happy fourth of july!
this national holiday ranks up there on my list of favorites. how can you not love a day of outdoor fun, patriotism, cold watermelon, drippy ice cream, family & friends, bathing suits, citronella candles, and twilight fireworks.
and of course, the festive food…
i’ve always been terrified of making a cake roll. i remember distinctively back when i worked in the oxmoor house test kitchen, my co-worker, julie, tested this buche de noel for christmas with southern living. i was grateful that recipe didn’t end up in my pile to test, thinking it would have been quite a challenge.
but this week i saw this gluten-free flourless chocolate toffee roll by carol kicinski. holy moses. it looks delicious! and it reminded me of this lovely decorated cake roll i’d seen a few months ago, by the novice housewife. it was love at first sight with that cake. so very cool and lovely. and her video made it seem so totally doable. so i did.
to my pleasant surprise, this cake was super easy. now i’m not sure what i was so intimidated by for all of these years. and you can do it too. i promise it looks much more impressive than it truly is.
this recipe is a sponge cake, so it tastes kind of like angel food cake topped with whipped cream and berries. and given the whole red, white, & blue motif of the stars and the berries, you couldn’t ask for a better july 4th dessert!
i’ll confess i’m having struggles with my oven. hoping the sears man fixes it for me soon, but in the meantime i’m having to do my best with it. the darker spots on the cake, i believe, are a result of said faulty oven. hopefully yours turns out prettier. and i wanted to let you see how it looked with and without a sprinkling of powdered sugar. really, though, the only thing i missed were some crackling lit sparklers!
i loved this cake. it was really fun to make. and the design possibilities are limitless! expect to see more rolled cakes in the future…
Star Cake Roll
Ingredients
For stars:
- 1 egg white
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons kumquat's gluten-free all-purpose flour or other gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- Food colorings red and blue
For cake:
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 6 drops yellow food coloring
- 1 cup kumquat's gluten-free all-purpose flour or other gluten-free all-purpose flour
- [if using kumquat's flour or other flour blend without xanthan gum please add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. I tested with Cup for Cup (sold by Williams-Sonoma) which includes xanthan gum in the blend.]
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon water
For filling:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup halved blueberries
- 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
Instructions
- Spray a 17- x 11-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. Place template under parchment on one side of the pan.
- To make stars, beat egg white with a fork until frothy. Add sugar and flour; beat with fork to incorporate. Add butter and mix well with fork to form a paste. Divide batter and add colorings to achieve desired colors. Transfer batters to piping bags or zip-top bags fitted with a piping tip. Pipe stars onto parchment, using template as a guide. Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes, at least.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°.
- In a stand mixer, beat eggs for 5 minutes using the whisk attachment. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat 5 minutes, or until egg mixture is pale yellow. Mix in vanilla and yellow food coloring.
- In another bowl, combine flour, (xanthan gum, if using) and baking powder. Fold flour mixture into egg mixture, being careful not to deflate batter. Fold in water.
- Remove jellyroll pan from freezer. Remove template from pan. Pour batter over patter and remaining pan. Spread batter evenly over pan with a spatula. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes, being careful not to overbake, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
- Once you remove cake from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar and place another piece of parchment on top of sugar. Top with another jellyroll pan and flip cake to remove. Pull off parchment from the decorated side, and flip again so that the decorated side is facing down. Roll cake from the side opposite of the decoration. Let sit, rolled, until cake is cool.
- Meanwhile, whip cream and sugar to stiff peaks with an electric mixer.
- When cake is completely cooled, unroll cake, discarding parchment. Spread whipped cream over cake to edges. Top with berries. Roll cake tightly again. Serve immediately or chill.
* recipe is adapted from novice housewife’s recipe. she has a great video tutorial. i highly recommend giving it a watch!
