A simple vanilla roll cake with red and green dots and spirals of creamy buttercream is the perfect dessert for Christmas parties.
This spiral cake has always caught my attention. Although it carries different names depending from country to country, I find roll cakes prettier than a layer cake. Plus, not to mention they are so much easier to make. My love for roll cake grew with every roulade (that’s how we call it in Romania) my mom made, mostly around the holidays.
Last year I made a gingerbread roll cake and few weeks ago I made a pumpkin roll cake. I wanted to make a new one for this Christmasbut I wasn’t sure what flavor to pick until I found the red & green batter bits. I knew right then I wanted a simple vanilla cake filled with creamy buttercream with lots and lots of Christmas sprinkles.
If you’ve never made a roll cake, it’s time to change that. You should not be afraid, just follow few simple steps and in no time you’ll have the most beautiful swirl cake.The secret to roll cakes is beating the egg yolks until light yellow and thickened. That should take around 3 minutes on high-speed or around 5 on medium speed.
Tips for perfect roll cakes every single time!
The secret to the creamy buttercream is to whip the butter first before adding the powder sugar to it and whip on medium speed for 2 minutes once all the sugar is incorporated. Doing so, you’ll have a light buttercream way better than the store-bought ones.
In a mixing bowl add the 2 eggs, 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on medium to high speed around 5 minutes until pale in color and thickened. Add the vanilla extract and beat few more seconds.
Sift the flour and the cornstarch over the egg yolks mixture and with a spatula gently fold it in.
Fold in the batter bits as well.
In a separate grease-free bowl, add the 2 egg whites and 1 tablespoon of sugar. With a whisk, whip until firm peaks form.
With the spatula, fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolks mixture.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, spread it evenly and bake for 6-7 minutes until golden brown and, when touched, it springs back.
As soon as you remove the cake from the oven sprinkle with powder sugar and then invert the cake onto a clean dish towel. Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle with more powder sugar, and roll up the cake with the towel. Place on a wire rack to cool
Vanilla buttercream
In a clean bowl add the butter. With the whisk attached on to the the mixer whip the butter for 2-3 minutes on medium to high speed.
Lower the speed and slowly add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
When all the sugar is incorporated increase the speed and whip for 2 more minutes.
Add few drops of heavy cream until it reaches the consistency you desire.
With a spatula fold in the sprinkles.
Gently unroll the cake and spread the buttercream evenly all over it.
Roll it again and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
To decorate, melt the white chocolate in double boiler or microwave and pour it over the cake. Add Add more sprinkles (optional)
Let the chocolate settle for few minutes and slice the cake.
Notes
If you can't find the batter bits, you can use Christmas edible confetti instead. They will not bleed while baking the cake.
Roxana Yawgel http://atreatsaffair.com/ All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
The Christmas Cake originally was called the Twelfth Cake and would have more traditionally been served at parties on the Twelfth Night ending the 12 days of Christmas on the 5th of January. And these cakes started as enriched fruit cakes, something more akin to an Italian Panettone.
Fruited Christmas Cakes are traditionally covered with marzipan followed by a layer of white icing. You may wish to Feed and Store your Christmas Cake before adding the icing layers. Traditionally the white layer would be royal icing although you could use vegan royal icing or shop bought fondant icing.
To cover in ready-to-roll icing start by dusting the work surface and rolling pin again with icing sugar. Take some ready-to-roll icing, which has been kneaded to make it more pliable and dust that with icing sugar too. Repeat the same rolling process used for the marzipan until the icing is about 1/2cm thick.
Score a line along the bottom of the sponge, approximately 2.5cm away from the edge. Don't cut all the way through. Using the line scored, roll the sponge up tightly and leave to cool completely. When the sponge is cool, unroll it gently.
Some say you should make your Christmas cake 6 weeks before eating, but the advice given on Nigella.com is that 12 weeks before is the optimum time to get baking. Your Christmas cake should be fed every 4 to 6 weeks but in the meantime, after baking, it should be stored away in a secure, air tight container.
Occasion: Christmas cakes are specifically made for the Christmas holiday and are often decorated elaborately with festive designs, icing, and marzipan. Fruit cakes, on the other hand, can be enjoyed throughout the year and are not necessarily associated with any particular holiday.
The videos below give great tips on how to trim it neatly and create the perfect base for icing your Christmas cake. Leave the Christmas cake covered in marzipan in a cool, dry place. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with fondant icing, and at least two days before covering with royal icing.
If you are making the cake more than 3 months in advance then you will need to "feed" it occasionally to help it to stay moist. Feeding involves brushing the surface of the cake with a couple of tablespoons of alcohol (brandy, whisky or bourbon are the most popular choices).
The surface of the cake is usually brushed with apricot jam before the marzipan is added, to give a slighty tacky surface that the marzipan can stick to. If you can't find apricot jam then marmalade is a good alternative.
It is a soft icing that dries so it is often better to just put it on the top of your cake. I used a long length of liquorice around mine but the decorating is up to you. You can leave the sides free of icing.
This happens when you are not gentle enough when folding the dry ingredients into the wet. A genoise sponge requires very gentle and slow folding. You need to preserve as much air in the batter as possible, otherwise it can become rubbery.
A Swiss roll, jelly roll (United States), roll cake, cream roll, roulade or Swiss log is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, icing, or any type of filling.
The cake was over-baked: If over-baked the cake will be a lot drier and more prone to cracks. A crack in your roll can cause the swiss roll to fall apart.
It was around this time that the custom of cooking and eating a special porridge on Christmas Eve started. This porridge is supposed to have consisted of oats, dried fruits, spices, honey, and even meat (not always, though), and would over the centuries be transformed into what we know as the plum cake today.
Starting off with Italy's most well known Christmas treat, Panettone is a cross between a cake and sweet bread and is filled with almonds and dried fruit. Originally invented in Milan in the 15th century and served at feasts due to its hard-to-procure ingredients.
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
Save Recipe