Jelly Roll

Classic jelly roll cake, the kind your great-aunt could turn out for tea using whatever jam was open in the icebox. The cake itself is a simple beaten-egg sponge with no fat, leavened almost entirely by air whipped into the eggs, which gives it the flexibility needed to roll without cracking.

The make-or-break technique is the warm-roll. The instant the cake comes out of the oven, you flip it onto a confectioners-sugar-dusted tea towel, peel the wax paper off, trim the crisp edges, and roll it up with the towel inside. That first roll-while-warm trains the cake into shape. Once it cools, it stays curved, and you can unroll, spread the jam, and reroll without cracks running across the surface.

Whipping the eggs and sugar into a thick, pale, almost-marshmallow ribbon is the other technical pillar. Underbeaten eggs give a flat sponge that won’t curl.

Pro Tips

• Use room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs won’t whip to maximum volume
• Don’t overbake. A few extra minutes turns the sponge dry and brittle, and it will crack on the roll
• Roll the warm cake immediately after trimming the edges. Wait a minute too long and the surface dries out
• Use seedless jam or warm jam briefly before spreading. Cold thick jam tears the cake

Variations

• Spread with lemon curd and roll for a sharp citrus version
• Fill with sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries instead of jam
• Replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cocoa powder for a chocolate sponge that pairs with raspberry jam