Friday, July 18, 2008

Lemon Berry Roulade


Summertime requires spongy cake and lemon and berries. So how about a Lemon Berry Roulade? The combination of light sponge cake, lemon cream and fresh berries seems perfect for the season.

A roulade is a great dessert when you’re looking for a celebratory cake that doesn’t require rich frosting or too much heavy filling. The thin sheet cake bakes very quickly and the plain simplicity of the cake means you can fill it with just about any flavored cream you desire. One of the best complementary flavors for tart berries is tart lemon and since berries are looking so good right now, I opted to go with some luscious raspberries and blackberries along with a layer of lemon curd and lemon cream. Presto, a simple and great no fuss gift for any summer table.


Bench notes:
- This sponge cake is very easy to roll. It doesn’t crack and doesn’t require pre-rolling in a towel when you take it out of the oven. The teaspoon of baking powder gives it a great flexibility.
- Lemon curd can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a day or two.
- When spreading the cream filling on the cake, leave about an inch around the sides and the edge nearest you and about 2 inches at the edge furthest from you. This will prevent the filling from squishing out as you roll the cake.
- The fun of this is that you can fill the sponge cake with whatever filling you like. The possibilities and combinations are endless. It’s great simply unadorned or you can pour chocolate glaze over it.
- Be sure to chill the roulade thoroughly before slicing. If you’re worried about handling it, you can also freeze it for a few hours. When ready to serve, remove the plastic and parchment and trim the ends. Bring to room temperature.


Lemon Berry Roulade

Lemon Curd, recipe below
Hot Milk Sponge Cake, recipe below
3/4 C heavy cream, chilled
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 pint blackberries
powdered sugar for dusting
parchment paper

Lemon Curd

1/2 C lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons
1/2 C sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
3 oz (6T) butter, cut into small pieces

Combine lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a heatproof bowl and place over a bain marie on a low simmer, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until thickened, whisking to cook evenly. Take off the heat and add butter. Whisk until smooth. Pour through a strainer into a clean bowl. Cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and chill thoroughly.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

adapted from Cocolat by Alice Medrich

3/4 C cake flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 C milk
1 oz (2 T) butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare a half-sheet baking pan (roughly 17 3/4” x 12 3/4”) with a piece of parchment paper, butter and a dusting of flour.
Sift cake flour and baking powder together.
Warm milk and butter together until butter melts. Cover to keep warm.
Place eggs and sugar in mixer bowl and heat over simmering water until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch.
Beat until the mixture is thickened and tripled in volume. A ribbon should hold for at least a second.
Sift flour over batter in thirds, folding gently after each addition.
Add warm milk and fold gently.
Pour into prepared half-sheet pan, spreading evenly.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes. The cake should spring to the touch.
Let the cake cool completely.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with a light dusting of powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Turn out the sponge cake onto a large piece of parchment paper. Carefully peel off the bottom parchment paper and place another clean piece of large parchment paper on top of the cake. Then, placing the baking pan on top of the parchment paper to help steady the cake, flip the cake back over so the top is facing up.

Assembly:

Divide the lemon curd into two equal parts. Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold gently into half of the lemon curd.

Place the cake before you so the long edges form the top and bottom.
Spread the lemon curd onto the sponge cake, stopping about 2” from the edge furthest from you.
Now top the lemon curd with the lemon cream, stopping about 1" to 2” from all the edges.
Sprinkle the lemon cream evenly with berries.

Using the parchment paper to help control the process, carefully roll up the sponge cake tightly, applying very light even pressure. Roll the cake up in the parchment and place the cake seam side down. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly.

When ready to serve, carefully remove the plastic and parchment. Trim the ends and place on a serving platter. Dust lightly with powdered sugar.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

I love this recipe. I can't wait to try it next weekend. I wish I had the chance this weekend. It looks wonderful

Anonymous said...

This looks so wonderful. I have two small "ice cream" buckets of blackberries from a neighbor (they are huge and bursting) and a smaller amount of raspberries and was looking for something - this will be perfect.

And I've go the Clafoutis from June on tap too, bc I also have a wealth of cherries from a friend.

Mary

grace said...

this is gorgeous! i've always shied away from making roulades because the process sounds so difficult. i'm sure i'd end up with a mutilated cake, which would then be turned into a trifle. hmm. if that's the worst case scenario, maybe i'll give it a go. :)

pastry studio said...

OMG, isn't this fruit season great?

Go ahead and give this a try! It just takes a bit of practice. And I wish it were easier to explain. As you start to roll this up, you really just have do act confident even if you're not exactly feeling it! The cake is so pliable, it won't crack or break on you. Jump in!

cindy* said...

beautiful! i have always been terrified of roulades...but this looks great. i love lemon and berries, well done.

Heather said...

this looks delicious! the cake looks so moist and amazing... and beautiful picture! i love the previous twist on an oreo in your last post... so much more grown up!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! Your berry roulade looks incredible! :)

Nina Timm said...

Light, fluffy, summery, delicious, creamy.....just some of the words that come to mind when looking at this.

Anonymous said...

Let the good times roulade
With lemon curd cream berries
So delectable

Jeanine - The Baking Beauties said...

Mmm...this makes my mouth water. Looks devine!

Anonymous said...

Now this is a summer dessert! Perfect.

Eileen (passions to pastry)
www.livingtastefully.com

liz song mandell said...

Holy Moly...that looks delicious! i love fresh fruit and creamy delights. sounds like an amazing summer treat!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

how refreshing! and a sponge cake that does not to be pre-rolled? Hmm... I'm intrigued!

Y said...

Interesting sponge cake recipe, and great looking roulade. I often have problems making my cross section look perfectly spiral, which really annoys me :)

Helene said...

My dad would totally kiss you on both cheek if he were reading this!! That is his favorite...
I just can't get enough of the season's berries, they rarely make it home on time to end up in a dessert!

Anonymous said...

Dear Pastry studio,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! The combination between lemon curd and raspberry is just irresistible!
Julia
PS: I love how down to earth your blog is! :-)

pastry studio said...

Julia, thank you very much and BRAVO to you for making a roulade! This recipe makes it pretty easy to roll.