My twist on the classic red velvet cake takes the form of a roulade rolled around a silky white chocolate cream. To disguise the red color from unsuspecting guests, I dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar. Only when you slice the roulade do you see the cake’s shocking color.–Flo Braker
LC Thank You, Merriam-Webster Note
roulade |roōˈläd| noun a dish cooked or served in the form of a roll, typically made from a flat piece of meat, fish, or sponge cake, spread with a soft filling and rolled up into a spiral. ORIGIN French, from rouler “to roll.”
Red Velvet Cake Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring (1/2 fluid ounce)
- For the white chocolate–cream cheese filling
- One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounces) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup (4 to 5 ounces) red raspberries, picked over for stems (optional)
- For decoration
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Red raspberries
Directions
- Make the cake
- 1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Coat a small area in the center of a 15 1/2-by-10 1/2-by-1-inch pan (jelly-roll pan) with nonstick spray. Line the pan with aluminum foil, pressing the foil into the contours of the pan and leaving a 2-inch overhang at each short end. Butter the foil and then flour it, tapping out any excess flour.
- 2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla extract, and vinegar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and add the granulated sugar in a steady stream. Continue to beat until light in color and fluffy in texture, about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- 3. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions alternately with the milk mixture in 1 or 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition only until incorporated smoothly. Stop the mixer after each addition and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the food coloring and mix until the coloring is completely and evenly incorporated into the batter. Immediately spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula.
- 4. Bake the cake until it’s set on top and springs back when lightly pressed in the center, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. If necessary, run a thin knife blade around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Carefully lift the foil overhang and transfer the cake to a wire rack. Without delay, place a sheet of foil over the cake and manipulate the foil to make a shallow tent to hold in the moisture as the cake cools. Let cool for about 45 minutes before you begin to assemble the dessert.
- Make the white chocolate-cream cheese filling
- 5. In a bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until smooth. Pour in half the chocolate and beat until smooth, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the bowl. Pour in the remaining chocolate and beat just until combined. Add the butter, sugar, and almond extract and beat until smooth and creamy. You should have about 1 1/3 cups. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to overnight. (Bring to room temperature and beat with a rubber spatula, small whisk, or fork until smooth and creamy before using.)
- Assemble the cake
- 6. Remove the foil from the top of the cake. Transfer the cake and its bottom sheet of foil to the work surface, placing it so that one of its long sides is parallel to the edge of the surface closest to you. Place another long sheet of aluminum foil on the work surface nearby.
- 7. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 cup plus about 2 tablespoons filling evenly over the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered on the long side farthest from you. (Any leftover filling makes a good kitchen snack for the baker, especially with a few berries.) Strew the raspberries, if using, on the filling along the length of the cake.
- 8. Begin rolling the cake by flipping the edge nearest you over onto itself. Then, with the aid of the foil that extends beyond the short sides, roll up the cake lengthwise until you reach the far long side. As you work, wrap the foil around the roll to assist in rounding the shape (otherwise the cake will stick to your hands). To ensure the roll is uniform, place the roll in its foil across the bottom third of a 24-inch-long piece of parchment paper, bring the top edge of the paper toward you, and drape it over the cake roll, allowing a 2-inch overhang.
- 9. Place the edge of a rimless baking sheet at a 45-degree angle to the roll and your work surface. Apply pressure against the roll, trapping the 2-inch overhang, and push while simultaneously pulling the bottom portion of paper toward you. This push-pull motion creates a resistance that results in compressing the log into a uniform shape. If any cracks appeared as you rolled the cake, they are consolidated in this compression and disappear from view.
- 10. Carefully lift the roll in the aluminum foil and set it, seam side down, on the fresh sheet of foil. Wrap the cake securely in the foil. Transfer the foil-wrapped roll to the baking sheet or shallow tray and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to help set the filling.
- To serve
- 11. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and peel off and discard the foil. Carefully lift the roll onto a serving plate with the aid of a long, wide spatula or a rimless baking sheet. (If not serving right away, cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep the cake’s surface from drying out and return to the refrigerator to serve the same day.) Dust the cake with powdered sugar. Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut the roll into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Center each portion on a dessert plate. Accompany with the raspberries.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Cocoa Bean Almond Roulade from Baking Obsession
- Banana Roll Cake from Cafe Chocolada
- Brown Sugar–Ice Cream Chocolate Roulade from Leite's Culinaria
- Pecan and Carrot Cake Roll from Leite's Culinaria
Red Velvet Cake Roll Recipe © 2008 Flo Braker. Photo © 2008 Scott Peterson. All rights reserved.
I made two of these cakes in tandem on Christmas Eve; one to serve that evening with my in-laws, and one for Christmas day with my side of the family. The directions were very clear and helpful. Both turned out great, and everyone thought they were delicious. Thank you for sharing the wonderful recipe! Next time I will make sure to have more extra raspberries to serve with the cake. I think a sprig of mint leaves with each slice would have made the presentation more festive looking for this holiday. My husband suggested drizzling chocolate sauce on each plate under the slice of cake, but that might be too much. Anyway, we all loved it. Thank you!
Michele, so glad you liked the cake. And TWO of them–that’s impressive. Although I’m a chocoholic, and oftentimes can be found sitting in the pantry mainlining the stuff, I agree with you: adding some under the cake is too much. A sprig of green mint on the red cake is very festive. Great idea.
a friend requested red velvet for her birthday, and i really wanted to make her the roll. however, she is vegan. could i use vegan substitutes for all the dairy? would it still work the same? my mother used to make pumpkin rolls every thanksgiving and i know that if she didn’t make it just right, it would crumble as she rolled it.
thanks, tasha. :]
Hi Tasha, thanks for writing. Baking is such a precise science that any substitutions can have an unwanted effect. I suggest looking for a vegan version of a red velvet cake. That way you’ll be assured success and your friend can have her cake and eat it too.
Can I use the cake mix out of the box and icing out of the store bought container and do this the same way, I’m sure it’s not as good as your recipe but do you know if it would turn out? Also, I’ll have to make as much as I can the day before I serve-how do you suggest I do this or would you recommend doing that at all?
Hi Phebe, while our approach here is cooking from scratch, we know that not every cook has the time or the skill to do that–especially baking, But none of us can vouch whether this will turn out. Cake mixes have all kind of added ingredients to make them tender. This cake needs a certain amount of sturdiness in order to be rolled, and Flo Braker has built that into her recipe. So we’d hate to say, “sure!” only to have it not work for you.
As far as making this recipe ahead, I think you can safely make the cake and the frosting the day before and assemble it the day you plan to serve. You can even make the whole thing a day ahead and wrap it tightly in plastic so it holds it shape.
I would like to make this ahead of time. Have you ever tried freezing this?
Hi Donna,
Personally, I would not recommend assembling and freezing this cake in advance as it will dramatically affect the texture. You might try freezing the red velvet cake layer, then defrosting before filling and rolling. Let us know how it works.
I love red velvet cake and I also have my own recipe of this cake, but I never get tired of finding a unique red velvet cake, I might try this one, it looks really tempting.
I understand how tempting it is to keep trying new recipes, even when you have a tried-and-true version of it yourself, Nathan. Do let us know if your curiosity gets the better of you…
I just made this, and I have a question for anyone else who has made it. Has anyone tried flipping the cake onto a tea towel sprinked with powdered sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven and rolling it up? I was just curious if it would work like a pumpkin roll. I will try it next time, but wanted to follow the recipe to a T for the first time. I’m letting it chill, so I have not tried it yet. However, it smells divine :0)
Let’s ask the masses, Katie. Has anyone tried that with this particular recipe? And Katie, how did you like the cake?
OMG!! It was amazing! I work in a bakery at a local grocery store, and I took some of the roll into work to share. I have people asking how much I’ll charge to make them a roll, LOL! The white chocolate and the almond flavor of the cream cheese filling was a HUGE hit with everyone. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing recipe.
Terrific, Katie! You are very welcome. You really can’t go wrong with any recipe from baker Flo Braker….