A few weeks ago we had a lot of fun with cupcake and cake decorating—I hope you feel more confident with your piping skills now after tackling these two-toned frosting roses! With Mother’s Day approaching and spring in the air (dear allergies, thank you for the reminder spring is here) I figured we all need something fresh, light, airy, and PINK. Let me introduce you to this wonderful vanilla sponge cake filled with homemade strawberry cream cheese frosting… the strawberries ‘n’ cream cake roll!. Intimidated by cake rolls or does sponge cake freak you out? This is your time to be fearless, empowered, and assured. I got you covered today!
It’s similar to angel food cake in that it relies mostly on egg whites for volume. The texture is relative as well—light, airy, and moist. Unlike angel food cake, however, sponge cake includes egg yolks for a little richness and flavor. They’re still worlds lighter than, say, a yellow cake and pound cake because they contain no oil or butter. That’s right—there is no oil or butter in this cake recipe.
Typical sponge cakes don’t use any chemical leavener, but I prefer a little baking powder for extra lift. Additionally, a little buttermilk for moisture and cake flour to keep things extra soft. I’d steer clear of all-purpose flour which will only weigh it down. In a pinch, you can use this homemade cake flour substitute.
The eggs are the most important part of the recipe. Make sure you’re using large eggs (not medium, not extra large) and that the eggs are room temperature. Compared to cold eggs, warmer eggs hold more air and create more volume when whipped. And, like the perm you rocked in the 90s, volume is EVERYTHING. 🙂
You’ll separate the egg whites and yolks. You’ll use both, but at different stages in the mixing process.. Stiff peaks are key. At that point, remove the egg whites from the bowl and set aside. No need to wipe the bowl clean or anything. Then it’s the yolks’ turn. Whip those with a little sugar too, a well as vanilla and buttermilk. I use both vanilla extract and vanilla bean, but you can use just all extract—or even vanilla bean paste. See the recipe note below.
Fold the egg whites back in, then add a sifted mix of cake flour + baking powder + salt. If you don’t have a sifter, now’s the time to pick one up. Sifting flour makes all the difference. If a recipe calls for sifted flour and you skip that step altogether, your baked good will inevitably be heavier and more dense than intended. It’s a must-have tool in any baker’s kitchen!
. It’s creamy and light like whipped cream and that’s because we handled it with care. Do not overmix this batter!
. I can usually help with pan substitutions, but not today. You need a 10×15-inch pan. Good news: the really good ones are relatively inexpensive.
The cake roll only takes about 15 minutes in the oven.
Immediately after baking, invert onto a thin kitchen towel sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. The sugar is used to help prevent the towel from sticking. Peel off the parchment, then roll up in the towel.
What the heck is the point of the towel? To prevent the cake from sticking to itself. And to make rolling the warm cake 100x easier!
But why are we rolling the cake when it’s warm? Rolling the cake up when it’s warm—before adding the strawberry cream filling—is so that it cools in the rolled up shape. That means no cracks, rips, or tears when you go to roll it up again with the filling inside. Does that make sense?
The cream filling is a strawberry cream cheese frosting. It’s sweet and tangy with strong strawberry flavor (natural flavor!) and glides on oh-so-easily. Just like my strawberry buttercream, we’ll use freeze-dried strawberries for the cream filling. We grind them up and add with the confectioners’ sugar. Freeze-dried strawberry powder offers the MOST strawberry flavor without altering the filling’s texture. It’s nearly impossible to replicate this with fresh strawberries. I chose a cream cheese based strawberry filling because it’s a little lighter than the buttercream and pairs perfectly with the sponge cake’s texture. Or if you wish to skip the strawberries, this sponge is wonderful filled with our whipped frosting instead.
Also: it’s a wonderfully thick layer of filling. If you’re a cream filling person (aren’t we all?), this recipe is for you! By the way… it would be fantastic as the filling for my chocolate cake roll, too!
Remember, have fun and don’t stress..
You will love this light and fluffy strawberries 'n' cream cake roll! It's a sponge jelly roll cake with a delicious homemade strawberry cream filling.
