Cake Slice Bakers - August 2012: The Ultimate Lemon Roll

It's cake time! And by cake time I mean that it's time to share this month's cake baked to you from the Cake Slice Bakers. Well, I'm actually a little late, it being the 21st and all, but more on that later. 

I know I've been on a hiatus for a little while, and I probably will go back to that after I share this post. But it won't be for long. I'm just trying to settle in and get used to things. It's only my fourth day in my new "home" and I think I'm already starting to miss the normality of my home back in Colorado. 

Even though I haven't been posting anything recently, I did manage to make this cake a week before my road trip (my dad and I drove 1,700+ miles just so you know!). This month's cake happened to be a lemon roll cake. Now I've never made any sort of roll cake in my life, ever, so this was new and exciting for me, and dare I say it a dern good success! But when I think of lemons, I think of Spring, not Summer, but because this was the cake that won, I was obligated to make it, and I'm so very glad I did.

This cake is called the "Ultimate Lemon Roll" for a reason. It is super duper tart and lemony and so, so delicious. The cake is light and springy, not too lemony, but just right. The filling, which I halved from the original recipe (the amounts I used are listed below), was super creamy and really sour, but a good kind of sour. It was like eating a lemonade milkshake. Granted, the filling was very loose and sort of squished out at the sides, but it was great nonetheless. My entire family liked this cake! Even my mom, who never goes back for seconds on anything I make, went back for seconds, and I think she wanted to go back for thirds, but was shy about asking. She thought it was a beautiful cake, and joked around saying it should be her birthday cake. I'll have to see about that, because her birthday is in November and if August doesn't scream "lemons!" then I don't think November will either. And even if she wanted it, I wouldn't be able to be there to make it. One of the downfalls of going to a different state for college, right?

Anyways, the reason this post is a little late is because my apartment's internet decided to disconnect. We were finally able to get a guy to come in and fix the internet today, and I'm so glad I'm not paying for the maintenance because all the guy did was unplug something and then plug it back in. Yay for college taking care of that stuff. Anyways, enjoy this cake, it is really fantastic, especially if you love tart lemons!

The Ultimate Lemon Roll
Makes one 11 inch cake roll
Slightly adapted from The Cake Book

Lemon Silk Filling
Ingredients
3 large egg yolks, room temperature*
½ cup + 2 ½ tbsp. (233 g) sugar
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
¼ cup heavy cream

*I suggest holding on to at least one egg white because you will need it for the cake.

Directions
Set a sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan until blended. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and butter over medium heat. Whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens. (I have an electric stove and used the 4.5 setting) The custard should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Strain the mixture through the sieve and into the waiting bowl.
Set the bowl containing the custard in a larger bowl filled 1/3 full of ice water. Be careful when placing the bowl with the custard into the bowl with the water; you don’t want the water to splash into the custard. Stir the mixture frequently until chilled, about 15 minutes.

Whisk the heavy cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. You can use your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; you can use a regular hand mixer; or you can chose to strengthen your arm muscles and do it manually. Stir a spoonful of the whipped cream into the lemon mixture and beat. This will lighten up the custard. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. This filling can be made two days in advance,

Lemon Chiffon Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
1 ¼ cup (125 g) sifted cake flour*
½ cup sugar (96 g)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs, separated
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, strained of the pulp and seeds
¼ cup canola oil
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg white
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ cup (48 g) sugar
*Sift the flour first, then scoop, measure, and level out.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease the sides and bottom of an 11 ½ x 17 ½ inch jelly-roll pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place a sheet of parchment paper (roughly the size of the pan) on a clean work surface. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar.
Sift together the sifted cake flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk the mixture until well blended and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, canola oil, water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Gradually fold in the flour mixture one quarter at a time. Mix until just blended.

In the bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg whites and the cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula quickly beat in one-quarter of the egg whites into the cake batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tray and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for 14-18 minutes (it took 14 ½ minutes for me). The top should look like it’s just starting to brown and it springs back when lightly touched. Run a paring knife around the edges of the cake. Invert the hot cake onto the sugar-dusted parchment paper. Take the pan off the cake and gently remove the parchment paper from the bottom (now the top) of the cake. Starting with the short end, gently roll the cake up, rolling the bottom sheet of parchment paper along with it. Let cool like that completely.

Gently unroll the cake. Spread the chilled filling over the surface of the cake, leaving a 1 inch boarder all around. Reroll the cake (this time without the parchment paper). Place on a serving tray and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. If you wish, dust confectioners’ sugar on top before slicing and serving.