Apple Cake Roll
Spiced Apple Cake Roll
I really look forward to apple season. I enjoy eating plenty of apples fresh, but I also like cooking with them. I’ve made a lot of different cake rolls in the past, and decided to make a cake roll with apples this time. Good decision.
This is a fun dessert, and easier to make than you might think. I also added whole berry cranberry sauce. I made my own, but feel free to use canned if that is what you have.
The filling is not terribly sweet. I like it that way, but you can add more sugar. You can serve it plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with a scoop of ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce would be nice, too.
The cake can also be served for breakfast or brunch.
Apple Cake Roll
4 eggs, room temp
2/3 c. sugar
¼ t. vanilla
¾ c. sifted cake flour*
1 t. cinnamon
¾ t. each baking powder and nutmeg
¼ t. each cloves and salt
Powdered sugar for sprinkling
2 lbs. apples, peeled and sliced thin- about 5 medium apples
1 c. whole berry cranberry sauce- homemade or canned**
Whipped cream, optional
Grease bottom of 15×10-inch jelly roll pan and line with wax paper. Grease wax paper. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla 5 minutes. Sift together flour with dry ingredients and fold into eggs. Spread in prepared pan and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 13 minutes or until light golden. Meanwhile sprinkle a tea towel with the powdered sugar. Loosen hot cake from sides of pan and invert onto tea towel. Remove wax paper carefully and roll up cake from the narrow side. Cool. Meanwhile combine apples with cranberry sauce in saucepan and simmer until apples have softened, but still hold their shape. Stir occasionally. Cool to lukewarm. Carefully unroll cake and spread with the apple mixture. Re-roll cake, discarding towel. Serve with dollops of whipped cream. Serves 8.
* To make your own cake flour just measure out a cup of all purpose flour- and remove 2 tablespoons for 1 cup of cake flour- or – remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. I normally do the cornstarch thing with several cups of flour at a time so I have cake flour on hand when needed.
** For homemade cranberry sauce place 1 1/2 cups of cranberries in a saucepan and add a little orange juice or water- about 1/2 c.- and sugar to taste. Simmer until berries burst and mixture thickens. Yield- about 1 cup of whole berry cranberry sauce.
