Okay, so I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one with problems this time around. Of course, I hate to fail at baking and I love to eat cake, so I just kept baking until I got it right.
My chosen assignment was Pumpkin Roll. I was kind of approaching this as a Thanksgiving dry run, since I just found out I’m hosting Turkey Day this year. However, based on my experiences, I’m not sure this is ready Thanksgiving just yet. It took three tries to make a table-worthy cake.
The baking was a breeze. The rolling was a breeze. Where I ran into trouble with the first two was the unrolling, filling, and re-rolling. The cake kept adhering to the towel, even after a heavy dose of powdered sugar. So for version three, I switched to parchment paper, which peeled right off.
Cracking was also an issue with early versions. When I unrolled my first cake, I developed a pretty large fissure down the center. The second time was an improvement, but still had a few breaks. By the third cake, I finally got a crack-free cake, which I attribute to the parchment.
The husband loved every one – cracks or no cracks – so overall this is a winner on the taste front. Instead of using cream cheese filling, I decided to make a lighter frosting a) to save on calories and b) because the husband doesn't like cream cheese icing (I, know right?). I liked the cooked frosting – it was kind of Ho Ho-esque.
I used this recipe for the cake and this recipe for “Not Seven Minute” Icing, which produced a light, marshmallowy cream. I didn’t have allspice, so I blended ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon with good results.
Here's the first attempt, using the towel:
Here it is rolled. You can't see the crack too much, but trust me - it's there.
Here's a view of the parchment roll. MUCH better.
And finally, a cross section.
I’m still considering this for Thanksgiving, but I don’t think I’d dare using a kitchen towel again to roll. Still, if you want a challenge that doesn’t require many ingredients, I’d give this a shot.
- In failing solidarity,
B
