Exquisite Rolled Cake Recipe

A recipe for a rolled cake with a very soft and melt-in-the-mouth dough, a tender and enveloping cloud texture, of an incredible delicacy. No Genoese biscuit here, but a popular version in Asia. The technique is to make the baking paper stick to the dough. After baking, the brown skin will peel off and the moist filling will soak the soft biscuit for a delicious combination.

The usual toppings for a rolled cake are chosen, such as jelly, fruit jam, spread, any kind of firm cream (jellied or whipped mascarpone cream or custard) with tangy fruit, nuts or crispy crunch. This cake is to be made the day before, it is so much better the next day.

It provides an excellent base for making a Christmas log.

Quantities for a 40 × 30 cm baking tray and about 12 slices

For the biscuit roll:

• 260 g eggs (5 eggs),
• 100 to 120 g blond cane caster sugar (depending on the sugar contained in the filling),
• 90 g all-purpose wheat flour T65 type,
• 50 g vegetable oil neutral in taste,
• 50 g milk,
• 2 g baking powder,
• 1 g salt (1 large pinch).

Three choices of fillings:

1- Spread:

• 300 g jam, jelly or spread.

2- Whipped cream and tangy fruits:

• 30 cl liquid cream with 30% fat,
• 150 g mascarpone,
• 30 g blond cane sugar to be ground into icing sugar (about 45 seconds in a blender/chopper),
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) liquid vanilla extract or 2 g (1/2 teaspoon) powdered vanilla,
• 200 to 300 g tangy, sour fruit.

3- Butter cream with Italian meringue (cover or topping):

• 50 g water,
• 100 g blond cane caster sugar
• 2 egg whites (70 g),
• 180 g butter with taste, cut into pieces, at room temperature and soft (having the consistency of an ointment),
• choice of fragrances
Divide quantities by 2 when used as a cake cover or topping.

Other fillings:

The mascarpone can be replaced by 150 g full-fat milk and 1 g agar agar (1/2 teaspoon) or a gelatine sheet (2 g) or 1.5 g of xanthan gum can be added to the cream. After mixing, pour the liquid onto a 35 × 30 cm baking tray covered with plastic film to make it easier to remove from the mould. Once cold and set, place the jellied cream on the biscuit.

Course of the recipe:

Preparation of the biscuit roll:

Cover a 40 × 30 cm baking tray with baking paper with edges about 1 cm high. All papers have two different sides: one rough and one smooth. The dough is poured on the rough side of the paper, the smooth side is placed against the baking tray.

In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder. In a large glass, pour in the milk and oil, and mix well for about 1 minute.

Pour the 5 egg whites, salt and between 50 and 70 g of sugar into a bowl, depending on the sugar content of the filling (e.g., 50 g of sugar with jam or spread). Whisk with an electric mixer at very high speed for between 1.5 and 3 minutes, depending on the power of the appliance. The egg whites should not be firm, but should remain soft (egg whites should form a bird's beak when the whisk is lifted).

In another bowl, add the 5 egg yolks and 50 g of sugar. Whisk with an electric mixer at very high speed for 3 to 5 minutes while pouring in the milk and oil mixture very slowly to create an emulsion, like a mayonnaise. The mixture should whiten and thicken slightly.

Pour all the egg yolks over the whites and fold in without breaking the foam: plunge the spoon or rubber spatula from the rim towards the bottom of the bowl, bring it to the surface in the centre of the bowl, turn the spoon over to empty it and turn the bowl a 1/4 of a turn to gently cover the whites with dough. At least 50 turns of spoon are necessary to obtain a smooth dough.

Mixing with a spatula

Take a sieve over the bowl and pour 1/4 flour and baking powder into the dough, then mix with the same technique until completely incorporated without lumps. At least 20 spoon turns must be made before adding the remaining flour.

Baking the dough:

Preheat the oven to 190° in convection mode or 170° in fan-assisted mode. Spread the dough all over the baking tray, measuring 40 × 30 cm.

Bake on level 2 of the oven, 1/4 from the bottom, for 20 minutes, to be adapted according to the oven. The biscuit will be golden brown on the outside (rather light brown), blond and frothy on the inside.

Preparation of the whipped cream (choice #2):

In a mixing bowl, pour the very cold cream, the very cold mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla. The cold temperature of the cream and mascarpone is important for successful expansion. Whip with an electric mixer, gradually increasing the speed until firm whipped cream is obtained.

Or preparation of the butter cream (choice #3):

In a saucepan, boil the water and sugar over high heat between 7 to 8/10. When the syrup reaches 110°, whisk the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed. As soon as the syrup reaches 121°, gently pour it over the foamy egg whites, still beating at medium speed, then beat at maximum speed until the heat in the bowl returns to room temperature (about 3 to 5 minutes). Then add the soft butter a little at a time and the flavour for 3 minutes until you have a smooth meringue. If the cream becomes grainy, continue whisking until smooth, but it will be heavier.

Rolling the biscuit:

After baking, take the biscuit out of the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Place the smooth side of a sheet of baking paper on top of the biscuit (it should not stick to the biscuit, you must roll it up immediately because if you leave it too long, the moisture will stick the crust to the paper), place another tray on top and turn it over, then unmould the biscuit. Generally, the baking paper will have adhered to the crust of the biscuit. When you remove the paper, the crust will come off the biscuit, leaving a nice blond-coloured side. If necessary, remove the remaining crust by scraping with a knife. It is on this surface that the filling will be spread to soak the biscuit.

Demoulding

1- Scraping with a knife. 2- Cutting of the end edge at 45°

You can roll the biscuit on the width of 30 cm (as in the photo to give 1 1/2 turns) or on the length of 40 cm (classic method with only one turn). To make rolling easier, choose which edge will be the one that closes the biscuit when it is placed on the dish. With a knife, cut this edge obliquely at a 45° angle. For the opposite edge, the one that will start the rolling process, cut this edge at an inverse angle of -45°. Still on this side, make 3 cuts across the entire width of the biscuit, 3 mm deep and 1 cm apart. These cuts will make it easier to start rolling.

For a jam, jelly or spread filling, coat the still warm biscuit over the entire surface, leaving 5 cm bare on the side of the edge that closes the biscuit, then roll up and let cool down in the baking paper. For a whipped cream topping, spread the cream over the cold biscuit over the entire surface, leaving 7 cm bare on the side of the edge that closes the biscuit, cover with fruit and roll up. Use the baking paper to roll up the biscuit, tighten it from edge to edge at the very beginning so that it keeps its round shape. Cut off both ends of the cake for a clean finish.

Trim edges at 45° and -45°. 3 grooves to start rolling

Jam filling

The cake will be better the next day because the filling will have soaked the biscuit with its moisture. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least 5 days. It can be kept for 1 month in the freezer as long as the cream and filling can support it.

Christmas log:

This rolled cake recipe makes an excellent Christmas log starter with, for example, a praline-coffee log.

Make the praline according to my recipe from chocolate-hazelnut spread with 75 g hazelnuts, 75 g sugar and 3 g salt. Make the rolled biscuit and cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. In the meantime, make the custard cream according to my recipe of streusel cake with ×1.5 the quantity without the flavours, add 2 sheets of gelatine (4 to 5 g) or 2 g of Agar agar, add the praline at the end.

Spread the cream on the biscuit, cover with plastic film, place in the fridge for a few hours to freeze the cream and roll the cake. For the topping, make half the Italian meringue butter cream with coffee (4 g [3/4 teaspoon] water + 4 g [2 rounded teaspoons] of soluble coffee). Spread the cream on the outer surface of the cooled cake and store in the refrigerator. Take it out 30 minutes before serving. Back to text ↩