I’m on a roll … as in a rolled cake roll! Many of you emailed or posted a comment (thank you!) about the Hot Buttered Rum Pumpkin Cream Cake I posted on November 12th. So as promised over the weekend, I set out to create a dessert that was festive, (using traditional Thanksgiving staple, cranberry sauce) and this was the winner among the desserts we taste tested. There are many features I love about this cake, one being, its light and decadent, the other; it has to be prepared in advance, which leaves more time with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. I’ve included my recipe for Raspberry Orange Cranberry Sauce and my first memory of this ruby red fruit!
Helpful to know: Kozy Shack tapioca pudding can be found in the refrigerated section (typically near dairy) of grocery stores nationwide.
Cake
Canola oil for rimmed baking sheet and parchment paper
¾ cup all-purpose flour plus extra for baking sheet
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 17½ x 11½-inch rimmed baking sheet and then line the pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat parchment paper with oil and then lightly dust with flour; using a flour sifter works great. Set prepared pan aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3 eggs, room temperature
⅔ cup tapioca pudding
In a large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer, add tapioca pudding and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Spread batter evenly into pan (it will seem like there’s not enough batter, but there is!) and bake cake for 10 minutes.
While cake is baking …
Confectioners sugar for dusting kitchen towel
Generously dust a kitchen cloth (the cloth should be a little larger than the size of the cake) with confectioners sugar.
After cake has baked for 10 minutes …
Immediately remove cake (lifting it up by the parchment paper) from baking pan and carefully flip cake onto prepared kitchen towel. Gently pull off parchment paper. Starting at the narrow end, roll the cake with the towel (the towel will be the "filling" as well as the "icing".) Don’t worry if the cake breaks as you're rolling it up, it won’t be noticeable. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Cream Cheese Cranberry Filling
One 8-ounce package light cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup raspberry orange cranberry sauce (plus extra sauce to serve with cake, if desired)
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese; add vanilla and cranberry sauce, beat for about 2 minutes on medium speed.
Un-Rolling and Re-Rolling
Carefully unroll cake, spread filling evenly over entire cake (while still on towel). Gently re-roll cake (without towel), place on plastic wrap and completely cover. Refrigerate for several hours prior to serving.
Several hours later or the following day…
To serve, transfer cake to a serving platter and cut into slices about 1-inch thick. Yield: 10-12 servings. Serve with cranberry sauce buffet style if desired.
Raspberry Orange Cranberry Sauce
I was about six years old when I remember my first experience with cranberry sauce. My grandmother was preparing our family Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, creamed corn, mashed potatoes and the brightest colored dish served, ½-inch thick disks of jellied cranberry sauce.
I watched as grandmother opened both ends of the can and with a few shakes; a ruby colored, shimmering jelly-like tubular form popped out making a swishing sound on its way to the platter. I recall with clarity the perfectly circular indentations that marked the cylinder; grandmother told me when the can is filled with a cranberry mixture, “The mixture gels and the can molds the mixture.” It’s been years since I bought a can of store-bought sauce, opting to buy fresh berries and make my own, which comes out nothing like the jellied version. Homemade cranberry sauce requires minimal preparation, in fact the ingredients can be assembled in probably the time it took my grandmother to open the cans dual ends and manage to anchor and cut the slippery mold into disks to platter.
Helpful to know: This recipe takes minutes to prepare, can be made in advance and will keep for several days refrigerated.
One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberry-raspberry juice
¼ cup orange marmalade
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cranberries, sugar, juice and orange marmalade; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook mixture until berries pop open, about 10 minutes. Allow sauce to cool before serving. Yield: About 2½ cups.
