This cake takes a little work, but it is super fun to make, and the reward is a delicious, beautiful cake that would be perfect for any Valentine’s Day gathering!
Ingredients:
For cake:
- 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp flour
- 3 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs, room temp.
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup packed, brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk (see note)
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp liquid red food coloring
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp powder sugar (For rolling)
For Inlay:
- 1 egg white
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
For Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese (1 block), softened at room temp.
- ¾ cup powder sugar (or to taste)
- ¼ cup butter, softened at room temp
- 1 tsp clear vanilla extract (see note)
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. While your oven is preheating, download and print out pattern (free download I used below) and place it on a 10 x 15 baking sheet. Cover pattern with parchment paper.
Step 2: In a small bowl, combine egg white, flour, sugar and melted butter and whisk together to form inlay batter. Once combined, transfer to a piping bag with a small piping tip. Pipe batter on parchment following pattern design. Carefully remove pattern from underneath parchment. Place tray with inlay in the freezer to set for 15 min.
Step 3: While inlay is setting, start making the cake batter. In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk and set aside.
Step 4: Using an electric mixer in a large bowl and beat eggs on high speed for 5 min until light and fluffy. Next, add sugar, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring and mix on medium speed until combined. Once combined, add in dry ingredients and mix on low until smooth and combine.
Step 5: Once set, pull inlay out of fridge. Pour batter onto inlay and spread evenly. Put cake in oven and bake for 15 -17 min. When baked, cake will spring back when touched.
Step 6: While cake is in oven, pull out baking rack and lay out a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Once slightly cooled (1-2 min), flip cake out onto parchment paper. Peel off top parchment paper and then place it back on top of the cake. Flip cake back over and place on a tea towel. Remove the now top parchment paper. Sprinkle thin layer of powder sugar on top of cake to help prevent sticking when rolling cake. Roll the cake up in the parchment and towel. Set aside on baking rack and let cool for 1 hour.
Step 7: While cake is cooling, make frosting. In a medium bowl whip cream cheese with an electric mixer on high for 1 min. Once smooth and creamy add in butter and whip until combined. Next, add in the powder sugar and vanilla and beat on medium until fully combined and creamy.
Step 8: Once cake is cool but still slightly warm, carefully unroll and gently flatten, so it is flat enough to put on frosting. Evenly spread the frosting on the cake leaving a little room on the sides so it does squish out when rolled. Slowly and carefully roll the cake back up ensuring your roll is tight. You can use the towel to help roll it.
Step 9: Once cake is rolled, place it on a platter to serve. To ensure everything is set, let set in fridge for 30 min before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you do not have buttermilk, you can make it by adding vinegar or lemon juice to whole milk. And letting sit for 5-10 min. The ratio is 1 cup milk to 1 Tbsp acid.
- If you do not have clear vanilla, you can just use regular vanilla. I use clear to ensure the frosting stays white, but both will work.
- If inlay batter is too thick you can add another egg white a little at a time until it is the correct consistency. Same can be done with flour if it is too thin. The consistency should be thick but pipeable.
- I have also made this recipe subbing the all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten free flour. Just decrease the baking time to 12-14 min.
- Here is the downloadable inlay pattern I used: https://cleobuttera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Medium-Heart-Pattern.pdf
I created my recipe from these recipes : Sally’s Baking Addiction https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/how-to-make-a-red-velvet-cake-roll/
Gluten Free on a shoestring https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-strawberry-cake-roll
Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/swiss-roll-cake/#wprm-recipe-container-19543
