TWD - Orange Surprise Cake

The surprise today is that this wasn't supposed to be a roll cake at all, but a round, tall-ish cake, filled with a creamy center. It was actually not supposed to be orange flavored either but I had oranges so, an orange cake it was! When Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen chose the Berry Surprise Cake as this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I have to admit, it wasn't a recipe that had caught my eye before. Upon reading said recipe, I thought it looked a tad bit complicated and I wasn't up for complicated.

What immediately came to mind was to make this a roll cake. Using the recipe I've had for years, I made a thin sponge cake, to which I added orange zest. Then to add more orange flavor, I added Grand Marnier in the syrup used to moisten the cake. Granted the creamy filling was a bit soft and adding orange segments didn't facilitate the rolling job, but, oh, my, the payoff was so worth the trouble. The creamy filling, made of cream cheese and heavy cream, gives this cake a cheesecake kind of taste and the orange paired so well with this, it reminded me of the Fresh Orange Cream Tart. I did have to sweeten the filling a bit more than Dorie suggests but I'm guessing with sweet summer berries, the filling wouldn't need any extra sugar. I also made candied orange slices but those didn't turn out as I would have liked. I made my slices too thick and I didn't have enough syrup for all the oranges I had. But I will try those again, at some point.

I'm not sure I would make this again as a roll cake though. I might take my thin sponge cake and cut it in thirds and then layer the cake and the filling together. It would be a lot easier, and less messy. One thing's for sure, I can't wait to make this cake with fresh berries next summer. If you want to see what this week's recipe is really supposed to look like, check out the rest of the TWD bakers. And don't forget to visit Mary Ann's blog for the recipe!

Roll Cake Recipe
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 10 inch x 15 inch roll cake mold and line with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with flour.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with your mixer of choice, beat the eggs at medium-high speed, until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and keep beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add cold water and vanilla, mixing well.

Slowly fold in the dry ingredients, trying not to deflate the egg mixture. Pour the batter in the prepared mold and bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

While the cake is baking, place a clean kitchen towel on a work surface and place a piece of parchment paper over the towel. As soon as the cake is ready, unmold it onto the parchment lined towel. With a serrated knife, cut the edges of the cake. Place another piece of parchment paper over the cake and, starting with the short end, roll the whole thing, towel and all, into a log, but not too tight. The parchment paper will keep the cake from sticking to the towel. Place the log on a cooling rack and let it come to room temperature.

Once the cake is cool you're ready to unroll, remove the towel and parchment papers, and fill it with either a good jam or a filling of your choice. Dust the finished cake with confectioner's sugar or cover with lightly sweetened whipped cream.