The last time I posted a new recipe was almost two months ago, so I think we’re overdue.
Between work and school I haven’t had any time to test out new recipes so I’ve just been remaking some of my favourites.
There have been lots of brown butter chocolate chip cookies, samoas, macarons, and brownies.
With this past weekend being a three-day weekend, I had a little time to work on something new. Over on my instagram I asked for suggestions of things to make and someone suggested a roulade with a fresh strawberry filling.
Done.
I spent most of my weekend in the kitchen, which definitely didn’t make my knee feel any better, but it did a lot to lift my spirits, so I think that’s what counts.
Anyway, this cake was actually a suggestion of someone I’ve known since 5th grade. I had some really great responses to my question, but something about a roll cake with fresh strawberries just sounded so satisfying.
This cake though. It is basically a few well-whipped eggs and sugar, a little flour and some baking powder. Hardly any ingredients and as long as you whip the egg whites for long enough to get some nice volume, you’ll have no problems with this cake and you’ll be making it all summer long!
Other than getting enough volume in your eggs, the most important thing you can do to make this cake successful is flip it out of the pan and roll it right after you take it out of the oven. We’re creating some nice muscle memory for our cake so it is easier to roll when it’s cool and we don’t have any cracks in our sponge. We don’t want any cracks in our cake, ok?
The filling is easy. Vanilla bean whipped cream because vanilla beans make everything better and vanilla bean paste is basically liquid gold and strawberries for a bright, fresh flavour. Roll it back up, dust with some powdered sugar and we’re done! This is literally what I want to eat all summer long.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Filling:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
- 1- 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
- Additional powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet, line with parchment and then grease the parchment. Set aside.
- Put eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the whisk attachment for about one minute. Gradually add in the sugar and, on a high speed, continue to whip for 7-8 minutes, until the eggs have roughly tripled in volume (if you're using a hand mixer, add another 2-3 minutes to the whipping time).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour 1/3 at a time to the egg mixture, folding until no streaks of flour remain. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown.
- While the cake is baking, lay down a clean, dry linen towel and dust with powdered sugar. Once the cake has been removed from the oven, loosen the edges and invert the cake onto the towel. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake and roll the cake into the towel. Doing this while the cake is hot will create 'muscle memory' for the cake and will make it less likely to crack when you roll it later. Leave the cake like this for about 1 hour.
Filling:
- Combine heavy whipping cream, vanilla bean paste, and powdered sugar in a bowl and whip to stiff peaks.
Assembly:
- Unroll the cooled cake. Spread the whipped cream over the cake and top with chopped strawberries. Roll the cake back up, leaving the towel behind, and transfer to a wire rack. Gently sprinkle over powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.
