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.
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.
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Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe
Roxana
Yields one roll cake
A simple vanilla roll cake with red and green dots and spirals of creamy buttercream is the perfect dessert for Christmas parties.
15 minPrep Time
7 minCook Time
3 hrTotal Time
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Ingredients
Vanilla Roll Cake
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (30 grams) sifted cake flour
- 3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch
- 1/4 cup red & green Wilton batter bits or edible confetti
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (360 grams) powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp red & green sprinkles
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-3 teaspoons heavy cream
Decorations
- 4 oz white chocolate
- red & green sprinkles
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450F.
- Line a 17X12 jelly/sheet pan with parchment paper . Set aside.
- 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.
7.6.8
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Roxana
FAQs
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.
How to use ready to roll icing on a Christmas cake? ›
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.
What is the trick to making a Swiss roll? ›
To roll, lift up the edge of the sponge (that is opposite to the end with the thin layer of the whipped cream) with the baking paper, and push the top edge of the sponge into the cream to create an initial tight roll, and then using the baking paper, continue to roll the sponge until you reach the end.
Do you roll swiss roll hot or cold? ›
Starting at the shorter edge of the cake, roll the cake and greaseproof paper up together, making sure that it is especially tight at the beginning. It's important that the cake is warm so it can set in the right shape. If it's too cold, it won't roll properly. Once rolled, leave it to cool completely.
What is the oldest Christmas cake? ›
That honor goes to a 4,176-year-old cake that was found in an Egyptian tomb, according to the Guinness organization. It is on display in a food museum in Switzerland.
How long before Christmas should you start making Christmas cake? ›
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.
Does Ready to Roll icing harden? ›
Our answer. Unfortunately rolled fondant icing (ready to roll icing) does dry out once it comes into contact with the air and will not store indefinitely once opened but we have a couple of tips to hopefully keep it usable for 3-4 weeks.
What type of icing is ready to roll? ›
Here in the UK Sugar Paste is often called Fontant Icing, Sugarpaste, or Rolled Icing and these are all exactly the same. Sugar Paste is a sweet tasting, soft, malleable icing which is easy to roll out – it has a lovely consistency, which is rather like Play-Doh.
Can you put ready to roll icing straight on a cake? ›
Smooth over the top of the cake with the palm of your hand, then gently around the top edges of the cake. A cake turntable may help in smoothing the icing around the side of the cake. If you have any pleats, gently pull these out and smooth down with the palm of your hand, one at a time.
Why does my Swiss roll taste rubbery? ›
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.
What is the American name for Swiss roll? ›
A jelly roll is indeed a US name for what we'd call a swiss roll.
How to avoid cracks in Swiss roll? ›
I've learned that many have used this recipe and the successful ones cool it at room temp, and also to watch out not to over-bake the cake. So to you guys who have replied about your own cracked swiss rolls, don't overbake the cake, make sure you pre-roll it warm, and keep it at room temp!
Why does my Swiss roll crack when I roll it up? ›
Why did my swiss roll fall apart?
- The cake was under-baked: The cake will be very moist and difficult to handle. With the whipped cream it may have too much moisture and will fall apart easily.
- The cake was over-baked: If over-baked the cake will be a lot drier and more prone to cracks.
Is this the same as a swiss roll? The main difference between the two cakes is the way the cakes are decorated. The Yule log cake, or buche de noel, is made to look like the logs burned on Christmas eve, whereas the exterior of a swiss roll is decorated much more simply, such as with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
What is the cake people eat on Christmas? ›
Christmas cakes are made many different ways, but generally they are variations on classic fruitcake. They can be light, dark, moist, dry, heavy, spongy, leavened, unleavened, etc. They are made in many different shapes, with frosting, glazing, a dusting of confectioner's sugar or plain.
Is the Christmas cake called plum cake? ›
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.
Is Christmas cake and fruitcake the same thing? ›
Christmas cake and fruitcake often refer to the same thing: a cake with lots of candied dried fruits in them, a spicy-sweet flavor profile, and the presence of an alcohol such as rum.
What is the epiphany cake called? ›
A king cake, also known as a three kings cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany.
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