Brits Once Loved This Dessert So Much They Bought 25 Miles Worth Of It Monthly

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Brits are prodigiously fond of sugary indulgences — there's no invite for a cup of tea that doesn't involve a biscuit (aka cookie). They particularly love baked sweet treats known by the encompassing term of puddings, or more familiarly, puds. And in the 1970s, one particular sweet sensation took supermarkets by storm and became a staple dessert of the British dinner table: Birds Eye Arctic Roll. 

This family favorite is as simple as it is iconic — sponge cake rolled over vanilla ice cream, with a layer of raspberry jam between the two. Think Swiss roll, but from the frozen aisle. The dessert became so prevalent that a Birds Eye marketing director, Ben Pearman, told The Grocer that, "During the 80s the dessert was so popular that more than 25 miles of Arctic Roll were sold per month." However, it also had detractors. English food writer Nigel Slater described it in his book "Toast" as "managing to taste like cold cardboard." 

By the mid-1990s, Arctic Roll fell out of fashion, and Birds Eye discontinued production, to the dismay of its ardent aficionados. But then, in 2008, when the economy took a downturn, Birds Eye had the genius idea to relaunch the Arctic Roll, and even added a chocolate version. The company figured that in hard times an inexpensive but nostalgic treat would go down well — and they were proved correct. 

After its re-release in December 2008, sales in the following months were estimated at around three million boxes, equivalent to £3.5 million pounds or about $5.1 million dollars. By April 2009, the Financial Times reported that an estimated 250 miles of Arctic Roll had made it to British dinner tables. A sweet treat that once brought happiness and comfort to families proved to be the marketing success of the year.

To the dismay of fans who keep searching online and in supermarket freezers, Birds Eye Arctic Rolls seem to have vanished once again, although you can buy Ms Molly's Ice Cream Roll in U.K. branches of Tesco grocery store. Some folks are turning to the internet to find recipes. The general idea is to mash up fresh berries — strawberries or rasberries — into softened vanilla ice cream and refreeze it in a long cylinder shape. You then make a flat sponge. The hard part comes when you have to roll the baked sponge (lined with strawberry jelly) around that ice-cream cylinder before refreezing it for an hour or so before serving. It's a bit like the technique of making a Swiss roll.

If this inspires a trip down memory lane for anyone with old-school U.K. connections, there are more retro desserts making a comeback across the pond, as older generations long for childhood faves and newer generations get to discover them. Whether it's based on food nostalgia or the power of popular culture, some once forgotten desserts are charming Britain once again.

For example, similar to the Arctic Roll but without the ice cream, jam roly poly — a steamed suet pudding with roots in medieval Europe — can be found on multiple U.K. grocery store shelves. And the alarmingly named spotted dick – a delicate British steamed pudding studded with raisins and currants – appears on some quite fancy pub lunch menus. Harry Potter's favorite dessert of treacle tart – a sticky shortcrust pie with a soft filling similar to Southern buttermilk pie — has also made a triumphant U.K. comeback, partly thanks to the young wizard.