I have often thought that I could rock the culinary with one baked item.
That’s the problem with being an idealist.
I once thought that I could be the next Mrs. Fields – only with muffins.
I had a 6 page spreadsheet outlining my Muffin Industry Takeover.
Then I realized that
A) They aren’t hard to make
and
B) They’re only good when they first come out of the oven.
So then I turned my big eyes to cake rolls.
Pumpkin roll: Everyone digs the pumpkin roll…
I made a red velvet cake roll that rocked my family’s socks off.
Wow! I could do strawberry! Lemon! Banana! The possibilities are endless!
But alas, I had a little trouble convincing the world that Cake Rolls were the new Cupcake.
But I still love them.
This is the bakery special this week…because I really want someone to enjoy them as much as I do.
So, let’s make a pretty cake roll.
And call it Betsy. And dress it in tutus and walk it in parades.
Oh, no wait…that’s my secret dream of owning a pot-belly pig.
The basis of a good cake roll is a sponge cake.
This is a pretty simple one.
6 eggs (one rolled off onto my foot. No lie), 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 cup sugar.
And a handy tip: Never store your Cream of Tartar next to the Onion Powder. It’s amazing how similar they look.
Separate the eggs. In the list of “My favorite jobs” – this sits right behind picking glass out of my eye.
You can imagine how much I love angel cakes. I tried to slit my wrist with an eggshell once. No workie.
Whip the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream-of-tartar-not-onion-powder.
Then transfer to a bowl…
In the mixing bowl (you don’t have to clean it), beat the egg yolks and the sugar until thick and light colored and whisk together the cocoa powder and flour…
Mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture, beat until fully combined.
Wha? This is going to make a cake?
Dude, trust me.
Okay, now we need to get the stiff egg whites folded into the chocolate batter.
Now the batter looks like this:
It’s so fluffy!
Take a jelly roll pan – spray it with cooking spray…then cover with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper…then spray the paper.
My cooking spray was on its last leg…it “sputtered” instead of “sprayed”.
Gently plop the batter onto the prepared pan.
Is it possible to “gently plop”? I doubt it.
Spread evenly…
Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.
Mine took 12. We’re going for that “springs back when lightly touched in the middle” thing.
Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan….
And take a clean damp dish towel and dust with powdered sugar and invert the cake onto the towel.
The “damp” in damp towel is important – it keeps the cake from cracking.
We don’t want Cake Crack, do we?
Remove the parchment and roll the cake up into the towel and allow to cool completely.
While it’s cooling, you need to make a difficult decision.
Okay, not difficult. Important.
What in the crap are you going to use for filling?
Ice cream? Always a good choice.
Jelly? Sure! Old South, baby!
Fresh whipped cream? Paula Deen would be proud.
Because this is a fairly tough decision, I made two cake rolls today…
I had a bit of Oreo buttercream leftover in the bakery…
“Mommy! This needs SPRINKLES!”
Agreed.
Roll this up…And let’s slice…
Not super-dramatic, but still yummy.
My second cake roll I filled with Cooked Frosting.
You know, that stuff that God wants us to use for frosting on Red Velvet cakes.
I love it straight up out of the bowl.
And a little white chocolate drizzle doesn’t suck, either.
Like the plate? Me too. I traded it with my friend Nicole – I got the plate, she got some cookies. Totally got the better end of that deal. Talk to Nicole. Be sure and tell her Amy sentcha.
First slice is always ugly.
One more….
Beaut.
Chocolate Cake Roll
Amy Bakes Specialty of the Week.
Now that you know how to make one, there’s no need to order one, right?
Wow, this sort of backfired on me.
Cake Roll
Adapted from Taste of Home
6 eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Cover the pan with a piece of parchment or wax paper, then spray the paper with spray.
Dampen a clean dish towel with a little water, then dust with powdered sugar.
Separate eggs. In a mixer, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and whip to stiff peaks. Transfer stiff egg whites to large bowl. In the same mixing bowl (no need to clean), beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Whisk together the flour and cocoa powder, then stir into the egg yolk mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in the whipped egg whites. Spread the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cake springs back in the middle when lightly tapped. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto the prepared dish towel. From the short side, roll the dish towel up with the cake and allow to cool completely.
When the cake is completely cool, unroll the towel and spread with desired filling. Reroll the cake and place on a platter, dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
See why I thought this could be my “Mrs. Fields”? Flavor combos are endless, you could even go savory with this…
Oh crap. Now I gotta go make a savory one.
