Absolutely Nothing To Wolf Down : Jelly Roll by Micki Myers

On a dark, blustery winter’s day when you burst into the warm house after school, grabbing off your satchel and kicking off your boots in the hallway with a trickle of wet snot running to your lip, all you want is to feel like you’ve come home — and the best way to do that is with a belly full of cake.

A traditional jelly roll is just such a cake. A long spiral of Génoise sponge, red jam and whipped cream, it practically oozes love, each slice a big, wet kiss.

The only real secret to success is in the fat-free batter, which gives the sponge just the right flexibility to stay curled up without cracking. It tastes like sweet, moist air. I made this one with half a jar of leftover cherry jam I’d made the day before, so it also gave one the sensation of being able to eat Kirsch, though any jam will do.

Jelly Roll

Classic Roulade

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a 10 X 15 inch baking tin with parchment paper.

Separate 4 eggs.

Whip the whites with 6 tablespoons of sugar until they refuse to slide when the bowl is tipped.

Whip the yolks with 4 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla until it folds in on itself in big fat pale ripples.

Sieve together ½ cup of cake flour with ¼ cup of cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

Carefully fold some whites into the yolks, then some flour, then some whites, then some flour, etc., until you have incorporated them all together in a silky, voluminous batter.

Gently spread the batter out on the baking pan and bake on a low shelf for just 10 minutes. The cake should be just starting to turn golden, and feel springy to the touch.

As soon as you take it out of the oven, turn the cake out onto a tea towel dredged with sugar. Peel the parchment off. Slice off one of the short ends, and use the tea towel to roll it up. Leave to cool rolled up.

Once cooled, unroll, spread with jam and cream, and roll back up.

Et voila.

Ready for tasting....