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Jelly
Roll Cakes (Biscuit Roulades)
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Cakes fall into two major groups:
shortened (fat) cakes and foam cakes (little or no fat). |
 SHORTENED
CAKES:
Contains fat, frequently in a solid form, and a high ratio of eggs
to flour. |
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 FOAM
CAKES:
High ratio of eggs to flour and fall into three categories. |
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#2: Only Fat is Egg
Yolk: |
Sponge
Jelly Roll
Cakes (Biscuit Roulades) |
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#3: Oil and Fat in
Addition to Egg Yolks: |
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The Jelly
Roll Cake, also known as a Biscuit Roulade,
is
typically
made from a foam cake.
A jelly
roll cake (American), also known as a biscuit roulade, roulade (Paupiette)
or biscuit
recipe (French) or Swiss Roll (English), is used to refer to cakes that when
flat, serve as a base to be filled with another ingredient. They are then
rolled into a tube-like or log shape and sliced to display the ingredients
swirled into the rolled base of food.
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 A
Roulade is a French term for a thin roll of meat or cake around savory
or sweet fillings. |
Cake rolls are typically baked in a
jelly roll pan, also
known as a sheet pan, which is
a large and rectangular pan
with shallow rims.
The type of cakes used are
foam cakes, such as
a
sponge,
which is flexible enough to withstand being rolled without cracking. Biscuit
Roulade and ladyfingers are types of sponge cakes. But, any type of
flexible cake base can be used.
 To
make the cake base, the batter is spread into a thin layer in a jelly roll
pan, baked until
firm but still moist. Some cakes are cooled flat or rolled immediately and
cooled so the cake
forms a
 log
shape. The cake is filled or carefully unrolled if first cooled into a
shape and then
filled, and rolled tightly. (The Swiss Roll is baked
thicker than the other types
of rolls and as a result isn't rolled as tightly. )
Fillings
for the cake vary widely and can include pastry cream, buttercream, lemon
curd, seedless jam or jelly or chocolate ganache. Many times the cake
is refrigerated if it contains a perishable filling to help set it. Right
before serving, the roll can be can be simply dusted with powdered sugar or
covered with whipped ganache, whipped cream or buttercream. It is sliced
into disks, where it shows its pinwheel design when served flat on a plate.
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 The
Buche de Noel or the traditional Christmas Yule Log is made from a
roulade, filled and frosted with chocolate ganache and garnished with
candy clay leaves and berries and meringue mushrooms. |
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One of the first steps in any jelly roll recipe
recipe is to prepare the cake pan. Use the jelly roll pan size specified in the
recipe or a size closest to the one used. For better baking, select a pan that's
made from heavy gauge, light-colored aluminum that isn't warped or dented.
 Q:
There are different jelly roll / sheet pan sizes. I am so
confused. Please help!
A: Yes, there are both home and commercial sheet pan sizes. There may
be more when you go to the store. Here's a handy chart:
Sheet Pan Sizes:
Jelly Roll/ Sheet Pan - Home
Sizes
10-1/2 x 15 -1/2 x
1
12-1/2 x 17 -1/2 x 1
Jelly Roll/ Sheet Pan -
Commercial Sizes
Full sheet pan Standard 26x18 or 24x16x2 -
serves 60 to 96
Half sheet pan Standard 18x13 or 16x12x2
- approx. 12 cups - serves 30 to 48
Quarter sheet pan Standard 13x9 or 12x8x2
or 10-1/2 x 15-1/2x2 - approx. 10 cups - serves 12 to 20 |
The cake is rolled after baking or lifted from
the pan as is, flat. In order to accomplish this without cracking or breaking
the cake, first grease the pan and then line with parchment paper and optionally
grease again, depending on the type of cake being baked. Make sure you leave an
ample overhang of paper on either end. You will later hold onto it like a sling
to remove the cake from the pan.
Here's an example of how a pan is prepared in
the
Pumpkin-Walnut Roulade with Spiked
Cream Recipe:
"Lightly butter a 10 X 15-inch
jelly roll pan. To line the bottom and sides of the pan, cut a 12 X 16-inch
piece of parchment or waxed paper. At each of the four corners, cut a diagonal
slash about 2 inches long. Fit the paper into the pan, folding the cut ends over
each other at the slashed to form neat corners. Lightly butter and flour the
paper, tapping out the excess flour."
Ingredients are prepared before baking the
cake. If the recipe calls for beating separated eggs, while they are still cold,
it's a good time to separate them; the yolk won't break as easily when
cold. Place the white and yolk in separate bowls, making sure you don't get any
egg yolk in the whites -- they simply won't beat as high or beat at all if
there's any trace of fat in the whites. If so, remove with the corner of a paper
towel or a spoon or use the whites in an omelet recipe and start again with
fresh eggs and a clean bowl for the egg whites. (For more about
beating the egg whites).
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SARAH SAYS:
The versatile sponge cake contains a lot of eggs which gives them
their light, airy texture (sponginess). The Biscuit is a European
style cake, which is like an American sponge in that it has no butter, but
has more eggs. The egg yolks and whites are beaten separately which gives
the cake its leavening from the air that's incorporated. (Some American
sponges include baking powder for additional lift). This produces a
lighter, more delicate cake. When extra yolks are added, the cake becomes
richer (from the added fat from the yolk), tender and less spongy.
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Let the
yolks and whites warm
to room temperature before using. If the recipe calls for beating the
egg whites first and then the egg yolks, switch their order of completion.
Instead, beat the egg yolk mixture first and set them aside and then, beat the
egg whites. It's because beaten egg whites will deflate more quickly than beaten
egg yolks so, you want to beat the whites right before you need them in the
recipe.
In a large clean mixing bowl,
beat the egg whites and cream of
tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in the remaining granulated white sugar and
beat until stiff peaks form.
When you beat the yolks, add the sugar to them and
beat on high speed for five
minutes, or until thick and fluffy. When you slowly raise the beaters the batter
will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.
In both the biscuit and
Genoise, you'll see cornstarch in
the ingredients. This causes the grain of the cake to be tighter and enables the
cake to hold more moisture for a better jelly roll.
Sift half the flour/cornstarch/dry
ingredients mixture over the egg yolk mixture and
fold in gently with a rubber spatula, just until the flour is
incorporated. Sift the remaining flour mixture into the batter and fold in.
Gently
fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then
add the rest of the whites folding just until incorporated.
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SARAH SAYS:
A Joconde is an almond sponge cake (note the stripped cake;
it's a thin cake in the photo. It's wrapped around a filling.) This biscuit
is named for the Mona Lisa (La Joconda in French). Americans spell the name
for this cake as
"jaconde" instead of "joconde"; "joconde" is
the proper term. In addition to containing
almonds, it differs from other sponge
 cakes
by having whole eggs (rather than just yolks) beaten with sugar and ground
almonds before the meringue is folded in. Joconde is baked in thin layers on
baking sheets. Joconde is used to make linings for the outsides of
charlottes, a traditional French raspberry mousse cake, and other Bavarian
mousse cakes. View
pre-baked Joconde sponge cake forms. |
The secret to a good jelly roll
cake is to spread the batter quickly and evenly in the baking pan -- using a
large offset spatula is essential. You don't want to pop the air bubbles in the
batter so the cake rises and you want to promote even baking so the cake remains
moist throughout. Pour the batter into the
prepared pan, evenly spreading the cake batter with an angled metal spatula;
don't press down as you do otherwise you'll deflate the batter's air bubbles.
Bake until golden brown and the center of the cake springs
back when lightly pressed with a finger A toothpick can also be inserted
in the center and when removed, and it comes out with a few moist cake crumbs
attached, the cake is done.
There are some key
techniques to follow that ensure success: Upon removing the cake from
the oven, immediately loosen the edges of the cake with a small metal spatula or
sharp knife. Lift the cake by the parchment paper overhang and gently
slide the cake from the pan onto a wire rack; leave the parchment paper on as
you will need it later. Another way is to hold the baking
sheet over the cake pan, turn both upside down so the cake unmolds onto the
sheet. Carefully peel off the any parchment paper used to line the pan.
Then, cool the cake:
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Q:
When a recipe says to roll the cake from the short side or narrow end, what
does that mean? A: The
narrow end or short side means the smallest side. For example, if your
cake's finished size is about 17 x 12 -inches, roll it, starting with
the 12-inch end, rolling forward. It would be the same as if you were
rolling a beach towel you used for sunbathing. Grasp your hands on the top
of the towel, or the short or narrow end, rolling forward. |
Cooling Flat:
Some cake rolls are cooled flat. If the cake will remain moist and won't crack
when rolled when cooled, it need not be rolled in advance. Some cakes are
immediately smeared with jelly and then rolled. See
Sponge Cake Jelly Roll Recipe. To
use the sponge for a round cake base or cutouts, allow to cool flat, covered
with a clean dish towel.
Cooling in a Roll:
Cake rolls are cooled in a rolled position such as in the
Black Forest Roulade
or the
Pumpkin Pistachio Cake Roll
Recipes. It's because the cakes aren't as pliable and may be thicker than
others and require what I call the "hot roll towel" cooling technique. This is
so the cake won't crack (hopefully) when cooled, filled and rerolled. To do:
sift confectioners' over the top of the cake and roll it up while it is still
hot, right from the oven. If using a parchment paper liner in the pan, that is
now stuck to the bottom of the cake, tightly roll the cake with the liner. This
will keep the cake moist and is the easiest way. You can also use a clean,
SMOOTH kitchen towel and roll up the cake tightly, towel and all. Cool
completely on a rack.
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SARAH SAYS:
 One
way to roll a roulade is with the help of a clean, smooth kitchen towel,
used as a rolling mat, after dusting the cake with confectioner's sugar.
However, when unrolling, the cake often sticks to the towel, causing
pieces of it to come off.
Instead, I have found
that if you roll the confectioner's sugar dusted biscuit with parchment
paper, when unrolled,
the cake will be smooth and moister.
First line the pan
with parchment paper and after baking and inverting to remove the cake
from of the pan, the parchment paper will already be there for rolling; do
not peel it off beforehand.
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When ready to fill, unroll the
sponge. If rolled in the parchment paper liner, carefully peel it off. It can be
filled cream frosting,
whipped cream,
lemon curd, jam, ice
cream, buttercream or
whipped ganache. If using
syrup, sprinkle it on the cake before spreading the filling.
The cake is then tightly rolled up again,
placed seam side down and chilled. It can be simply dusted with powdered sugar
or else covered with whipped
ganache, whipped cream or
buttercream and served.
Store at room temperature for 3 days, well wrapped or under foil tent. If using
perishable filings and toppings, store in the refrigerator for few days.
If rolled and filling the cake at a later date,
keep 3 days at room temperature, 5 days refrigerated or 2 months, frozen.
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