KQ: Day Three
Vanilla Sponge Cake Roll with Strawberries & Blueberries and topped with a Whipped Cream Cheese Icing.
Today’s Kitchen Quarantine Recipe is dedicated to my sister, Billie! It’s her birthday and I wanted some small way to celebrate her even though we can’t be together right now ~ thanks to #HPSocialDistancing. Now, I had planned on making a beautiful three layer traditional birthday cake with a traditional buttercream and cute little rosettes… as it turns out, my sister doesn’t actually like traditional cake. **GASP!** I know! I thought the same thing. But it’s her birthday and I am making this for her so… I went with something not so traditional.
Now, I have always been a little intimidate by a rolled sponge cake. I attempted to make a giant chocolate swiss roll (ya know, like the hostess swiss rolls) a few years back for my Dad one year. It turned out fine then so today is attempt number two! I was searching pinterest for an easy to follow and manageable recipe when I came across this recipe from Life Made Sweeter ! I didn’t change much in the recipe for the cake; however, I didn’t use any powdered sugar or the mascarpone cream filling either.
Due to the state of our local grocery stores, a lot of the items I keep stocked in my kitchen are being purchased at an enormous rate. I have no parchment paper, powdered sugar and I’m even running quite low on heavy cream. That’s three items that would have made today’s recipe a lot easier. But, I made what I had work.
Let’s get started!
Sponge Cake Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 clean tea towel – I used a clean pillow case (I have my reasons)
Whipped Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 oz cream cheese – cubed and brought to room temp
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup Italian Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Duncan Hines Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- Additional berries for garnish
Sponge Cake Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375*F and line a 15x10x1 inch baking sheet with parchment paper (I used aluminum foil). Spray with baking spray or grease and flour and set aside. In a separate area, lay the tea towel out flat (again, I used a pillow case)
Step 2: Beat egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl beat egg yolks and eggs for 2-3 minutes. Add sugar, water, and vanilla and beat an additional minute until fully incorporated. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt and on the lowest setting for your mixer, mix until just combined and then gently fold in the egg whites.
Step 4: Pour into prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 9-12 mins or until the cake is golden or springs back when gently pressed in the center. Keep a close eye on the cake around 7 minutes to be sure it doesn’t overbake.
Step 5: When cake is done, carefully remove from the oven and immediately flip over onto the tea towel. Peel back the parchment paper (or foil) and carefully roll cake with towel. Fasten the ends of the towel to hold and set aside for 1 hour to cool.
Whipped Cream Cheese Icing Instructions
Step 1: Cream sugar and cubed cream cheese together until smooth.
Step 2: Add heavy whipping cream & Italian sweet cream coffee creamer and mix until thickened and smooth.
Step 3: Add vanilla extract and mix, add Cream Cheese Frosting and blend until smooth.
Step 4: Set in fridge until cake is completely cool.
Assemble the Cake
Step 1: Carefully unroll the cake and begin to spread the icing over it. Be sure to make sure it’s spread evenly and not too thick.
Step 2: Lay out the strawberries and blueberries however you like. My daughter especially liked this part.
Step 3: Gently roll cake up again and roll the towel around the cake to firmly hold it in place. Fasten the ends of the towel again and set in freezer for 30-45 mins to set and hold. Return icing to fridge to keep cool.
This was the perfect time for me to snap a few pictures of the kids making their presents for their Aunt ZaZu! They worked so hard on their unicorns. My sister is OBSESSED with unicorns. She’s been collecting them for as long as I can remember. Every year on her birthday, she would be gifted a new unicorn item to add to her collection.
Step 4: Unroll cake from towel and trim the sides. Set on serving platter and set aside.
Step 5: Prepare piping bag; place tip inside the bag and using scissors, score the bag where you want to trim it, slide the tip back and trim the tip of the bag off, push tip through and twist to seal off. Fill bag with a “handful” of icing.
Step 6: Pipe the design of your choice. I chose to pipe across the entire length of the roll. Top with berries and accent with berries on the sides.
Step 7: Return to fridge until serving.
I took this cake to my sister’s house along with the paintings and cards the kids made for her. Since we are practicing safe social distancing, I set the cake and her present on the bench outside her front door and it was retrieved in just a matter of minutes. Her six beautiful children also made her a cake! It’s a chocolate covered strawberry ice cream cake. I’m told it’s a layer of strawberry ice cream sandwiched between two layers of chocolate cake, covered in chocolate buttercream and topped with fresh strawberries! It looks delicious! From the looks of it, she enjoyed her birthday surrounded by her sweet babies!
Y’all I feel so lucky to have this wonderful woman as my sister. She’s got a kind soul, a great big heart, a quirky funny bone that keeps me in stitches, she’s wicked smart, and so very dedicated to her friends and family. This woman would give you the shirt off her back and shoes from her feet in a heartbeat. Her love knows no bounds. I have seen her go above and beyond for all kinds of kinds and never expect anything else in return. Her ideas are BIG and her drive and ambition is even BIGGER! She is going places and I am so happy to be sitting in the passenger seat with her!
But the love of sisters needs no words. It does not depend on memories, or momentos, or proof. It runs as deep as a heartbeat. It is as ever present as a pulse.
Lisa Wingate
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZAZU! <3
#WorkHard #StayHumble #NeverthelessPersist
Share this:
KQ: Day Two
