Elevate your Christmas dessert with a delightful Vanilla Roll Cake adorned with festive red and green accents, making it the ideal treat for holiday gatherings.
Transform a moist vanilla roll cake into a festive masterpiece this Christmas. Enchant your loved ones with the delectable taste of this vanilla delight, embracing a luscious buttercream filling, adorned with a drizzle of white chocolate, and embellished with charming red and green hues.
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Tailored for holiday celebrations, this Christmas-themed vanilla roll cake features swirls of creamy buttercream interspersed with vibrant red and green sprinkles. The effort invested in crafting this show-stopping Christmas vanilla roll cake is undoubtedly worthwhile!
Impress your friends and family with this Christmas Vanilla Roll Cake—a dessert sure to leave a lasting impression. With a minimum chilling time of 6 hours, it’s perfect for advance preparation. Savor a slice alongside a warm cup of coffee or homemade hot chocolate.
Roll cakes, especially during the holidays, hold a special place in the culinary landscape. This Christmas, take your affinity for vanilla cake to new heights with a decadent and moist vanilla roll cake, crowned with a tempting white chocolate drizzle.
The allure of spiral cakes has always captivated me. Known by various names worldwide, roll cakes, or “roulades” as we call them in Romania, boast elegance surpassing traditional layer cakes. Their simplicity enhances their appeal. My fondness for roll cakes grew with every roulade my mom crafted, particularly during the holiday season.
Last Christmas, I crafted a gingerbread roll cake, and just weeks ago, a pumpkin roll cake. This Christmas, inspired by red and green batter bits, I opted for a simple vanilla cake enveloping creamy buttercream and an abundance of Christmas sprinkles.
If you’ve never ventured into roll cake territory, now is the time. Fear not; follow a few simple steps, and soon, you’ll revel in the beauty of your own swirl cake. The key to roll cakes lies in whipping the egg yolks until they turn a light yellow and thicken, approximately 3 minutes on high-speed or 5 minutes on medium speed.
To achieve the perfect buttercream, whip the butter before incorporating the powdered sugar and continue whipping at medium speed for an additional 2 minutes. This yields a light, homemade buttercream far superior to store-bought varieties.
Roll cakes may appear daunting, but they’re more manageable than you might think. Exercise patience when rolling and unrolling the cake; it’s delicate but immensely rewarding.
While named Christmas Vanilla Roll Cake, feel free to serve this delight year-round. Customize the sprinkles or eliminate them altogether for a versatile treat. Ensure the flavor remains pristine by avoiding fabric softener in tea towel washes, as it can transfer unwanted taste to the cake. Additionally, opt for a non-terry cloth towel to prevent lint transfer.
How to make this recipe
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a 17×12 jelly/sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 eggs, 3 egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium to high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes pale and thickened. Add the vanilla extract and beat for a few more seconds.
Sift cake flour and cornstarch over the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold them in with a spatula. Also, fold in the batter bits.
In a separate, grease-free bowl, whip 2 egg whites with 1 tablespoon of sugar until firm peaks form. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for 6-7 minutes until golden brown and the cake springs back when touched.
Once out of the oven, sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar, invert it onto a clean dish towel, remove the parchment paper, sprinkle with more powdered sugar, and roll up the cake with the towel. Place it on a wire rack to cool.
Vanilla Buttercream
In a clean bowl, whip the room temperature butter for 2-3 minutes on medium to high speed using the whisk attachment.
Lower the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed and whip for an additional 2 minutes.
Add a few drops of heavy cream until the buttercream reaches the desired consistency. Fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.
Gently unroll the cooled cake, spread the buttercream evenly over it, and roll it again. Place it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Decoration
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Pour it over the cake and add more sprinkles if desired.
Allow the chocolate to settle for a few minutes, then slice and enjoy your festive Vanilla Roll Cake!
Common questions
A jelly roll pan, distinct from a baking sheet, is essential for its 10×15-inch dimensions. Roll the warm cake to avoid cracking; doing so while cooled increases the likelihood of cracks.
This Vanilla Roll Cake recipe can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to two months. When storing in the fridge, wrap or containerize the Christmas Vanilla Roll Cake well, lasting up to 5 days. For freezer storage, wrap the unadorned cake in cling wrap and aluminum foil, thawing overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and topping.
Storing and Presenting a Festive Rolled Vanilla Cake
I’m comfortable keeping cream cheese-filled or frosted items at room temperature for approximately a day, but beyond that, it’s advisable to refrigerate them if prepared the night before a significant holiday gathering.
This Christmas cake roll can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and maintains its delightful taste. However, due to the rolled structure of the cake and the rich cream cheese filling, things might get a bit messy over time in the fridge.
As a result, I don’t recommend preparing this cake more than 24 hours in advance of when you intend to serve it for the best visual impact.
Tips for the Perfect Christmas Cake Roll
Short Baking Time – Cake rolls only require about 10 to 12 minutes in the oven, unlike other cakes that take much longer. Remember this quick-baking dessert recipe once it’s in the oven.
No Kitchen Towel and No Powdered Sugar for the Countertop – Unlike many cake roll recipes that involve a towel for rolling the cake and sprinkling the counter with powdered sugar, this easy cake roll recipe doesn’t require either of them.
If you try this Holiday Vanilla Swirl Cake Recipe, let me know! and don’t forget to SAVE it for later
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