Lemon Cake Roll (Lemon Roulade)

A light and fatless lemon sponge cake, rolled with whipped cream and lemon curd, this Lemon Cake Roll is tangy and zesty and the perfect spring cake.

Tips for rolling a cake

• While you don’t want to knock the air out of the batter, be sure to mix it fully. You don’t want clumps of egg white or dry ingredients left in the batter before baking.
• Don’t over bake the cake, it should barely start to turn a golden brown color on top.
• Roll the cake without filling while it is still warm. Then allow it to cool fully while still rolled, before filling the cake.
• It may seem counter intuitive to wrap it as the instructions say, still attached to the silicone baking mat or parchment paper, but it prevents the cake from cracking or breaking.

Additional German Cake Recipes to try!

• Bienenstich – German Bee Sting Cake Recipe
• Cranberry Orange Gugelhupf Recipe with Orange Glaze
• Apfelstreuselkuchen – Apple Streusel Cake Recipe

Ingredients for Lemon Cake Roll

• Eggs: Eggs are the key to this cake recipe, the egg whites are used to leaven the cake and the eggs keep the cake flexible and moist after baking.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar is mixed with both the egg yolks and egg whites.
• Corn starch: Corn starch is sifted in with the flour to create a mixture similar to cake flour which creates a lighter and fluffier texture.
• AP Flour: A little all purpose flour gives the substance to the sponge so that it isn’t just eggs and sugar.
• Lemon zest: The filling is very lemony because of the lemon curd but the zest of one lemon gives the cake a little extra kick of flavor.
• Lemon curd: Feel free to use your favorite lemon curd for the filling, I prefer this lemon curd recipe from epicurious.
• Heavy Cream: To give the filling a little more substance but still airiness, heavy cream is whipped and then folded with lemon curd.

How to make Lemon Roulade?

Lemon Sponge Batter

• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (my preferred option) or a sheet of parchment paper.
• Separate all 6 eggs. Place 4 egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and 6 egg yolks into a separate medium bowl.
• Add half of the sugar into the bowl with the egg whites. Beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment first on medium low speed until frothy and then increase the speed to medium high until stiff peaks form.
• Just before the egg whites have hit stiff peaks, add the remaining sugar into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk by hand until fully combined. Then, add in the lemon zest and whisk again.
• Once stiff peaks have formed, remove the bowl from the mixer and pour the whisked egg yolks on top. Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites until fully combined – being careful not to knock all of the air out of the whites.
• Sift the corn starch and flour into the egg mixture and fold to combine. Be sure the mixture is fully mixed – you don’t want any clumps of egg whites or dry ingredients left.

Bake the cake

• Once fully mixed, pour the batter onto the lined baking sheet. Lightly spread the batter over the baking sheet all the way to the edges. Try to make the cake as even as possible as it won’t spread as it bakes.
• Bake the cake in the middle of the preheated oven. First bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the cake and bake for 3-4 minutes until just barely golden brown on top.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 3 minutes.
• Gently run a dinner knife along all edges of the baking sheet to loosen the cake from the edges of the baking sheet.
• Dust the surface of the cake with powdered sugar and lay a thin kitchen towel over the surface of the cake.
• Holding the towel to the edges of the baking sheet, flip the baking sheet over so that the cake can fall away, onto the towel.
• Starting at one short edge, roll the cake between the towel and parchment paper or baking mat all the way to the other end.
• Once rolled, set the cake aside to cool fully before filling.

Roll the Cake

• Whip the cream to medium stiff peaks.
• Fold half of the whipped cream into the cooled lemon curd. Then pour the lemon curd and whipped cream mixture into the remaining whipped cream and fold to combine.
• Carefully unroll the cake. Very gently peel the parchment or baking mat off of the cake.
• Spread the whipped cream and lemon curd mixture over the cake leaving a 1″ border on the two long edges and the short side furthest away.
• Use the towel to lift and roll the short side of the cake, closest to you, over the filling. If needed use your hands to gently tighten the roll.
• Roll all the way to the far end. Once rolled, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight so the filling has a chance to firm up before slicing it. If it seems like it will flatten, wrap the cake in aluminum foil after the plastic wrap or prop up the sides with other things in your fridge.
• Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and optionally so fresh soft whipped cream.

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