Passover Citrus Sponge Roll

This Passover dessert swaps flour for potato starch, making it kosher for Pesach while still producing a tender, airy sponge that rolls without cracking. The cake itself is lemon-scented, and the filling is a silky orange curd thickened with potato starch and enriched with egg yolks and margarine.

Beating the egg whites to stiff peaks with half the sugar is what gives this cake its lift. There’s no baking powder or baking soda here, so those whipped whites are doing all the structural work. Fold them into the yolk mixture gently, starting with a quarter of the whites to lighten the batter first, then folding in the rest. Aggressive stirring deflates the air and you’ll end up with a flat, dense sheet instead of a spongy one.

The roll happens while the cake is still warm. Turn it out onto a clean cloth as soon as it comes from the oven. Warm sponge is pliable. Cold sponge cracks. Spread the cooled orange filling evenly, then use the cloth to help lift and roll the cake gently away from you.

Pro Tips

• Sift the potato starch before measuring. Lumps in potato starch don’t dissolve during baking and leave gritty pockets in the cake.
• Temper the egg yolks when making the filling by stirring a little hot orange mixture into them first. Adding yolks directly to the hot pot will scramble them.
• Let the filling cool completely before spreading. Warm filling melts the delicate sponge and makes rolling impossible.

Variations

• Use lemon curd instead of orange filling for an all-lemon version.
• Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh berries for a simple, elegant presentation.
• Add a teaspoon of orange zest to the sponge batter for an extra citrus punch throughout.