Last Lunar New Year, I wanted to make an Asian style sponge cake with not-too-sweet whipped cream and fruit. Oftentimes I’ll just wing it with NO PLAN when I’m making a cake. This is how the Strawberry Lucky Log of Good Health and Prosperity TM was born – I ended up making the weirdest looking Swiss roll cake, and in an attempt to make it look cuter and more modern, I made it look… maybe a little diseased and hilarious? Regardless, the Strawberry Lucky Log was delicious and enjoyed by my entire family – so, I tried to make it again this year. Yes, it’s actually just a Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake Recipe – but, isn’t Strawberry Lucky Log of Good Health and Prosperity a more comical and delightful name? Hehe.
Here’s last year’s Strawberry Lucky Log:
I went for plain cake roll colour, lightly pink piped whipped cream. Both versions just kind of look like weird pants.
How To Make A Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake
Roll cake, jelly roll cake, Swiss roll, log roll?? I love the light sponge of a Swiss Roll cake, frosted with lightly sweetened whipped cream then rolled up into a big old party log, making the cutest circular slices. This strawberry swiss roll cake recipe features pink whipped cream, raspberry jam and strawberry jewels.
Tips for Making A Swiss Roll Cake
Parchment paper is your friend! Forget sticky icing sugar and tea towels. Parchment paper is great for non-sticky rolling of your sponge cake.
ROLL IT WHILE IT’S WARM! But not too warm. There’s a Goldilocks timing to the rolling of a roll cake – if you wait until it’s cooled too much, you can risk the cake cracking. I usually let my cake cool for about three to five minutes before I turn it out onto parchment paper and roll it up. I let it cool in the rolled-up position for around thirty minutes, if I’m patient enough. Once you’ve trained your sponge cake to be in the roll-cake position, you can open it up and spread your jam onto it, then your whipping cream.
Don’t be temped to use too much whipped cream to fill the cake! The whipped cream will goosh out and it can get messy.
Add your strawberry bits!
Re-roll your Swiss Roll!
Secure it with the parchment paper, wrap the ends to keep it air-tight, and refrigerate until firm, about one hour. Once chilled enough to slice, go ahead and SLICE! I used a serrated knife. Cut your roll cake on an angle, then “attach” the sliced piece on an angle against the main roll.
Once you’ve got the log cake, frost the entire thing with the pink whipped cream using a small offset spatula. Add more strawberry bits and piped white whipped cream for decor, if desired. I love the shape of raspberries so I nestled them onto the cake, too! Refrigerate until ready to serve.
I’ve tried making a vegan Swiss Roll cake, but I haven’t perfected it yet. The cake roll cracked, and I didn’t have enough vegan whipped cream! Once I create a great recipe for one, I will definitely share it here! You can watch me creative-problem-solve the cracked cake though! Hehe.
Do you need to slice your Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake into a LOG CAKE design? Of course not! I did it for the pure comedy factor, and to continue our family Lunar New Year tradition of the Strawberry Lucky Log. You can decorate however you like – any way you slice it, this cake is DELICIOUS!
Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
ingredients
For The Vanilla Sponge
- 130 grams cake flour, 1 cup
- 150 grams granulated white sugar, 3/4 cup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 125 ml vegetable oil, 1/2 cup
- 63 ml whole milk, 1/4 cup
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pink gel colouring, optional
- 6 large egg whites
- 50 grams granulated white sugar, 1/4 cup
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
For The Whipped Cream
- 500 ml heavy whipping cream
- 65 grams icing sugar, 1/2 cup, or to taste
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp pink gel colouring, optional
For The Filling
- 6 large strawberries, chopped into little bits
- 325 grams strawberry or raspberry jam, 1 cup
instructions
Make The Vanilla Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 170/325 degrees. Lightly oil a 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated white sugar, baking power and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the vegetable oil, milk, egg yolks and vanilla extract (and pink gel colour, if using).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping until soft peaks form. Continue whipping, adding the 50 grams (1/4 cup) of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time. Beat on high speed until glossy and holding firm peaks.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture, folding them together until smooth an incorporated, forming the beginning of the cake batter.
- Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the cake batter in three gentle additions, being careful not to deflate the egg white mixture.
- Pour the batter into the prepared rimmed baking sheet, using an offset spatula to spread to the edges.
- Bake the cake for 13 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden brown and springs back to the touch. Do not overbake.
- Remove cake from the oven and let cool down to the touch.
- Place a large piece of fresh parchment paper on top of the cake. Deftly flip the cake over and invert the cake onto the fresh parchment.
- Working with the long edge of the cake, roll the cake, including the parchment paper, into a tight spiral. Let cool in this shape for about thirty minutes.
Make The Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla (and gel colour, if using) on high speed until thickened and forming medium stiff peaks.
Fill and Frost The Cake
- Carefully unroll the cake.
- Spread the jam on the entire surface of the cake, allowing jam to absorb into the cake.
- Frost the entire surface with the whipped cream.
- Evenly distribute the strawberry bits to the top of the cake.
- Working with the long edge of the cake once again, roll the cake carefully together, filling and all! Refrigerate until firmed up and easier to slice, about one hour.
- Remove cake from fridge. Using a serrated knife, slice 1/3 of the cake off on an angle. Arrange the two pieces on a tray or large cake board, with the angled cut pushed up against the main roll. Frost the entire cake with pink whipped cream.
- Decorate further with remaining strawberry bits, white whipped cream piped into a line of shells, drop stars, or any way you like. Add raspberries if desired. Keep refrigerated until serving.
notes
More fun Asian and Lunar New Year desserts:
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