Red Velvet Cake Roll

4.93 from 40 votes

This red velvet cake roll starts with a light and tender sponge cake that gets rolled up with creamy ermine frosting. This is a show stopper and makes a great presentation.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Additional Time20

Total Time55

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, cake roll, desserts, red velvet cake roll, red velvet cake with ermine frosting, red velvet yule log, sweets

Servings: to 14 slices

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup cake flour 120 grams (all-purpose flour also works)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 15 grams
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs room temperature
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 175 grams
3 tablespoon vegetable oil 64 grams
2 tablespoons buttermilk 30 grams
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 3 teaspoons red food color

For the ermine frosting/filling

⅔ cup 80 grams all-purpose flour
2 cups 400 grams granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk 472 grams
2 cups 4 sticks butter, room temperature (452 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To assemble

powdered sugar

Instructions

The cake roll

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch jelly-roll pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Add the eggs and sugar to a bowl and whip on medium high until nearly tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. The mixture will turn light yellow and get thick. (see notes)
Turn the mixer to low and beat in the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring.
Use a spatula to fold in half of the dry ingredients. Fold in the other half.
Spread the batter into the jelly roll pan
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the surface springs back when touched.
Remove from the oven and slide a knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan.
Sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake while it is still warm then lay a kitchen towel over the cake.
Place a baking sheet or cutting board over the towel and flip the cake over so it is on top of the kitchen towel. Lift the cake pan off.
Remove the parchment paper and dust more powdered sugar on the top of the cake.
Starting at the short end of the cake, roll the cake into the towel jelly-roll style. Cool on a wire rack

Meanwhile, make the ermine frosting/ filling

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.
Add the milk, stirring to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring continually until the mixture gets thick. Remove from the heat and transfer to a shallow dish. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature. You can speed the process up by placing it in the fridge for a while.
Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cooled cooked mixture a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 to 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy.

Assemble the cake roll

When the cake is completely cool, carefully unroll the log and spread half of the frosting over the cake.
Gently roll the cake back into a log and place it on a serving platter.
Make an angled cut about three inches from the end and stick it onto the side of the log to make it look like there is a branch coming off the side.
Frost the outside of the log with the remaining frosting.

Notes

Cake flour will give the cake a slightly lighter, more delicate texture. If you want to make your own cake flour, replace 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with corn starch. However, there really isn't much flour in this cake so all-purpose flour works almost equally as well.
You can also use a 12 x 17-inch jelly-roll pan but the cake will be thinner and you will need to decrease the baking time to 8 to 12 minutes.
The biggest tip I can give you for success is to make sure the eggs and sugar get whipped enough. It will take about 4 to 5 minutes with a stand mixer and 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. The eggs should get thick and fluffy and reach “ribbon stage” which means if you lift the whisk and let the mixture fall back into the bowl, it will suspend on top of the batter for a few seconds.
If the cake is baked too long, it will be more susceptible to cracking. That's easy to recover from, just slather on some frosting to hide the cracks and hold the cake together.
Parchment paper will make it much easier to get the cake out of the pan without tearing.
If you spray the pan with nonstick spray before you lay the parchment paper down it will help the paper cling to the pan so that batter doesn’t seep under the paper.
Make sure the cake roll is completely cool before you spread the filling/ buttercream on the cake.
If you want to make the sugared cranberries and rosemary like the ones in the photo, dip some fresh cranberries and rosemary in egg white then in fine sugar. Set on a rack to dry then use them to decorate the cake roll.

Nutrition