We’ve already had snow and what I love most about living in Canada is our seasons! Without it, Christmas or winter just wouldn’t feel the same. The ground covered in a blanket of white snow and the trees sparkling with lights are the first signs of the excitement to come. I’m so thrilled to kick off the holiday season with this snowy white, festive jelly roll made with strawberry, raspberry and plum spread and brushed with cognac. Everything about this sweet dessert says Christmas to me. It fills me with happiness to share this recipe with hopes that you will share it at your Christmas table with your loved ones. Isn’t that what it’s all about – sharing and spreading the love at this time of year?!
Baking always puts me in such a joyful mood, especially at Christmas. I start planning holiday meals and cookie recipes with my mom, shopping for my nieces and nephew, and writing holiday cards to my friends near and far. It’s such fun organizing annual get-togethers that will be filled with laughter (a little mulled wine) and quality time.
As I pull out my baking pans and fire up my oven I feel nothing but excitement to start my holiday baking! I’ve got Christmas music playing in the background and it all just feels so festive! There is so much that I love about this jelly roll dessert – it’s light, fluffy, tart, and sweet with a boozy punch. All the flavours work so well together; the three fruits in the jam are sweet and tart, the cognac is woody and nutty complimenting this classic sponge cake. The whipping cream is light and airy and holds the cake together.
This jelly roll lasts in the fridge for a few days so it’s the perfect dessert to make ahead of time for your holiday party, giving you the freedom to be stress-free.
If you’ve never made a jelly roll before don’t fret, they are actually quite simple to make. There is only one real trick when making this and I’ve done a little photo tutorial for you to see just how simple it is.
The trick is to roll up your sponge cake while it’s warm and let it cool rolled up. That way your cake won’t crack and break when you fill it with jam/spread and cream and roll it into a log. The best way to do this is dust a clean tea towel with icing sugar, turn your hot baked cake upside down (removing the parchment paper on the opposite side), and gently roll the tea towel up with the cake. Leave it to cool and once cooled unroll the cake, ready to dress in your jam/spread and cream.
If you’re looking to try a new dessert this Christmas this is the recipe for you! It’s a classic dessert that I promise your guests will admire and you’ll love making it too!
Festive Jelly Roll
A festive jelly roll made with strawberry, raspberry and plum spread, brushed with cognac and dusted with sugar. Everything about this sweet dessert says Christmas. This blog post gives tips on how to roll a sponge cake to make that perfect roll.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: serves 8–10 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Swedish
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 5 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Icing sugar for dusting
Filling
- 1 oz good quality cognac
- 1 cup E.D. SMITH Triple Fruit Spread – Strawberry, Raspberry and Plum, at room temperature
- 473 grams whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon icing sugar
- Sugared Raspberries for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pan. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer on medium speed beat egg whites until frothy. Slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar (about one tablespoon at a time) and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In another bowl beat egg yolks and the rest of the sugar together until pale and thickened, approximately 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
- In another small bowl mix flour and salt together.
- Gently fold egg white mixture into yolk mixture, alternating with dry ingredients. Make three additions of egg whites and two of dry (be sure not to stir the batter but to fold it).
- Spread the batter evenly on prepared baking sheet and smooth the top.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
- While cake is baking, lay out a clean tea towel and dust the surface with icing sugar.
- Once the cake is baked and still hot, using a sharp knife carefully trim the short edges of the sponge cake.Turn the cake over onto the tea towel. Peel off the parchment paper.
- Starting at one of the short edges gently roll the cake with the tea towel. Let the cake cool while rolled up in the tea towel.
- Meanwhile whip your whipping cream with vanilla and icing sugar, set aside.
- Once cake is cooled, gently unroll. Brush the entire surface with cognac, then spread a layer of E.D. SMITH Fruit Spread and top with a layer of whipping cream (reserve half the cream to cover the log).
- Carefully re-roll into a log, trying to keep the cake tight enough without pushing out the filling.
- Trim the edges with a serrated knife. Transfer the log to your serving dish and then spread the rest of the whipping cream over the log.
- Add sugared raspberries for decoration and serve.
Notes
You can make the jelly roll a day ahead. Store in the fridge covered in plastic wrap, and bring to room temperature before serving. Once ready to serve add sugared fruit. NOTE: do not put the sugared fruit in the fridge, the sugar will dissolve. Re-dust with icing sugar if needed. Cake will last 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice of 10
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 34.5g
- Sodium: 93mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 44.1g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 4.6g
- Cholesterol: 157mg
This blog post has been sponsored by E.D. SMITH. I had so much fun baking with E.D. SMITH’s Triple Fruits Spread for their Lavish Comfort theme. It’s an honour to work with one of the largest Canadian manufacturers of jams, jellies, and marmalades for over 135 years!! If you don’t already use E.D. SMITH products I hope you guys get to the grocery store and try their Triple Fruit Spreads this holiday season!
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Your jelly roll looks beautiful. Presentation is everything. Can’t wait to make it for my family. Merry Christmas!
Thanks Cathy, you’ll love it! Merry Christmas to you and the family.
Just tried this yesterday for an impromptu get together last night. It turned out great and was a hit with everyone! Not even too hard for a beginner like me!
I hope mine turns out half as elegant looking as this one! I’m hosting the in-laws and have a 3 month old baby so I LOVE that I can make it in advance. Thanks so much!!
Festive Jelly Roll pan size that fits this recipe??? 51x10x1
Hi Brenda, yes a standard jelly roll pan would be 15” x 10” x 1”