Vanilla Cake Roll with Raspberry Mascarpone Cream

Cake rolls are adaptable little things.  Aside from the obvious egg, flour and sugar trio, it can be filled with whatever your heart desire (or what's available in your pantry!)  - jams, nut butters, creams, cream cheeses, fruits and whatever else in between.  Cake rolls are easy to put together with almost no prep work.  Just the thing to make on a whim!  Or in my case, just the thing to make when there's no bread for breakfast tomorrow.  Let us eat cake!



I've flavored my sponge cake with vanilla, but feel free to change it up. 
~For a more refreshing taste, substitute with 1 teaspoon of orange zest or lemon zest.
~For the caffeine addict, substitute with 1 teaspoon of espresso powder mixed with 1 teaspoon hot water
~For the chocoholic, keep the vanilla but add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and sift it in with the flour.  Subtract 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent a too-dry batter


A few filling inspirations:
~Fresh whipped cream with diced fruit
~Fruit jams and jellies
~Nutella!
~Almond butter or other nut butter (you can also mix the nut butter with whipped cream for an airier texture

Vanilla Cake Roll with Raspberry Mascarpone Cream

~makes one 10-inch roll
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
90g all-purpose flour


250ml heavy cream
250ml mascarpone cream cheese
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 tablespoons raspberry jam




First, prepare the baking sheet.  Line a 10X15 baking sheet with parchment paper.  Fold up each corner to create a "rim".  Preheat oven to 170C.

Place the egg whites with the salt in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric hand mixer at medium speed.  When it starts to become white and foamy, gradually add in sugar.  Continue to beat until soft peaks stage (When you stop the mixer an pull up, the whites should just bend and curl a little over itself.)

Place the egg yolks with the powdered sugar, and beat on medium speed with hand mixer with thickened and color is a very pale yellow, about 2 minutes.  Add vanilla extract and beat again until combined.

Sift half of the flour into the yolks mixture, mix by hand with a rubber spatula until incorporated.  Gently fold in half of the egg whites, followed by the rest of the flour.  Finally, very gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Gently pour the batter onto prepared baking sheet.  Smooth with spatula to ensure that the batter is evenly distributed.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown and it springs when pressed.  You can also test doneness with a toothpick,  The toothpick should can out dry without traces of batter.

This is important - IMMEDIATELY remove from oven and turn upside down on a wire rack.  Quickly but carefully remove the parchment, lay the parchment on top of the cake, and invert.  The cake should sitting on top of the paper.  Like a sushi roll, gather the short side of the cake and roll the cake with the parchment paper into a roll.  Let rest on wire rack until completely cooled.

(I wish I had taken more pictures of the process, but time was of the essence here...if the cake cools too long, it cannot be rolled without cracking!)

In the mean time, prepare the filling.  In a medium sized bowl, beat heavy cream with a hand mixer on low speed.  When the cream starts to thicken, add in mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar.  Continue beating on low speed until mixture is stiff.  Add raspberry jam and mix well.

When the cake is cooled, unroll the cake and spread filling in an even layer. 

Re-roll the cake without the parchment and wrap tightly in plastic film.  Let rest if fridge for at least one hour.

When ready to serve, slice cake into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife.  Saw in a back and forth motion, avoid pressing down too hard on the cake!

Store in airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.