This soft, fluffy, lightly sweet cream roll makes any cup of coffee special. I remember when someone brought a box of pastries from the Chinese bakery we thought we were special. Each slice was nestled in its own paper liner. So simple yet the cream made it extra special.
I never really thought about it until recently but a lot of the pastries in Asian bakeries are kind of monotonous in color, brown, yellow or white. Unless you were looking in the cake display everything was some shade of brown. I didn't care because I knew how yummy each one was and all the delicious fillings hidden inside. The colorful fruit cakes were for special occasions like birthdays but everything else was for everyday and anytime!
Although not really colorful this cream roll was special when it appeared in a Chinese pastry box. I make this roll cake and keep a log in the freezer so we could whip it out and cut a slice for a quick dessert or to satisfy a sweet tooth craving.
Cream Roll
Ingredients (make 1 roll)
Roll Cake
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
7 egg yolks
3/4 cup cold water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Whipped Cream
2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a 13"x18" sheet tray with parchment paper.
Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into sifter. Sift into large mixing bowl. Make a well; add oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla, to the well. Beat with a whisk until smooth and light. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until very stiff. Pour the egg yolk mixture gradually over egg whites, folding in with rubber spatula. Fold gently until evenly mixed and no white lumps.
Pour batter into a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Fill the tray no more than 3/4" high. You may have a little extra left which you can put into cupcake liners or just add it to your roll cake and it'll be extra thick.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. When the roll is just cool enough to handle, lift it out by the parchment paper and transfer to a work surface. Carefully roll the cake along the LONG side and use something to keep the roll in this position until fully cooled. You can use a rubber band or crimp the edges of the parchment or prop it between something heavy.
**NOTE** In my video and photos, I made a half sized (13"x9") cake because I was making the cream roll and jelly cream roll at the same time. I used a sheet tray but had 2 separate pieces of parchment paper folding up where the 2 met to keep the batters separate. When you see the roll being rolled, it looks like I'm rolling the short end but I'm really rolling half of the sheet tray width of the long side. If you make a full sheet tray, make sure to roll from the 18" long side or the roll won't go around enough to make a nice spiral.
While the roll is cooling, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl of a mixer. Start slowly on stir then gradually raise the speed. After about 30 seconds to a minute, when the cream is frothy, sprinkle in the sugar and whip on high until you get stable peaks. Do not overwhip. Set aside in the refrigerator until needed.
When the roll is fully cool, gently unroll and spread the whipped cream over the entire inside surface. A 3/8"-1/2" layer should be plenty. Carefully roll the cake back up, wrap and secure and let rest in refrigerator for one hour before serving. Slice and enjoy!
For variations: instead of using water, try adding the equivalent amount of your favorite tea or coffee instead for a infused cream roll. You can also vary the cream by adding a puree or making a double layer, a thin layer of cream and under a thin layer of whipped dalgona coffee! Now there's yummy idea!
Comments