They are thin sponge cakes that are filled and then rolled and give a pastry chef a wonderful range of creativity. All jelly roll cakes start with the sponge cake and the basic vanilla cake uses eggs it is important the eggs are at room temperature so they whip into a larger volume. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites put the egg yolks in a bowl and the egg whites in a mixing bowl. As you start beating your egg whites add salt, once they reach a nice medium peak stop mixing your whites and set them aside.

Get your egg yolk in a bowl and sift in your icing sugar which will make the sponge cake flexible making them easy to roll. Beat the yolk and icing sugar until pale and thick then add in your vanilla and whisk it in then sift in ¼ cup of cake and pastry flour and use a whisk and just by hand quickly fold in the flour. Use the whip attachment so as not to deflate the egg yolks and egg whites, next, add in your egg whites and fold them in until almost combined and not fully combined.

Now sift in the remaining flour in two stages to keep the air in both the whites and yolks and finally add in the rest of the whites then use the spatula reaching the bottom to the top folding the whites until fully incorporated. Get your jelly roll pan and underline the bottom with parchment paper but do not grease the sides to allow the cake to stick onto. Pour in your batter use the spatula to get all the mixture in and spread it evenly to allow it to rise and bake evenly and roll easily.

Bake it at 350F preheated oven for about 12 minutes, test them by giving them a tap, and if they spring back they are baked all through. The secret of a good jelly roll is to roll it up while warm and let it cool up so that it won’t crack when being rolled again. The first thing you do when you remove it from the oven is scrape the sides and dust the top using icing sugar then take a clean tea towel and put it over the top of the cake and put another jelly pan on top of the cake and overturn it and remove the parchment sugar and dust it with icing sugar then take the tea towel tuck it in and r and let it cool on the cooling rack.

Once cooled unroll it apply raspberry jam on top of it and spread it evenly across the surface using a spatula they roll it up again and dust it with icing sugar then slice and reveal that beautiful interior and enjoy.

Ingredients;

  • 4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
  • ¼ cup icing sugar (32 g), sifted, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
  • ⅒ tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup (96 g) cake and pastry flour
  • ⅔ cup (160 mL) raspberry jam

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of a 15-x-10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
  2. Place the egg yolks and icing sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip until the yolks have doubled in volume and hold a ribbon when the whip is lifted for about 4 minutes. Whip in the vanilla.
  3. In a separate, or cleaned bowl, whip the egg whites with the salt first on low speed until foamy, then increase the speed to high and pour in the granulated sugar, whipping until the whites hold a medium peak.
  4. Sift half of the flour into the yolk mixture and fold in using a whisk, then fold in half of the whipped egg whites.
  5. Repeat with the remaining flour, and then change to a spatula to fold in the last of the whites until evenly incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, taking the time to ensure the batter is level.
  6. Bake the cake for about 12 minutes, until the cake springs back when gently pressed in the centre. Let the cake cool for about 2 minutes on a cooling rack, then loosen the sides with a spatula.
  7. Sift a layer of icing sugar over the surface of the cake and cover with a clean tea towel. Place a second cake pan over the towel and quickly invert the cake, removing the pan it was baked in.
  8. Peel off the parchment paper and dust this surface with icing sugar. Roll the cake up from the 10-inch side with the towel and let it cool completely.
  9. Stir the raspberry jam to soften. Unroll the cake and spread an even layer of jam over the cake. Roll the cake back up again, and dust the top with icing sugar. Cover and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
  10. The cake can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored, wrapped, and unrefrigerated.