Tuesday, January 20, 2009

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.

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41 comments:

Gretchen Noelle said...

Too funny! I really considered making this into a roll cake. It just seemed like a great way to do it. But I tried it in cupcake form first and was so bummed by the results that I never did the roll. I love how yours looks and I think I will try the recipe you gave. Thanks!

Amanda said...

Wow that came out so beautiful!

Mine turned out pretty, but it fell too much and I wasn't happy with the flavor of the cake. Oh well, next week! :)

Anonymous said...

Looks really good! :) I like roll cakes!

Heather said...

that looks just beautiful. i can never get my roll cakes to turn out! they always break.

Isabelle Lambert said...

Je rigole lyb car moi ça a failli être un gâteau rectangle...étagé..l'anglais n'étant pas ma langue première...je me suis plantée dans la traduction...mon gâteau était cuit quand vibi m'a expliqué mon plantage...alors j'ai recommencé ! lol !
etk...ton gâteau roulé est superbe...à saveurs d'oranges ça devait être d'enfer ! ( les oranges sanguines sont arrivées sur le marché et je capote ! )

Cooking for Comfort by Jennifer said...

Your cake is beautiful...you did a fabulous job!

Anonymous said...

Oh lady, that looks incredible.

chocolatechic said...

Brilliant idea.

vibi said...

Eille! Madame... je peux juste m'imaginer combien ça dû être bon tout ça!!!! Orange et fromage... MENOUM!
Pis... pas mal créatif en plus!!!

Mari said...

Fabulous!!! Oh that looks so good, I love orange and cream together!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

That looks like a fun way to play around with the cake! :) Yum orange sounds delicious!

Anonymous said...

I posted an orange cake this week which was a breakfast cake. I might take your idea and use this filling for that cake. Wow! Your roll cake looks awesome.

ostwestwind said...

What a beautiful rolled cake!

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Anonymous said...

your orange roll sounds amazing. i've never actually tried one making a roll before.

Unknown said...

WOW!! Great job on the implementing your own taste!! Love the oranges and these photos make me want some even more!! AWESOME!!

Manggy said...

While I do love me some berries, I gotta say that cakes using fresh orange segments are a rarity, so I appreciate the uniqueness! Lovely roll! :)

Sandie said...

You've covered 3 things I love most about cake: roll cake, oranges and Grand Marnier. Seriously, I love cakes jazzed up with hints of citrus and Grand Marnier is great in anything. And since I'm not a huge fan of cakes slathered in thick, rich icing, I find that roll cakes are the perfect compromise. I love this, and plan on trying it soon!

Sara said...

Your cake looks so pretty, very professional! I've never attempted a rolled cake, I'm a little intimidated by them.

Anonymous said...

Your roll cake looks amazing and yummy. I love grand marnier and oranges. Great job!

Bungalow Barbara said...

Ooh, lovely!

I made an orange roll cake a while ago with a chocolate sponge layer, "tiramisu" filling with mascarpone, and home-canned mandarin orange segments. It was great! I had the same experience as you -- the orange segments made it hard to roll up the cake. (I had filling and oranges squooshing out all over.)

Your roll looks fabulous and I love the flavors! Thanks for the recipe -- I still have some more home-canned oranges, time to give this a try!

snicketmom said...

That looks like a delicious success story!

kimberly salem said...

it looks beautiful as a roll cake! love the orange idea too, definitely a good flavor for winter.

Banjo said...

Wow looks fantastic! Well done.. :)

grace said...

one of my culinary goals this year is to make a roll cake. i'm confident that i can do it, but still intimidated. yours looks outstanding, and what a unique and delicious filling! impressive as usual, lyb!

Engineer Baker said...

What a neat take on the recipe! I've never made a roll cake, but they do look pretty.

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

I thought citrus worked really well with the filling too, I used kumquats. This cake is killer with fresh summer berries, so you will have to revisit it later in the year.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

It looks like it came from a pastry shop. Beautiful!

Ivette said...

Can I get a piece?? Your roll looks soooo good!!! Great job!

TeaLady said...

Beautiful roll. Tried one once, left out an ingredient and ended up with a long rectangular chocolate dorito... Not a pretty site. Yours, however, looks perfect.

Peggy said...

You are so creative. It is beautiful. I bet you make a great roulage too, don't you?

Bria said...

Yum! I've always wanted to try rolling a cake, so you've inspired me. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

It looks like a beautiful cake roll. Gorgeous pics :)

Nic said...

It's nice to see that you did something different, and it looks really fabulous!

Cathy said...

This is beautiful -- what a fabulous idea! And I know that I can make a thin sponge cake! Not sure that I can finish it off as the beautiful roll as you did, though. Love the orange flavor too. Just love everything about this!

Jacque said...

Oooh, good call! and it looks so pretty too.

Yum!

Anonymous said...

That's so cool that you made it into a roll cake. Yours looks fabulous!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I'm glad you liked this enough to want to try it again later with berries. Your roll cake looks good.
Nancy

Kimberly Johnson said...

Your cake looks great! Wonderful idea to make a rolled orange cake - sounds so yummy!

Dan the Man said...

I like your version, Lynne. The roll came out really well.

Eva said...

Your roll cake looks so perfect! Mine invariably break so I have given up on them for the time being..;-)

Jaime said...

what a great adaptation!