Angel Food Roll Cake

Eid Al-Adha is tomorrow, and this time instead of making a traditional Pakistani dessert, I whipped up an Angel Food Roll cake. After all, it has a ‘holy’ ring to it even in the name! There was a plethora of fresh berries in the fridge, so what better to use as a filling than fresh fruit and some pastry cream. One thing led to another. Since only yolks were used in the pastry cream and I was left with the egg whites, I decided to make some meringues, too! A little extra sweet never hurt anyone, right….especially on a meat -heavy, Eid day 🙂

Ingredients:

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Cake: Angel food cake mix ( prepared according to box instructions – I had to use the high-altitude directions which meant adding 1/3 cups of cornstarch and whipping it for a good 3 minutes) . Put in a parchment lined jellyroll pan and baked for 20 mins at 350F till the top was slightly brown. Meanwhile, a dust a clean towel with ample icing sugar. Run a knife through all four edges of the still warm cake and invert quickly over the towel. You have to work fast because if the cake cools, it will be impossible to roll it. Once inverted, remove the parchment paper from the back. Use the tea-towel as a guide and start rolling it in from the short edge. leave it to the side to cool completely. Next prepare the custard.

Pastry cream/custard for Angel Food

• 2 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1tsp vanilla
• 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp butter

Whip yolks and sugar till pale yellow. Add the cornstarch and vanilla essence and beat. Warm the milk and add slowly to the yolk mixture, tempering it. If you add it all at once, you’ll have scrambled eggs, so do it slowly! Return to heat and cook till mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Finally, add a dab of butter for some shine to the custard.

Whipping Cream:

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Beat one cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/3 cup sugar till peaks form. Chill in the fridge till the cake is ready to be assembled.

Meringue ( click to find a link to Pavlova’s)

• 2 egg whites ( those leftover from above)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp vinegar/lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp cornstarch

Whip the egg whites till soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Finally, add the cornstarch and vinegar and a dash of vanilla essence ( optional) . Pipe or spoon on to a parchment paper tray and bake at 225F for 1 hr and 15mins. Leave in warm , turned off oven for 30 additional minutes. Remove and use as decorations for the final cake.

Final Assembly of the Angel Food Roll Cake

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Your creativity can really come into play once it comes to the assembly of the Angel Food Roll Cake. Unroll the cooled cake carefully. Smooth a thin layer of the custard filling ( you can also use a cream cheese frosting, or just whipped cream). Ensure that you don’t overfill near the edges, otherwise it’ll get squished out when you re-roll. Sprinkle on your favorite fruit. Using the towel as a guide start re-rolling the cake but this time make sure the towel doesn’t get rolled in !! ( that would be one chewy cake!!). When you reach the other edge, carefully lift the entire cake and transfer to a plate. Keep the seam-side down. Next, start putting on whipped cream on the tops and edges of the Angel Roll Cake. Decorate with extra fruit, chocolate sauce and the meringue. You can even use grated coconut, chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Chill in the fridge!

This spectacular Angel Roll cake won’t last long. Your guests will be craving for more. And if they do, direct them to this page and ask them to make their own 🙂

Eid Mubarik !