Lychee Cream Roll Cake

Yield: 8–10 servings

Ingredients

Lychee Cake:

4 large eggs, separated & room temp*
½ cup + 1 Tbsp (112g) granulated sugar, divided
¼ cup (50g) neutral oil
3 Tbsp (43g) whole milk, room temp
1 tsp LorAnn Oils Lychee Flavour
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
½ cup + 1 ½ Tbsp (67g) cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp cream of tartar
pink gel food colouring, optional
¼ cup (28g) confectioners’ sugar

Stabilized Whipped Cream:

2 Tbsp (14g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 cup (227g) heavy cream, divided & cold
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

*Cold eggs are easier to separate, so separate ‘em as soon as you take ‘em out of the fridge.

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a quarter sheet pan (9" x 13") with parchment paper; set aside. (We used this quarter sheet pan.)
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, oil, milk, lychee flavour, vanilla, and salt.
Sift in cake flour and baking powder, then whisk to combine, making sure to find and incorporate any hidden clumps of flour.
Use a little bit of lemon juice or white vinegar to wipe down bowl and whisk attachment of your mixer. Place egg whites in bowl and whip on high until frothy. Add cream of tartar, then whip until whites are opaque.
Gradually add remaining 5 tablespoons (62g) granulated sugar, continuing to whip until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Add one third of meringue (and several drops of gel food colouring, if using) to the cake mixture, gently folding in with a silicone spatula. Repeat twice more with remaining meringue.
NOTE: We added a wee bit of food colouring each time we added more meringue to keep better control on our final colour.
Spread batter into prepared pan, smoothing out with an offset spatula.
Bake for 14–17 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean with only a few fluffy crumbs attached.
While cake bakes, place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Sprinkle paper with ¼ cup (28g) confectioners’ sugar.
Once cake comes out of oven, immediately turn cake out onto sugared parchment.
NOTE: This may seem intimidating, especially since we’re so used to letting cakes cool some in their pans. But, no fear! Be brave!
Brush parchment on which cake was baked with some cold water to help loosen it some. Carefully remove parchment from cake.
Starting with the narrow end, gently roll up the warm cake with the sugared parchment. Place on wire rack seam side down and allow cake to cool completely whilst rolled up.
While cake is cooling, make the stabilized whipped cream. In a small saucepan, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch. Place pan on medium heat and gradually whisk in ¼ cup (57g) of cream. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil in order to activate the cornstarch. Simmer for a moment just until mixture thickens.
Pour mixture into a small bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
While mixture is cooling, place metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment in freezer for 15 minutes.
In the chilly bowl of a stand mixer fitted with cold whisk attachment, whip remaining ¾ cup (170g) cream until soft peaks begin to form. Add vanilla.
Whipping constantly, add cornstarch mixture a tablespoon or so at a time. After all of the cornstarch mixture has been added, whip until stiff peaks form. Chill in fridge until cake assembly time.
Once cake is totally cool, slowly and carefully unroll your cake. Spread whipped cream over cake with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, leaving a half inch bare border around cake.
Gently roll your cake back up (without the parchment inside), making sure to keep it even. Wrap cake in fresh parchment and let rest (seam side down) in fridge for at least one hour. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if you like.