Love is all around, and around with this Valentine's Cake Roll. Filled with strawberry jam and fluffy, sweet cream cheese, it's the way to everyone's heart.
I recreated my Pumpkin Cake Roll with Toffee Cream Cheese Filling for another holiday! That cake roll is one of the most popular recipes on my site, and I think it warrants a pink variation! With strawberries and cream in mind I set out to make a Valentine's cake.
My recipe appeared on KSL.com.
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Valentine's Day Treat
Making a Valentine's Day cake is such a treat. I like a pink, strawberry cake with plenty of fluffy cream.
Start with a light and traditional cake roll. Add colorful heart designs and strawberry cream filling.
What is a génoise?
I started my Valentine's Day Strawberry Cake Roll with a génoise cake. A style of cake that is light and airy, so it compliments a rich filling, and bonus, it is flexible. Not like doing-the-splits flexible, but close. If a regular cake is bent or rolled, it cracks. As with typical American cakes, there is an excess of butter, and butter makes cakes tender and rich, and quite delicious, but the texture is, well, less flexible.
Génoise originated in Italy and is used in French pastry shops. It is a light, eggy cake that is perfect for layering and for cake rolls. It's traditionally brushed with a soaking, or simple syrup or layered with jam to add moisture and flavor. I opted for jam in my Valentine's cake, with a rich filling made from cream cheese and heavy cream.
A classic génoise is the perfect cake for rolling.
But is it flexible enough to do the splits?
Classic génoise recipes call for heating the eggs and sugar, but this is tedious, and I wanted an easier, make-at-home kind of method. I opted to beat the eggs like crazy and add the sugar slowly while the eggs whip, so the sugar dissolves as it mixes, without deflating the mixture.
There's no chemical leavening (like baking powder or baking soda) in this cake. So whipping the eggs and using a light touch when mixing in the flour is key. The air built in to the eggs as they whip will act as the leavening.
Strawberry Cake Roll:
I didn't use the actual cake batter for the heart designs, because the actual cake needs to be baked right after mixing. So I created a little, mini, cake batter recipe for the pink and red hearts. You can pipe it onto the pan and freeze it solid while you make the génoise.
Using a Jelly Roll Pan:
I used a jelly roll pan to get just the right size for a cake roll. Jelly roll pans are slightly smaller than a typical rimmed baking sheet (often called a half-sheet pan and are about 13-by-17-inches). The jelly roll pans measure 10-by-15 inches like this one I used from Oxo.
How do I get the pink and red hearts on the outside of this Valentine's cake roll?
One thing that is different with this Valentine's cake roll is that because the heart design is on the bottom when baked, you need to do an extra flip once the cake is out of the oven. Usually you simply turn the cake out and roll. Here I used two clean kitchen towels to do this, turning the cake out of the pan, pulling off the parchment, then laying another towel on top and flipping over. Then simply roll the cake up in that towel to let it cool in the shape of a spiral.
The jam and filling comes next, and then I let the cake chill and set up for a spell. I serve mine with fresh strawberries.
📖 Recipe
Valentine’s Day Strawberry Cake Roll
Ingredients
Heart Pattern Batter:
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Food coloring
Almond Génoise Cake:
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ tablespoons butter melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- Confectioners’ sugar
Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- Strawberries for garnish
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a jelly roll pan (10-by-15 inches) with parchment.
- To make the heart pattern batter: with an electric mixer, whip egg white and sugar until soft peaks form. Mix in oil and then fold in flour by hand. Divide batter in half and color half red and half pink with food coloring. Place each color in a small ziptop bag and snip a small hole in one corner. Pipe hearts, dots and designs onto parchment and freeze the pan 20 to 30 minutes.
- To make cake batter: heat oven to 350º F. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, whip eggs and salt until very light and fluffy, 10 minutes with a hand mixer, six minutes in a stand mixer. Gradually add the sugar while mixer is going and then beat another four to five minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir about ½ cup of the egg mixture into the melted butter with the almond extract. Then stir butter mixture back into the mixing bowl to combine with the rest of the fluffy egg.
- Stir the flour into the batter until just combined. Immediately removed pan from the freezer and gently spread cake batter over the frozen heart designs. Bake until cake is light golden brown and is just firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
- While cake bakes, prepare a clean dish towel by lightly dusting it with confectioners’ sugar. Have a second clean towel on hand. When cake is done, let sit in pan about one minute and then run a knife around the edges to gently loosen. Turn cake onto prepared towel. Remove parchment and lay second towel over the top of the heart designs. Carefully flip cake over in the towels.
- Remove the towel from the plain side of the cake, then roll the warm cake inside the second towel from one short end to the other. The heart designs should be facing outward. Let cake roll cool for about 20 minutes.
- To make the filling: Beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. Add heavy cream and almond extract and whip until mixture if fluffy and stiff, about two minutes. Unroll cake and spread the plain inside surface with a thin layer of strawberry jam. Gently spread cream cheese filling over the jam, it will be about ¼–inch thick. Roll cake back up over filling.
- Wrap cake roll in the towel and refrigerate two hours or overnight. Trim ends and serve on a platter with strawberry slices as garnish if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Prepare yourself to get a lot of love after serving this cake. It's kind of a big hit. And happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.
Get more love when you make my other tasty recipes like Pistachio Chocolate Bark and Peanut Butter Brownie Cake. I also love these romantic recipes from around the web: Devil's Food Cake, White Chocolate Raspberry Rolls.
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About Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.
Recipe and photography Tara Teaspoon
Brian says
That looks superb, what a great job and the most interesting valentines recipe I have seen in a while!
Tara says
Thanks so much Brian!
Natalie says
This cake roll looks so good! Perfect for Valentine's day. I just love strawberry cakes ♥
Tara says
strawberry cakes are kinda dreamy, i agree!
Cliona says
This is so adorable! What a romantic idea!
Tara says
thanks so much!
April says
I just saw another roll cake and commented on it. I love this one too. It's so cute for Valentine's day!
Tara says
I love that they are a "thing" now! I grew up with cake rolls!
Danielle says
I love a light airy cake like this. And strawberry at that? YUM! I'm not patient enough to make the heart designs, but the flavors sound amazing. Light and fresh!
Tara says
Ah nice! Well it tastes delish with or without hearts!!
Mary Bench says
Beautiful AND delicious! Happy Valentine's Day!
Brittany Smart says
Such a great idea! Cutest cake roll ever
Holli says
I’ve made this twice now, one strawberry and one blackberry, and both times they’ve been huge hits! I’m a serious Fail Baker, but this was too easy to mess up! Simple but elegant and amazing!
Rebekah says
Hi, I've been looking at making this recipe for Valentine's Day. I make pumpkin rolls around Thanksgiving and Christmas but want to try something new. I noticed that in the cake ingredients it says "flour" but doesn't specify which type of flour.
Tara says
Hi! Thanks for noticing. It's all-purpose flour, so I just edited the recipe to reflect that!
I hope you love it as much as I do. It's a fun one and I love the filling!
Nancy says
I dont know what Im doing wrong? My filling will not thicken up per the recipe. I did it twice with the same outcome. Am I suppose to whip the heavy cream separate then fold it in? Per recipe you just add it to the cream cheese and sugar.
Tara Teaspoon says
Nancy I'm so sorry the filling isn't coming together for you. Your intuition is good! Since I am not there seeing what is happening, whipping the cream separately and then folding it into the cream cheese mixture is a great solution. That will ensure the weight of the cream cheese doesn't collapse the fluffy cream.
When I make it I make sure my cream cheese mixture is quite soft and mixed and then it seems to not inhibit the cream from whipping when I add it all together.
I hope this works for you. It's a delicious cake! Thanks for writing. Tara
Nancy says
Thank you for responding to my question. I ended up making it without the whipped cream. I think I’ll try cool whip with it next time but afraid it may be too sweet. I guess I could leave out some powdered sugar. But it did turn out good. So it will definitely be a Valentines dessert.
Tara says
Awesome. Great fixes. Yes if you use Cool Whip I'd suggest leaving out the confectioners' sugar. Maybe even completely. One note, when stirred a lot cool whip does get more soft and loose. I'm not sure how it works mixed with cream cheese, but it may be ok!
Chef Dennis says
Yum! This Strawberry Cake Roll is surely mouthwatering! Loving all those pinks. My wife will definitely love this. Perfect for Valentine's Day!
Tara says
Thanks chef!!
Veena Azmanov says
Very creative and delicious. Love the strawberry combination to making it special. Cant wait to try it out.
Tara says
Oh thank you so much!
Anna says
Wow! This is the prettiest cake roll I've ever seen! Love these pretty little hearts on top of the sponge, so clever! Perfect for the Valentines day!
Tara says
Thanks so much!!
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
This is really beautiful and the genoise looks perfect! What a fabulous Valentine's day cake!
Analida Braeger says
I love the background on the sponge cake and the tips to make the heart design! Thanks so much!
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life says
This cake is definitely equal parts delicious and adorable! I'm definitely going to have to make this for Valentine's Day. I know my husband will love the strawberry and whipped cream combo!
kita says
OMG I am SO nervous to try making this. I have done roll cakes before and this sounds amazing! Working up the brave to make the heart design! Id be so proud of myself.
Sophie says
This looks so perfect. My rolls always break while rolling. I will follow your recipe and hopefully get a similar one. Thanks a lot
Jess says
This is such a sweet and fun holiday treat! Kids and adults alike will love this dish this february! So cute!
Debbie says
What a gorgeous Valentine's Cake Roll. I love the idea of getting the hearts and dots on the outside of the cake, it is pure genius. I am pinning this to try very soon.
Loretta @nomsandbeyond says
Such a cute idea! I tried making this with different designs two days in a row but do you know why it does not rise? It turns into a hard/chewy cookie texture. Could it be because in Step #3, I may have added sugar within the first 6 minutes of using my stand mixer? Or was it supposed to be: mix for 6 minutes, then add in sugar, then mix for another 4-5 minutes?
Tara says
Hi Loretta I'm so sorry this didn't turn out for you. You are right though. For a genios style cake the egg whites need to whip for about that 6 minutes before adding the sugar. The sugar gets added after they aerate and then mixes more. Just some other things, make sure you are using fresh egg whites or whip-quality carton egg whites. Many egg whites sold in the carton do no whip. And only gently stir in the dry ingredients so the aerated whites don't deflate. Thanks for your comment and time!
Loretta @nomsandbeyond says
Thank you so much for your response! Good tips, and good to know we are supposed to use egg whites. (the recipe stated 4 eggs). I can try egg whites next time.