Jelly Roll

It is no wonder that every country has a favorite rolled cake—the American jelly roll, the British Swiss roll, the French biscuit roulé, the custard-filled gypsy rolls of Spam—for rolled cakes are eminently satisfying, offering a pretty presentation in return for just a little expertise. They most often grace the tea table but, with a luscious filling, are also grand enough to serve as dessert.

Rolled cakes are based on a thin sheet of génoise or biscuit batter, spread with filling and rolled to enclose it. To emphasize their spiral form, the filling should be of contrasting taste and color: light Chantilly cream or perhaps a pink raspberry butter cream in a rich chocolate roll, sweet red jam in a basic white roll. The French really go to town with their traditional yule log (bûche de Noël) of chocolate cake with ganache filling, lavishly decorated on the outside as well. The “grain” of the log is simulated in coffee or chocolate butter cream traced with a flat ridged piping tube or the tines of a fork. Marzipan holly, meringue mushrooms, a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar snow and spun sugar all complete the festive picture.