Yield: Serves 8 to 10 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes, plus 40-60 minutes chilling time
Cake rolls are such a fun twist on traditional cake recipes. Home cooks loved to experiment with cake forms in the ’50s, from Bundt cakes to cake rolls to loaf cakes and more. I like to mix up the kind of preserves I put in the middle. Sometimes I’ll do strawberry, sometimes peach or grape, but raspberry gives it a beautiful deep red hue that looks lovely when presented to guests.
INGREDIENTS
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
⅔ cup spreadable raspberry jelly/jam (or any other filling of your choice)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Coat with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the water and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, beating just until the batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out well to form a thin, even layer.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Spread a clean kitchen towel on your work surface and sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar on it. Loosen the edges of the cake, then turn the whole pan upside down onto the towel. Carefully remove the paper from the top. Trim off the hard edges of the cake, and while it’s hot, carefully roll the cake lengthwise in the towel from one end to the other. Keep the roll as tight as possible, but apply very little pressure to minimize cracks. Refrigerate the rolled cake for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove the cake from the fridge, unroll it gently, and remove the towel. Whisk the raspberry jelly slightly to soften; it’s better to use a spreadable jelly. Spread evenly over the cake. Roll it back up and sprinkle more confectioners’ sugar on top. Cut into slices and serve.