Cake Roll Inspired by Your Favorite Cocktail

Fuzzy Navel Cake Roll: orange roulade cake, piped joconde cake batter, peach schnapps, orange curd and peach whipped cream.

Each month a baker from our Homebakers Collective is assigning a challenge for us to bake our own version of and post at the end of the month. January was my choice so I assigned a cake roll because they are fun and delicious. The Fuzzy Navel is a drink that keeps popping up in my life because I have a place in my heart for peach schnapps, and thus the Fuzzy Navel Cake Roll is born.

Check out the other baker’s takes on the Cocktail Cake Roll at: https://homebakerscollective.com/2020/01/31/januarys-challenge-cake-roll-inspired-by-your-favorite-cocktail/

Orange Curd:

• zest from 1 orange
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• pinch salt
• 4 TBSP butter

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over medium low heat with a heatproof spatula until thickened. Chill.

Jaconde Cake Batter Decoration:

From Fantastical Cakes by Gesine Bullock-Prado

• 4 TBSP butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup cake flour

Cream butter and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl. Add egg whites and beat until smooth. Mix in cake flour until incorporated. Separate and add food coloring as desired. Fill a small pastry bag (or several, depending on your design) with a small round tip.

Line a 17×12 inch baking sheet with a silicon baking sheet that fits exactly. You can either freehand your design, or print a design out on paper – place underneath your silicon mat and trace over the design. Let freeze until firm.

Biscuit Roulade:

From Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Berenbaum

• 33g cake flour
• 24g cornstarch
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix flour and cornstarch together in a small bowl.

Separate 2 eggs. Place the whites in a medium bowl. Place the yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the 2 remaining whole eggs, extra egg yolk and 1/2 cup sugar. Beat on medium high until very thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Sift in half of flour mixture, fold gently to incorporate. Repeat with second half and fold gently until there are no streaks.

Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until foamy. Add remaining 1 TBSP sugar and whip until firm peaks. Fold into batter.

Pour onto the ungreased decorated baking sheet and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake for 7 minutes, until just golden brown.

Carefully separate the cake from the edges of the baking sheet with a paring knife. Lift the cake out of the baking sheet and place on the counter. Dust with powdered sugar. Roll the cake, silicon mat still attached, into a tight cylinder, starting with the short side. Let cool completely.

Peach Whipped Cream:

• 2 tsp instant Clearjel powder (available from King Arthur website – this helps the cream keep its shape )
• 2 TBSP powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP peach schnapps
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 good quality jarred peach, diced

In a medium bowl, whisk together Clearjel and powdered sugar. Stir in peach schnapps and heavy whipping cream. Whip until firm. Fold in diced peaches.

Assembly:

Unroll cooled cake and carefully remove silicon baking mat. Hopefully your design will be in tact. Brush liberally with peach schnapps. Spread orange curd over entire cake, leaving the last 2 inches on the short end bare since it will squeeze out there anyway. Spread with peach whipped cream, also leaving last 2 inches bare. Roll cake back up, and chill. Cut away the ends to reveal your perfect spiral (and to get a sneak taste test).

This will keep, refrigerated, for at least 2 days. Eat the cake, then make fuzzy navels the rest of the winter with that bottle of peach schnapps. Thank me later.

If anyone deserves an opera cake, it’s Elvis. It is one of the classiest desserts out there, for one heck of a class act. Taking Care of Business indeed.

Jaconde:

• 32g flour
• 50g almond flour
• 140g egg yolks
• 180g egg whites
• 170g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Peanut Butter French Buttercream:

• 100g sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 227g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 80g creamy salted peanut butter

Bananas Foster:

• 2 bananas, thinly sliced
• 42 g butter
• 3 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 TBSP dark rum

Ganache:

• 227g dark chocolate, chopped
• 240 ml heavy cream
• 57g unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:

• 75g dark chocolate
• 25g unsalted butter

Make jaconde: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 12×17″ jelly roll pan. Line with wax paper and grease and flour the paper.

Whisk flour and almond flour together and set aside. In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, 1/4 cup whites and 100g sugar until thick and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Fold in flour gently. In a second mixing bowl, beat remaining egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold into batter gently. Smooth in prepared pan and bake 7-10 minutes, until light golden brown and springs back in the center. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then flip onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Make buttercream: Cut butter into tablespoons and let sit at room temperature. In stand mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water, combine yolks, sugar, rum, vanilla and salt. Stir constantly until 155 degrees on thermometer – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled completely to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time until all butter is incorporated and buttercream is thick and smooth. Add peanut butter, one tablespoon at a time and mix to incorporate.

Make bananas foster: Melt butter and brown sugar in large saucepan. Add sliced bananas. Add heavy cream and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until bananas are cooked through and start to caramelize. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

Make ganache: Place chopped chocolate in small bowl. Heat heavy cream in saucepan or microwave until warm. Pour over chocolate and let sit 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Add butter and stir to incorporate.

Assemble Opera Cake: Cut jaconde into 3 even pieces, trimming sides first if necessary. Layer 1/3 of peanut butter buttercream on first layer of cake. Refrigerate 10 minutes too firm. Top buttercream with sliced bananas and syrup. Top with 2nd layer of cake. layer 1/3 buttercream. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Pour ganache over buttercream and smooth. Refrigerate. Top ganache with bananas. Place last cake layer on top. Spread remaining buttercream on cake and smooth. Refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

Make chocolate glaze: melt 50g chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in 25g chocolate until smooth. Pour over chilled buttercream and smooth. Refrigerate until firm. Trim all sides.

Decorate as desired, preferably with TCB lightning bolts.

I really thought I had moved on to fall baking, but then I came into some passion fruit puree, as one does (I saw it at the store, and I bought it). Luckily, one of the 43 cookbooks I have checked out from the library right now was a Sherry Yard cookbook that had a delicious looking passion fruit cheesecake. It uses a thin layer of white cake as a base, which I thought was interesting. Normally, I like my cheesecakes to be heavy on the cream cheese and baked until the cheesecake is on the dry side. This cheesecake is extremely creamy, not dry at all. But with the cake base (that comes out unscathed after being baked twice) it works beautifully. There were clean plates all around.

I suppose it’s a little crazy (safe space) to bake an entire cake just to stick most of it in the freezer for another time. But, if you’re like me, you don’t mind having cake layers in the freezer. You could make this with a graham cracker or cookie crust if you’re not as party as me.

• Buttermilk White Chocolate Cake:
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 3 oz white chocolate
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease, flour, and line with parchment two 8″ round cake pans and one 9″ round cake pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
Melt white chocolate in microwave at 50-percent power, or in a bowl over simmering water.
In a stand mixer, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until fluffy. Whisk a little of the butter/sugar into the white chocolate to blend. Add back to bowl and beat on low speed. Add egg yolks in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
On low speed, add dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating, in 4 additions.
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar gradually and beat until stiff and glossy. Fold egg whites into batter in 2 additions.
Scrape batter into prepared pans – a thinner layer of batter into the 9″ pan (about 1/2 inch deep). Divide remaining batter between the two 8″ pans.
Bake the 9″ cake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Bake 8″ cakes for 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Cool cakes in pans.
Wrap the two 8″ rounds in wax paper and foil and freeze for another happy day.

• Passion Fruit Cheesecake:
• 1 1/2 cups passion fruit puree
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of a 8″ round springform pan. Using the 8″ base, cut the 9″ cake round to fit and place inside. Wrap pan tightly in foil.

Place 1 cup passion fruit puree in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to 1/2 cup, stirring regularly and remove from heat. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup puree.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, scraping the bowl as necessary, blend cream cheese and sugar on low speed, do not beat. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, blending well. Add sour cream and blend. Add the passion fruit puree in a slow stream with mixer still on low speed.

Pour into prepared pan. Place cheesecake pan into a larger cake pan or roasting pan, and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake for 1 hour, until the cheesecake is set. Remove from water bath, cool, and chill.

• For the Passion Fruit Glaze:
• 1/4 cup water (plus 2 TBSP for gelatin)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fruit puree
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 pkg gelatin

Soften gelatin in 2 TBS water. Combine 1/4 water and sugar over low heat, stir to dissolve. Stir in puree and lemon juice. Remove from heat. Add softened gelatin and stir until completely melted. Cool until thickened slightly, but still pourable.

Top cheesecake with passion fruit glaze. Chill to set. Unmold and top with fresh passion fruit to serve.