Just when you think everything is done, you can relax and take a deep breath, the unexpected happens….sigh Can you say stomach virus from hell……..believe me I could elaborate but its really for the best that I don’t! All I can say is that sleeping all day is not all its cracked up to be, especially when you finally get up, looking at or even thinking about food is the last thing on your mind. Luckily I did make this delightful treat prior to getting sick, and was able to enjoy a few slices before the worst set in.
Fresh local strawberries are plentiful, and while I do enjoy Driscolls and California berries, there is a lot to be said for those sweet local berries that New Jersey produces. I know it’s probably the same where ever you are, there is just something special about locally grown produce, perhaps it’s not quite as perfect as some of the hybrids we enjoy off season, but everything grown locally seems to have an abundance of flavors. Even a Texan like myself has learned to love so many of the treasures that New Jersey produces, I mean comon’ it is the Garden State!
I have been dreaming about Strawberry Shortcake for some time now, and after my quick adjustment last week when my strawberries were not usable, I still had that yearning for that sweet strawberry classic. And while there is nothing wrong with the classic version, I felt the need to change it up a bit, I mean were food bloggers and that’s what we do, right?
Not being a trained baker, I have shied away from making any type of cake rolls most of my life, but when my students asked to make a pumpkin roll last year, I finally had to give it a try. The roll itself is really not that difficult, it does have it challenges, but nothing to stop you from trying, I think the most difficult part is finding a recipe that will work for you, because if the cake isn’t good, you can forget about getting it to roll properly.
I went through quite a few of my cookbooks, and looked on line, but in the end I decided to place my trust on the recipe from James Peterson’s Baking. If you’ve never seen that book, I highly recommend it, especially if you need help with your baking skills like I do, it’s a great resource to have, and I need to start spending more time refining my skills making more of his recipes! Mr. Patterson gives you quite a few choices in the sponge cake section, and I settled on a basic Moist Sponge Cake, that was said to have all the texture and flavor of a Genoise, without any of the dryness. I can tell you that it did not disappoint, and I plan on using this recipe for layer cakes in future, the cake was light and airy and very flavorful!
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk (or heavy cream, I used whole milk)
- 3 tablespoons (45gm) unsalted butter
- 3 whole eggs, warmed*
- 3 egg yolks, warmed*
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (175 gm) sugar
- ¾ cup (85 gm) cake flour *
- 2 cups (500 ml)heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup (50 gm) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (15 ml) vanilla
- 16 ounces (450 gm) fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup (50 gm) sugar
- ¼ cup (30gm) confectioners sugar (for dusting)
- preheat the oven to 400 (204 C) degrees
- Line a 13 x 17 inch pan with parchment paper
- combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a small pan and heat just enough to melt the butter, set aside
- With your stand mixer, whip the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar on high speed for 5-7 minutes or until it forms wide bands of ribbons when the beater is lifted out.
- Gently transfer the egg mixture to a bowl large enough to make folding in the other ingredients easy.
- Pour in the butter/milk mixture down the side of the bowl and fold this into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula.
- Sift the flour over the egg mixture, doing this in three batches. After sifting, gently begin to fold the flour into the mixture. (the flour will settle on the bottom, fold more than you think you should, I still wound up with little flour balls in my cake)
- Continue sifting in the flour in the three batches until it has all been folded in. (don’t forget to check the bottom of the bowl for more flour)
- Pour the mixture into the lined sheet pan and using an offset spatula smooth out the mixture evenly. Use your finger to run down the insides of the pan creating a momentary separation of the cake from the pan.
- Place on center rack in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a clean piece of parchment that has been dusted with 10x sugar. (do this quickly so it does not tear)
- Gently peal off the parchment from the bottom of the cake (use a metal spatula if it is hard to remove)
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then slice
- add sugar to berries and allow to sit until needed
- add whipping cream to your mixing bowl and starting on a lower speed begin to whip your cream, add in the sugar and vanilla.
- gradually increase the speed of the mixer, and continue whipping the cream until it is fully set.
- Spread a nice layer of whipped cream onto the cake, spreading evenly to the ends of the sides, but leaving 1 inch on either end (short sides)
- place your sliced strawberries on top of the whip cream. spreading them evenly.
- begin rolling your cake using the parchment to hold it with, rolling it gently but firmly along, trying to keep it as tight as possible without having whipped cream come out of the sides.
- Continue rolling until it has completely rolled up
- Redust the parchment the cake is still on and turning the cake facing the long side of the parchment and roll it up as tightly as possible without losing cream out the ends, twisting the ends of the paper like taffy.
- (I rolled my cake in an additional piece of parchment, to make sure it was secure)
- Place your rolled and sealed cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up, I left mine in overnight and it was fine.
- Before serving, trim the ends so they are even and dust with confectioners sugar.
Thank you for stopping by today, I’m so happy to see you and to finally be feeling better! I do hope you give my Strawberry Shortcake Roll a try, it is quite impressive in this form and was so light and delicious…..just make sure you have enough to share, because everyone will be coming back for seconds!
I hope you are already getting better. My best wishes!
I haven’t made shortcake roll in a while. Thanks for the reminder. Yours looks wonderful!
Hope you’re feeling better, Chef! Beautiful Roulade, I love that it’s bursting with berries!
What a unique idea! Reminds me of the strawberry snack cakes we ate as kids. This must be the grown up version!
Love this roulade….it looks gorgeous! I can’t wait to try it….I’ve made my share of rouladen in the years and still looking for the “perfect” cake
Fantastic way to deliver a shortcake, I recently made one of these and was not disappointed! Very hard to stop eating at 1 slice though
Nice job Chef..
Looks so lovely with these fresh strawberries..
I do so hope you are doing much better.
This sounds and looks divine!
Yum! I love strawberry shortcake. I applaud your ambition to make a roll. Complicated baking terrifies me.
it really was easier than it looks, I was surprised it came out on the first attempt, and I was even rushed when I made it.
Looks yum, i’m seeing a lot of strawberry shortcake recently, i’ll have to give it a go!
YUM! This looks amazing! I’ve always been a bit intimidated by roll cakes but I really have to give it a shot, this looks incredible! Would so fun to have on the 4th next week
it really was easier than it looks, finding a good cake recipe is the key!
Oh Dennis! This is fantastic!! What a great way to change up the standard strawberry shortcake. Perhaps I could add blueberries to this and make it for the 4th!
i had actually thought about using raspberries and blackberries too, trying for stripes of different berries, but even just adding blueberries would liven it up!
I’m so sorry to hear about your virus from hell. I sure do hope you are feeling better. This cake looks divine, and I wouldn’t mind dunking my finger into that cream filling and taking a taste.
Wow, this looks good! I love roll cakes, especially the ones filled with lemon curd but this would have to be a close second. I’m also not the most accomplished baker and roll cakes intimidate me. This is so tempting, though, that I may have to reconsider one of these days soon. Feel better, Dennis!
thanks Anita! It really was easier than it sounds, give it a try, I felt the same way until just recently, now I see its not as hard as it seems!
This is such a good idea! Wow, I love this so much, it looks SO good
This looks lovely, nice and moist and airy. Too complicated for me. I had enough trouble with the muffins. I ‘ll enjoy looking at yours. I did bake bread today though and it turned out rather well. Hope you are feeling better.
do you ever use coconut oil? I’m starting to use that in some of my recipes
Hi Dennis, I am new on here and saw your comment. I just ordered a gallon of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil yesterday which I have never ever used coconut oil before but through looking at some recipes and others saying how good it is plus after a little research I decided if I was going to do this I might as well go big…..I mean a gallon plus it’s not cheap. I sure hope it is good and at least good for me! Hope to see your recipes with this ingredient. Just started following you on FB and like what I see! Thanks, Dottie
Hi Dottie
thanks for stopping by and for letting me know about your coconut oil, I hear so many great things about it, I can’t wait to start working with it, hopefully my order will be here in the next few days. It’s going to be all new to me using it, and I’m excited to see how I can incorporate it into my creations, although I may need to ask you for some help when I run into problems with it.
I look forward to sharing with you!
Dennis
I like the adaptation to the classic dessert!
This looks scrumptious! Sorry to hear you haven’t been feeling well!
Fluffy cake + fresh whipped cream + strawberries = heaven! I just pinned this.
I’m always a fan of a lighter cake as opposed to a more dense one. This shortcake roll looks amazing Dennis =)
Thanks Peggy it was an exceptional cake!
Why does the combination of whipped cream and strawberries taste so Perfect? If only I wasn’t allergic to them, I’d be eating strawberries right now.
Anyone know other fruits that taste good with whipped cream? Possibly kiwi?
Cassandra, all the stone fruits would be great with whipped cream, peaches especially, and any of the berries (as long as your not allergic).
This looks amazing Dennis. I love the idea of doing it in a roll. I might have to try this with rainier cherries.
This is so pretty! I always get a little nervous with rolls like this.
I hope you are feeling better!
I’m going to have to try this one! Every time I have tried a roulade, it hasn’t turned out so good. I’m trying this one, especially now when the native strawberries are out. Yummy!
this sounds fantastic! i’ve never tried a roll before, but i’m inspired to try now – this just sounds perfect for summer
This is perfect. I used to make this at the bakery I worked out in Bryn Mawr, PA. It was so delicious and very popular. The last time I had a bite was way back for my graduation garden party.
I’ve always been so scared of making cake rolls too, but you have inspired me to try by making it look so easy! Glad you’re feeling better and hope the rest of the summer is a bit more peaceful for you.
This looks so fantastic. I am going to add it to my Mouth Water Mondays post tomorrow and would love it if you popped over to see. Come on over to http://www.noshingwiththenolands.com Cheers, Tara
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE rolled cakes. I am making this Saturday. My favorite part is having to trim the ends to make it pretty, and what do you do with the end pieces? Hmmmmm . . . Thank you for sharing this delicious-looking strawberry cake roll. Strawberries and cake, my two favorites.