Jelly Roll

A rolled spongecake is simple to make, and yet the beautiful spiral pattern always looks impressive. You can bake and fill a cake roll in just an hour’s time; it is often useful to have such a recipe in your repertoire.

It takes one cup of preserves to fill the inside of this roll. Use another cup to cover the outside, or dust the cake with confectioners sugar. If the preserves are too thick to spread easily, heat them a bit or mix in one or two tablespoons rum or cognac (use orange liqueur if you are using orange marmalade).

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

16 x 11 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan

Line the sheet with foil or baking parchment and butter the bottom lightly.

Batter:

4 eggs

⅓ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

or

grated peel of ½ lemon

⅔ cup sifted cake flour

1. Use Method II for preparing the batter.

2. Pour the batter immediately into the prepared pan and bake on the middle level of a preheated 375˚F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

3. Unmold the cake right away, as described here.