Is there any spring dessert more elegant than a perfectly spiraled cake roll? Truly. This strawberry roll is for that Saturday morning when you want to bake something beautiful without making life complicated. The sponge is as light as a ladyfinger, the cream smells like real strawberries, and that pale pink spiral when you slice it is worth every effort.
Ingredients :
- Freeze-dried strawberries — The key ingredient. Found in supermarkets, usually in the organic or dried fruit section. You’ll blend them into a fine powder — it colors the cream a natural pink and gives an intense flavor without weighing it down. No satisfactory substitute: fresh or frozen strawberries would add too much water.
- Cake flour — Finer than regular flour, it creates a lighter and more flexible crumb. If you can’t find any: use 120 g of all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, replaced by 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. It works great in a pinch.
- Cream cheese — Philadelphia is perfect. Important: it must be at room temperature. Cold from the fridge, it will form lumps in the cream. Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes before starting.
- Eggs (separated) — Separate them cold — it’s easier, with less risk of the yolk breaking into the white. But let them reach room temperature before whipping the whites. Cold whites don’t aerate as well and create a less stable meringue.
