pieces)
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup butter or shortening (plus 1 tbsp)
- 1 cup milk
- 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup sugar and two cups water in a 9×13 baking dish. Heat in a 400 oven until dissolved (about 15 min). Then set aside.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Cut in butter or shortening using a pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal. Add milk and stir with a fork until moistened.
- Turn dough out onto a flour covered board and knead gently 20 times. Roll dough into a 10×12 rectangle.
- In a bowl, combine strawberry, rhubarb, cinnamon and 1/3 cup of sugar. Spread evenly on top of dough. Dot with 1 tbsp of butter.
- Roll into a log and cut into 10-12 even pieces. Place slices in 9×13 pan with sugar mixture and bake at 450 for 25 minutes, then at 390 for 20 minutes.
- Serve warm with cream if desired.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If using frozen fruit, make sure to thaw and drain before measuring
- To cut into even slices: I cut in half and then continue to cut each piece in half until you have 10-12 even slices
