Eleven items and two hours forty, of which ninety minutes is the filled roll firming up in the fridge.
The sponge is rolled twice: once warm and empty straight from the pan, and again once it is cool and filled.
Why This Recipe Works
- Folding whipped whites into the batter gives a sponge thin enough to curve.
- Rolling it warm teaches the cake the shape it will hold when refilled.
- Cream cheese folded with whipped cream is firm enough to hold sliced fruit.
- Ninety minutes chilled sets the roll so it cuts into clean spirals.
- Brushing sauce on the outside is what makes the crumb coating stick.
Ingredient Notes
- Eggs, separated
- Four. The whites are whipped and folded in separately — that aeration is what makes a sponge thin enough to roll without cracking.
- Cake flour
- Half a cup. Lower in protein than plain flour, which keeps the sponge tender and flexible rather than tough.
- Strawberries, sliced lengthwise
- Eight medium. Lengthwise so they lie in a single line along the roll and appear at the centre of each cut spiral.
- Vanilla wafer crumbs
- One cup, pressed over the outside. The coarse golden coating the finished rounds carry.
How to Make It
Oven to 350°F, a 10x15 jelly-roll pan lined
Heat oven to 350°F and line a 10x15-inch jelly-roll pan.
Whites whipped, yolks beaten with sugar, flour and whites folded in
Whip egg whites to soft peaks; beat yolks with sugar and vanilla, fold in cake flour, then fold in whites to make a thin vanilla sponge.
Baked ten to twelve minutes, rolled warm in parchment, cooled
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until springy, then roll the warm sponge in parchment and cool completely.
Filled with cream and strawberry slices, rolled tightly again
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar and fold in whipped cream; unroll sponge, spread with the cream, and arrange strawberry slices in a line before rolling tightly again.
Chilled ninety minutes, brushed with sauce, rolled in wafer crumbs
Chill the roll at least 90 minutes, brush the outside lightly with strawberry sauce, and press vanilla-wafer crumbs over the exterior.
Cut into twelve rounds, plated sushi-style with a sauce stripe
Slice into 12 spiral rounds and arrange sushi-style with a strawberry-sauce stripe on the plate; garnish with one whole strawberry and mint.
It Looks Like Sushi and It Is Cake All the Way Through
The plating borrows from sushi and that is where the resemblance stops. There is no rice in this and no coconut - the white layer wrapped around each spiral is a thin vanilla sponge. What follows is how a sheet of sponge becomes twelve rounds without cracking.
Stage 1 of 5
The sponge - WHITES whipped and FOLDED, on CAKE FLOUR
Steps 2–2 of 6
4 EGGS SEPARATED. The whites whipped TO SOFT PEAKS; the yolks beaten with 1/2 cup SUGAR and 1 tsp VANILLA; 1/2 cup of CAKE FLOUR folded in, then the whites folded in last. Two decisions make this rollable. CAKE FLOUR has less protein than plain, so the sheet stays tender rather than developing the gluten that makes a sponge snap. And the whites go in as whipped foam FOLDED gently - that air is the entire lift, and beating it in destroys it.
- Whites whipped, yolks beaten with sugar, flour and whites folded inWhip egg whites to soft peaks; beat yolks with sugar and vanilla, fold in cake flour, then fold in whites to make a thin vanilla sponge.
Stage 2 of 5
10 to 12 minutes, and rolled WARM and EMPTY
Steps 3–3 of 6
Baked UNTIL SPRINGY, then ROLLED WARM IN PARCHMENT and COOLED COMPLETELY. This is the step the whole recipe turns on. A warm sponge is flexible and will take a curve; the same sponge cooled flat has set straight and cracks along every fold when you try to bend it. Rolling it EMPTY means it learns the shape without a filling being squeezed out, and the parchment stops it sticking to itself.
- Baked ten to twelve minutes, rolled warm in parchment, cooledBake 10 to 12 minutes until springy, then roll the warm sponge in parchment and cool completely.
Stage 3 of 5
The filling - and the strawberries go in A LINE
Steps 4–4 of 6
8 oz CREAM CHEESE beaten with 1/3 cup POWDERED SUGAR, with 1/2 cup of WHIPPED CREAM FOLDED in - the cream cheese gives it the body to hold sliced fruit, the whipped cream keeps it light enough to spread on a delicate sponge. Then the sponge UNROLLED, spread, and 8 STRAWBERRIES SLICED LENGTHWISE ARRANGED IN A LINE before ROLLING TIGHTLY AGAIN. A line rather than a scatter is what puts a strawberry slice at the centre of every one of the twelve rounds.
- Filled with cream and strawberry slices, rolled tightly againBeat cream cheese with powdered sugar and fold in whipped cream; unroll sponge, spread with the cream, and arrange strawberry slices in a line before rolling tightly again.
Stage 4 of 5
90 MINUTES cold, then the coating goes on OUTSIDE
Steps 5–5 of 6
CHILLED AT LEAST 90 MINUTES, then BRUSHED LIGHTLY on the outside with STRAWBERRY SAUCE and 1 cup of VANILLA-WAFER CRUMBS PRESSED OVER THE EXTERIOR. The chill firms the roll enough to be handled and later cut. The sauce is doing a mechanical job here as much as a flavour one - it is the tacky surface that makes crumb stick to a smooth chilled sponge. LIGHTLY, because a soaked exterior goes soggy.
- Chilled ninety minutes, brushed with sauce, rolled in wafer crumbsChill the roll at least 90 minutes, brush the outside lightly with strawberry sauce, and press vanilla-wafer crumbs over the exterior.
Stage 5 of 5
TWELVE rounds, plated sushi-style
Steps 6–6 of 6
SLICED INTO 12 SPIRAL ROUNDS and ARRANGED SUSHI-STYLE with a STRAWBERRY-SAUCE STRIPE PAINTED ON THE PLATE, garnished with ONE WHOLE STRAWBERRY AND MINT. The stripe, the strawberry and the mint are all plating elements the title names none of. Use a sharp knife and wipe it between cuts, or the cream smears across each spiral face. Cream cheese, whipped cream and cut strawberry together make this a 40°F OR BELOW item, so return SLICED PORTIONS TO REFRIGERATION PROMPTLY.
- Cut into twelve rounds, plated sushi-style with a sauce stripeSlice into 12 spiral rounds and arrange sushi-style with a strawberry-sauce stripe on the plate; garnish with one whole strawberry and mint.
Success Tips
- Roll the sponge the moment it leaves the pan; even a few minutes cooling costs you.
- Lay the strawberry slices in one line, not scattered, so every round has a centre.
- Chill the full ninety minutes before slicing, and wipe the knife between cuts.
Serving Ideas
Twelve spiral rounds arranged sushi-style on a rectangular plate, each showing a white cream centre with a strawberry slice, the outside coated in golden crumb, with a sauce stripe, a whole strawberry and mint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the white outside rice or coconut?
Neither. It is a thin vanilla sponge, baked in a jelly-roll pan and rolled. There is no rice and no coconut anywhere in this recipe.
How do I stop the sponge cracking?
Roll it warm and empty, straight from the pan, and let it cool in that curve. A sponge cooled flat has set, and bending it afterwards splits it.
How do I get clean spiral rounds?
Chill the filled roll at least ninety minutes first, use a sharp knife and wipe the blade between cuts. A soft roll smears rather than slicing.
