Lemon Strawberry Cake Rolls

  Light, lemon sponge cake filled with delicious cream cheese filling and homemade strawberry jam.

These Cake rolls also called swiss rolls, roulade are all the same, made with a light and airy sponge cake rolled with a filling that strikes your mood.

So for today’s cake roll, I have made a light and refreshing lemon sponge slathered with cream cheese frosting and a layer of my favorite homemade strawberry jam. It is very simple to prepare except for the rolling part which I had a few mishaps but totally worth it.

In full disclosure, the most difficult part of making this cake was rolling the cake. The first time, I wrapped the sponge with parchment paper without sprinkling sugar. Disaster struck and the cake cracked. So my super brain was convinced it was because I missed out the sugar.

So the second time to avoid the cracks, I wrapped the sponge again in parchment paper and sprinkled quite a bit of sugar on the paper. But the sugar combined with the heat from the cake made the sponge very sticky and gross on top. I finally came to the conclusion the baking paper didn’t soak up the steam generated by the hot sponge.

So crossed my fingers and started the third time. This time I sprinkled the right amount of sugar and wrapped the sponge in a tea towel. This made all the difference in the world. So my verdict: Use a tea towel sprinkled with barely any sugar to wrap the sponge! Worked like a charm!

In a nutshell

Remember…

The airiness of the sponge cake depends on beating the egg whites and sugar on high till the volume of the mixture triples and the egg whites form stiff peaks. So don’t skimp on the beating time.

For the filling, do not overfill the cake. I know it’s tempting but the filling should be done leaving a gap of at least one inch on all sides. This makes the cake look pretty without all the filling oozing out.

Invert the sponge immediately after baking onto the tea towel sprinkled with sugar and ROLL IT WHILE IT’S HOT. This helps to avoid cracks.

This roll can be made in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled till needed. At the time of serving, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and cut them into ½ inch discs and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh strawberries.

Want to try a different filling? Looking for a tropical flavor? Try this delicious Chilli mango jam instead of the strawberry filling. Let me know what you think.

If you love strawberry desserts you should also try my Strawberry muffins with chocolate.

Print Recipe

Lemon Strawberry Cake Rolls

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Serves: 12 slices

Prep Time: 45 minutes – Cooking Time: 12-15 minutes

Light and fluffy lemon sponge cake filled with delicious cream cheese frosting and homemade strawberry jam.

Ingredients

• For the lemon sponge cake
• 125 grams all purpose flour
• 15 grams cornflour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 150 grams powdered sugar, divided
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• A pinch of salt
• For the lemon syrup
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons water
• For the filling
• 100 grams cream cheese, softened
• 35 grams powdered sugar, sifted
• 15 grams butter, softened
• 1/2 cup homemade strawberry jam

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the bottom and 2 inches high on all sides of a 9” X 13” baking pan with parchment paper.

2

Sift the flour, baking powder and cornflour.

3

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, 50 grams of sugar, oil, lemon zest and warm milk till frothy.

4

Fold in the sifted flour into the egg yolks and set aside.

5

In another bowl, with an electric hand beater, beat the egg whites on high until foamy.

6

Add in the remaining 100 grams of sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Beat on high until the egg whites triple in volume and stiff peaks form. It took approximately 3 minutes on my beater.

7

Gently fold half the egg whites into the flour mixture. Once combined fold in the other half. Do not over mix.

8

Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top is golden.

9

While the sponge is baking, spread a tea towel on the kitchen counter and sprinkle with some powdered sugar.

10

As soon as the cake is done. Remove from oven and invert it onto the towel while it is hot. Make a roll along with the towel and let it cool completely.

11

While the cake is cooling, combine all the ingredients for the lemon syrup and mix well until the sugar is dissolved. Keep aside.

12

For the filling, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and butter until creamy and smooth. Keep aside.

To assemble the cake roll:

13

Once the sponge is cooled completely, unroll the sponge carefully and loosen it from the towel.

14

Pour in spoonfuls of lemon syrup on the cake and wait a couple of minutes for the cake to soak.

15

Then spread a thin layer of your favorite strawberry jam taking care to leave one inch on all sides. Now top the jam with another thin layer of cream cheese filling.

16

Again roll back the cake tightly the same direction it was rolled before, but this time without the tea towel.

17

Wrap the cake roll with cling film and chill till needed.

18

Before serving, slice off the sides if desired, then sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar. Cut ½ inch discs and serve with a side of whipped cream and some sliced strawberries.

Notes

To avoid cracks, roll the cake while its hot.