The sponge cake roll in the photo above will be on the dessert menu this evening at our Seder. The recipe for the cake roll is from a little paperback book called You Don’t Have To Be Jewish To Be A Good Cook Book by Lois Levine and Karthryn Winer published in 1971.
The recipe is for a jelly roll, but any number of fillings would be great. I adapted it to be the base of a cake roll filled with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. The cake itself is flavored with some lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
The key to a successful cake roll I’ve found is rolling it while still warm in a large tea towel sprinkled with some powdered sugar to avoid sticking. Then set it aside to completely cool before unrolling it to add the filling.
When rerolling it I’ve found that sometimes it helps to gently pull the towel away from the cake rather then simply trying to roll the cake away from the towel. Make sense?
Anyway, as with so many desserts I have written about practice makes perfect, and don’t let your fear prevent you from trying new things. It’s amazng how much you can hide with a little powdered sugar or whipped cream or frosting.
Also remember that it doesn’t have to always look good to taste good. Here’s the recipe…
Passover Sponge Cake Roll With Strawberries and Cream
(adapted from a recipe for a Passover Jelly Roll from You Don’t Have To Be Jewish To Be A Good Cook Book, Lois Levine and Kathryn Winer)
½ cups sifted Passover matzoh cake meal
½ cup potato starch
6 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons cold water
½ teaspoon salt
½- ¾ cup whipping cream, whipped (sweeten the cream with a little confectioners sugar while whipping, to your taste.)
1-2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 cup sliced strawberries, sweetened with 1 tablespoon sugar and allowed to sit to macerate at room temperature.
Line a 10 by 15 inch jelly roll or rimmed baking sheet with greased parchment paper.
Sift together cake meal and potato starch, and set aside.
With an electric mixer,beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and lemon colored. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and water.
Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring to make a thick batter.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Very gently fold the whites into the batter.
Turn into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and invert onto a lightly sugared tea towel (I use confectioners sugar).
Gently remove the parchment paper. Beginning with the shorter side, gently, but firmly, roll up with the towel and set aside on a rack to cool completely.
Unroll carefully when cool, and spread with the sweetened whipped cream and strawberries. Do not bring the filling all the way to the edges. It will spread out as you roll.
Re-roll carefully and gently roll it onto a serving plate, trying to place the edge down on the plate. Sometimes it helps to have an extra set of hands at this point. Just ask my husband how many times he has been called into cake roll placing duty!
Dust with confectioners sugar and garnish with whole strawberries and slices of lemon.
Happy Passover!