When I was a child, I was drawn like a magnet to our tiny kitchen, where I would often find my mother busily making delicious dinners and mouthwatering desserts.
She would usually try to shoo me away, but I was stubborn, and in the end she would permit me to stay. By the age of six, I’d prepared my first cake. It came out so lovely and tall. When I was done, I stood back and could not believe I’d actually accomplished this feat. And to her credit, my mother would never tell others how much she’d actually helped me.
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For me, baking is like an act of magic. It still seems incredible to me that you can take such basic ingredients and end up with a sweet creation.
I’ve read thousands of recipes over the years. Just a few weeks ago, I was searching for inspiration for what kind of cake to prepare for Shabbat. As I was flipping through the pages of Cake of the Week, a cookbook I’d published in 1992, I came across a recipe for a cream cake roll.
And that immediately brought back a memory from my childhood, when I’d prepared a delicate vanilla cream cake roll. I remember so clearly how the sweet, light-yellow cream covered the cake, topped with powdered sugar. And on special occasions, we’d garnish cream cake rolls with delicate pieces of chocolate.
It’s amazing how quickly tasting a certain flavor can bring up memories from our childhood, whether it be a taste of orange cake, anisette cookies, vanilla tarte or chocolate cake. In my experience, the best way to improve your baking skills is by first learning to prepare simple cakes. Once we’ve developed a certain competence, then the sky is the limit, and you can start creating more complex desserts and improvise. Everything we’ve done in the past helps us move forward in the future.
To this end, I chose to bring you this week recipes for cream cake rolls like the ones I used to make when I was young. It is very easy to bake the cake that forms the base, but you do need to pay special attention and whip the egg whites to the proper consistency and firmness. You can add a little cocoa powder to the vanilla cream to give it a light brown tinge, or add a little bit of instant coffee. And there is a variety of different types of cream that you can use, depending on the occasion.
Chocolate Cream Cake Roll
Use a 25cm x 30cm pan.
Batter:
- 6 eggs, separated
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 packet vanilla sugar or 1-2 drops of rum extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 Tbsp. oil
- ½ cup flour, sifted
- 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Cream:
- 1 container (250 ml.) sweet whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 1 packet vanilla pudding powder
- 1 cup (240 ml.) milk
Jam layer:
- ½ cup apricot jam, diluted with 2-3 Tbsp. warm water
Ganache:
- 1 cup sweet whipping cream
- 100 gr. bittersweet chocolate
- 1 tsp. oil or glucose
Topping:
- 50 gr. bittersweet chocolate
- 50 gr. white chocolate
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
To prepare the batter: Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and whip on high. While mixing, add the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt. Continue whipping the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold in the egg yolks, oil, flour, cocoa and cornstarch. Mix gently until smooth.
Line a pan with baking paper and grease it well. Transfer the batter to the pan and flatten. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180° for 8-10 minutes until it turns golden brown and is soft to the touch. Make sure not to overbake it.
Remove from the oven. Use a towel to roll up the cake with the baking paper. Place on a wire rack to cool.
To prepare the cream: Add the whipping cream, powdered sugar, milk and pudding to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until the cream has thickened.
Unroll the cake after it has cooled down. Spread the diluted jam on the cake, then spread a layer of cream. Roll up the cake, starting with the side closest to you, removing the baking paper and towel as you go along.
To prepare the ganache: Add the cream to a glass bowl and heat in the microwave a few seconds at a time. Add the chocolate and oil and mix until smooth. Place the bowl in the fridge to cool for 15 minutes.
Take out the ganache and spread it evenly on top of the rolled-up cake. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in one bowl, and the white chocolate in a second bowl for a few seconds in the microwave. Transfer the dark chocolate to a small plastic bag, and the white chocolate to a second plastic bag. Cut a small piece off of each corner and squeeze the white and dark chocolates in lines or swirls on top of the cake. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Store in the fridge until serving.
Level of difficulty: MediumTime: 1 hourStatus: Dairy
Vanilla Cream Cake Roll
Use a 25cm x 30cm pan.
Batter:
- 5 eggs, separated
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 packet vanilla sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 Tbsp. oil
- ½ cup flour, sifted
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Cream:
- 1 container (250 ml.) sweet whipping cream
- 1 package vanilla pudding powder
- 1 cup (240 ml.) milk
Topping:
- 3 Tbsp. pistachio cream, chocolate cream, caramel cream or red jam
- ½ cup coconut flakes
- 3-4 strawberries, cut in half
To prepare the batter: Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on high speed. While mixing, add the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Fold in the egg yolks, oil, flour and cornstarch, mixing just until smooth.
Line a pan with baking paper, and grease it well. Transfer the batter to the pan and flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 180°, until it has turned golden brown and is soft to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and roll it up together with the baking paper and a towel. Place it on a wire rack to cool.
To prepare the cream: Add the sweet cream, milk and pudding powder to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until the cream has thickened.
Roll out the cake and spread the cream on top of it, and then a layer of the pistachio cream. Reserve a little bit of the cream to use on top of the cake after it’s rolled up. Roll up the cake, starting with the side closest to you, removing the paper and towel as you go.
Add the rest of the cream on top, and then sprinkle coconut flakes on top and garnish with strawberries. Store in the fridge until serving.
Level of difficulty: Easy-mediumTime: 1 hour Status: Dairy
Translated by Hannah Hochner.