Welcome to Bon Appétit Bake Club, a community of curious bakers. Each month senior test kitchen editors Jesse Szewczyk and Shilpa Uskokovic share a must-make recipe and dive deep on why it works. Come bake and learn with us—ask questions, share pics, listen to our podcast, and lots more here. And don’t forget to join the Bake Club Group chat over on Substack.
For deputy food editor Hana Asbrink’s birthday last year, I made this Strawberry Shortcake Roll cake filled with vanilla whip and tiny ruby red berries. Hana liked it enough to take some home, which in the Test Kitchen is a ringing endorsement! Traditionally, this dessert asks you to (1) swaddle hot cake in a kitchen towel; (2) roll, cool, and unroll it to set the shape; then (3) fill and reroll it with bated breath. By tinkering with the ratio of eggs and oil, I’ve achieved a cake that’s flexible even when cold, so you can skip most of those tedious steps. It’s a dessert tailor-made for spring and summer gatherings and more proof that strawberries and cream is a deserving classic.
Some tips to ensure roll cake success:
THE CAKE: Cream of tartar prevents the egg whites from becoming dry and overwhipped, ensuring a tender, even-crumbed sponge.
THE FILLING: A few spoonfuls of instant vanilla pudding mix turn a pint of heavy cream into a pillowy but stable whip, with a custardy density you can’t quite capture without its inclusion.
THE ROLLING: For the plumpest, roundest shape, think of the parchment like a corset, pulling tightly around the cake as you roll.
THE FINISH: To make a swirly stripe on top like we did, use an oversized basket weave tip such as an Ateco 789 (sometimes called a cake icer tip).
THE BERRIES: Look for deeply red, fully ripe strawberries with no white around the leaves. If you can’t find promising ones, use fresh raspberries instead; they tend to be more consistent and are a better choice here than mediocre strawberries.
