strawberry roulade / strawberry cake for tea

strawberry cake & roulade shell in the background. and the rose the apt. folks gave us on valentine's day

I love when good things are inexpensive. Who doesn't? Like most women, I can't resist when things are on supersale. However I rarely buy clothes, so that just means I buy heaps and heaps of groceries. More than I can carry. Three or four times a week. This week, that means 6 lbs of slightly overripe strawberries.

The lovely difference between clothes shopping and food shopping, besides the fact that you get to eat one, is that foodstuff that goes on sale is generally great. Whereas there are rarely sales on clothes that are in-season (or the ones I really want, for some reason), the produce on sale at your local grocery is probably because there is an abundance. Read: cheap, ripe, sweet. I shop entirely based on what's on sale in my circular. This generally means no blueberries in January (although I've clearly been proven wrong) and no crabs in December, etc.

At any rate, I decided to make something for yet another person who kindly has offered his assistance. He is from Iran, and I was told he likes Roulette (Rollet) which I have come to realize is called a roll cake in Asia, a roulade in France, a jelly roll in the U.S., and a Swiss roll in England. Whatever - it's basically a sponge cake rolled up with jelly or cream. My preference is always going to be cream.

I found a recipe on Martha Stewart, below, for a strawberry torte that looked very much like what I wanted to make. I overbeat the whites and was worried it wouldn't come out right, and ended up baking a chiffon cake just in case -- but used the original because it turned out impossibly light and fluffy after all!

...And then I realized I still had a million strawberries, so I threw together the Strawberry Cake, which ended up being delicious. Thanks, Martha! Next time, I'd sprinkle toasted sliced almonds atop the roulade or untoasted sliced almonds atop the strawberry cake



strawberry cake, adapted from Martha Stewart

6 tablespoons (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
scant 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" springform pan. 




Beat butter and scant 1 cup sugar in an electric mixer till pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low, mix in egg, milk, and vanilla until fully incorporated. Sprinkle on the baking powder and salt, and turn off mixer. With a rubber spatula, stir in flour until just incorporated. Transfer to the pan and arrange strawberries atop batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle sugar over berries.


Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack, and serve with barely sweetened whipped cream.


strawberry roulade, also from lady Martha

For genoise cake:
8 extra-large eggs or 9 large eggs, room temperature, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons sifted baking powder


For filling:
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for work towel
1 quart strawberries, washed, dried, and hulls removed




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and line a rimmed 15-by-10-by-1-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper; set aside. (I only had a 12x12, which is why my roll has more filling than cake!)


In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar together until light in color, about 1 minute; stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Add cake flour and baking powder; stir until well combined.


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into flour mixture.


Pour cake batter in prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until cake springs back when touched, about 15 minutes. Be very careful not to overbake.


Lay a clean kitchen towel flat on a work surface with one of the short ends facing you. Generously sprinkle dish towel with confectioners' sugar. While the cake is still a bit warm, flip cake onto towel, remove baking sheet, and peel off parchment paper. Using the dish towel, roll cake away from you; let cool completely.


While it's cooling, set 6 strawberries aside for garnish and thinly slice remaining strawberries. Place heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium speed. Slowly add remaining teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set half of the whipped cream aside. Gently fold sliced strawberries into remaining half; set aside.



Unroll cake. Evenly spread strawberry whipped-cream mixture over surface of the cake and re-roll, keeping the seam side underneath the roll. I packaged it in wax paper, but to serve, I would do what Martha did: transfer cake to a serving plate and evenly spread top and sides of cake with reserved whipped cream. Cut reserved whole strawberries in half lengthwise and place on top of cake for garnish. 

on the left, the one I used... on the right, the backup plan

the board is a little strawberry juiced, sorry