Bake

Blueberry Cream Roulade

December 17, 2020
5
2 Ratings
Photo by Food52
  • Prep time 40 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • makes one 15-inch roulade
Author Notes

This simple but colorful roulade is impossible not to love! It’s made with a classic biscuit (*bees-QUEE*—it’s French!) style sponge and a blueberry whipped cream filling. The resulting cake is light and soft, just like the naturally purple cream inside.

Excerpted from The Fearless Baker © 2017 by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

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Blueberry Cream Roulade
Ingredients
  • Biscuit sponge
  • ¼ cups (30 grams) cake flour, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 2 large (113 grams) eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 large (64 grams) egg yolks, at room temperatur
  • ¾ cups (149 grams) granulated sugar, divided
  • 3 large (106 grams) egg whites, at room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
  • Blueberry cream
  • cups (352 grams) cold heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • ½ cups (170 grams) blueberry jam
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for finishing
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Grease a jelly roll pan (10x15 inches) with nonstick spray and line the pan with parchment paper.
  2. Make the sponge: In a small bowl, whisk the sifted cake flour, flour, and salt together to combine.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), whip the eggs and egg yolks on medium speed until slightly pale, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add 6 tablespoons (74 grams) of the granulated sugar, then turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until the mixture is pale and thick and has quadrupled in volume, 4 to 5 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle about one-half of the flour mixture over the egg yolk mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add the remaining flour, mixing just until it is incorporated.
  5. In a clean dry mixer bowl, combine the egg whites with the cream of tartar. Using the cleaned and dried whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until foamy, 2 minutes. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining 6 tablespoons (74 grams) of the sugar in a slow, steady steam, then continue whipping until the mixture reaches medium peaks, 4 to 5 minutes more.
  6. Add about one-quarter of the egg white mixture to the batter, folding it in with a silicone spatula and mixing thoroughly. (This first addition helps temper the batter, making it easier to incorporate the rest of the whites without deflating them.) Add the remaining whites in two or three more additions, gently folding them in until just incorporated.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a large offset spatula to spread into an even layer, working quickly: Too many swipes can deflate your batter, but you do want the batter to be even in the pan.
  8. Bake the cake until the edges are just starting to turn golden and the center springs back gently when touched, 7 to 9 minutes. While the cake bakes, scoop some confectioners’ sugar into a sifter and set it on a plate. Line a work surface with a large sheet of parchment paper.
  9. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, dust the surface of the cake evenly with confectioners’ sugar. Use a small offset spatula to gently loosen the cake from the edges of the pan. Gently invert the sheet pan onto the parchment on your work surface. Lift away the pan and carefully peel away the parchment from the bottom of the cake and discard it.
  10. With one of the longer sides of the cake facing you, use the sheet of parchment to help roll the cake up into a tight cylinder. Let the cake cool completely, still rolled up.
  11. Make the blueberry cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar to soft peaks. Add the jam and vanilla and continue whipping until the mixture reaches medium peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  12. Assemble the roulade: Unroll the cake and position it on the parchment paper with one of the long sides facing you. Dollop the cream all over the cake and spread it in an even layer all the way to the edges. Starting with the side closest to you, gently roll the cake up into a log. It won’t be as tight this time because of the filling, but try to make it as rounded as possible. Use the paper to help you; it adds a protective layer so you can apply a little pressure if needed without damaging the cake.
  13. Chill the roulade for at least 15 minutes, and up to 8 hours, before serving. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar just before serving and slice into 1½-inch slices to serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

4 Reviews

shoepershopper January 15, 2022
I can't even begin to tell you how intimidated I was with the idea of making a roulade before watching this video for this recipe. I was convinced my first attempt was going to be a learning bake and I would just eat the scraps with some ice cream while figuring out how to improve it next time. But there was no next time! I made it correctly, and easily, thanks to the easy to follow recipe and explanations in the video. Take the time and sit for a few and watch this video before jumping in. You won't regret it. Also, the filling I made was a tiramisu one with mascarpone and whipped cream with a bit of espresso and brandy, topped with dusted cocoa powder. With this recipe, I'm a little worried I've awakened the monster baker in me.
Shari December 15, 2021
This is a 5 star recipe. The recipe is clearly written and easy to follow and produces an outstanding roulade even if you have no experience with rolled cakes (I didn't until today). I used our homemade jam to make the filling which I think raises the filling up a notch. I will make this again and again, maybe trying different jams for the filling. Superb. Thanks so much for a great cake.
Summer K. December 24, 2020
I just baked the cake portion of this recipe, and I realized I didn't add the 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract! Looking back at the recipe, it doesn't look like it's mentioned in the batter instructions at all :(
Shari December 15, 2021
I noticed that as well, but didn't miss the vanilla in the cake at all. Did you watch the video? Perhaps the video shows the addition of the vanilla in the sponge.