How to Roll Cake in a Towel
Create jelly roll or pinwheel cakes by rolling cake in a towel. The towel allows for a tight, clean roll that evenly disperses pressure, whereas rolling with your hands would probably tear the delicate sheet. A light, airy sponge cake works best for towel rolling. Bendable and spongy when warm, it also takes to its rolled shape once cool. All you need for rolling a pinwheel is a sheet of cake, cake filling, a dusting of sugar and, of course, a kitchen tea towel. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
-
-
1
Bake your cake. Use a jelly roll or pinwheel sponge cake recipe. Do not use a boxed cake or traditional birthday cake recipe. It will fall apart. What makes a cake spongy is the flour to egg ratio. Consider a recipe with 1 cup flour to every 4 eggs as a good ratio. Bake the cake on a flat baking tray, covered in parchment paper, at a batter thickness of ¼ inch.
-
2
Roll cake immediately after removing it from the oven. If you are worried about the heat, allow it to cool for a minute, but know that you will have to work fast as it cools quickly due to its thinness. To roll, place a clean tea towel on a large surface such as a counter or table, and sprinkle the towel with confectioner's sugar. Remove the cake from the pan but not from the parchment paper. Transfer the cake to the towel by holding on to the paper.
-
-
3
Center the cake on the sugar-dusted towel. Slowly peel back the parchment paper on one end, and replace with one end of the towel and begin to roll tightly. As you roll, pull back the parchment paper and roll the towel in the cake. The rolling is very similar to the mat method used in sushi rolling; the seaweed replaces the mat as the towel replaces the paper. Allow to sit rolled in the towel for 30 minutes to an hour to take shape and to cool before adding the filling.
-
4
Prepare your frosting, filling, or cream and set it aside in a bowl with a spatula. Carefully unroll the cake until it is flat. There will be a curl at one end. Apply a thin layer of filling at this curled end. Roll the cake back up in the same direction while you apply the filling until it the cake is completely filled and rolled. Decorate the outer cake with more filling or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice and enjoy your pinwheels.
-
1
