Strawberry Cake Roll

Roll into spring season with this gorgeous strawberry cake roll: a delicate almond sponge cake decorated with a cute strawberry design and filled with strawberry whipped cream. The Japanese are really on to something with these patterned cake rolls. They are as impressive to behold as they are delicious to eat, and are arguably much easier and less time-intensive than fancy frosted layer cakes. Talk about dressed to impress!

If you’re the type that wants to create beautifully decorated cakes that’ll wow your guests, but don’t want to deal with a laborious layer cake, you should definitely give a Japanese-style patterned cake roll a try.This stunning style of cake allows you to create intricate designs that are baked right into the cake itself, no fancy frosting necessary.

Ingredients:

For Paste:

• 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, softened (softer than room temp, but not melted)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons (30g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (40g) cake flour, sifted
• 1 large egg white (30g)
• food coloring

For Cake:

• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup (67g) cake flour, sifted
• food coloring

For Filling:

• 1 cup (240g) heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1/2 ounce (14g) freeze-dried strawberries
• 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (8g) powdered sugar