Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (2024)

by Roxana 176 Comments

A simple vanilla roll cake with red and green dots and spirals of creamy buttercream is the perfect dessert for Christmas parties.

Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (1)

This spiral cake has always caught my attention. Although it carries different names depending from country to country, I find roll cakes prettier than a layer cake. Plus, not to mention they are so much easier to make. My love for roll cake grew with every roulade (that’s how we call it in Romania) my mom made, mostly around the holidays.

Last year I made a gingerbread roll cake and few weeks ago I made a pumpkin roll cake. I wanted to make a new one for this Christmasbut I wasn’t sure what flavor to pick until I found the red & green batter bits. I knew right then I wanted a simple vanilla cake filled with creamy buttercream with lots and lots of Christmas sprinkles.

Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (2)

If you’ve never made a roll cake, it’s time to change that. You should not be afraid, just follow few simple steps and in no time you’ll have the most beautiful swirl cake.The secret to roll cakes is beating the egg yolks until light yellow and thickened. That should take around 3 minutes on high-speed or around 5 on medium speed.

Tips for perfect roll cakes every single time!

The secret to the creamy buttercream is to whip the butter first before adding the powder sugar to it and whip on medium speed for 2 minutes once all the sugar is incorporated. Doing so, you’ll have a light buttercream way better than the store-bought ones.

Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (3)

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Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe

Roxana

Yields one roll cake

A simple vanilla roll cake with red and green dots and spirals of creamy buttercream is the perfect dessert for Christmas parties.

15 minPrep Time

7 minCook Time

3 hrTotal Time

Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (8)Save Recipe

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Ingredients

    Vanilla Roll Cake

  • 2 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup (30 grams) sifted cake flour
  • 3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup red & green Wilton batter bits or edible confetti
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • Vanilla Buttercream

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups (360 grams) powdered sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp red & green sprinkles
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-3 teaspoons heavy cream
  • Decorations

  • 4 oz white chocolate
  • red & green sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 450F.
  2. Line a 17X12 jelly/sheet pan with parchment paper . Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl add the 2 eggs, 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on medium to high speed around 5 minutes until pale in color and thickened. Add the vanilla extract and beat few more seconds.
  4. Sift the flour and the cornstarch over the egg yolks mixture and with a spatula gently fold it in.
  5. Fold in the batter bits as well.
  6. In a separate grease-free bowl, add the 2 egg whites and 1 tablespoon of sugar. With a whisk, whip until firm peaks form.
  7. With the spatula, fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolks mixture.
  8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, spread it evenly and bake for 6-7 minutes until golden brown and, when touched, it springs back.
  9. As soon as you remove the cake from the oven sprinkle with powder sugar and then invert the cake onto a clean dish towel. Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle with more powder sugar, and roll up the cake with the towel. Place on a wire rack to cool
  10. Vanilla buttercream

  11. In a clean bowl add the butter. With the whisk attached on to the the mixer whip the butter for 2-3 minutes on medium to high speed.
  12. Lower the speed and slowly add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
  13. When all the sugar is incorporated increase the speed and whip for 2 more minutes.
  14. Add few drops of heavy cream until it reaches the consistency you desire.
  15. With a spatula fold in the sprinkles.
  16. Gently unroll the cake and spread the buttercream evenly all over it.
  17. Roll it again and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
  18. To decorate, melt the white chocolate in double boiler or microwave and pour it over the cake. Add Add more sprinkles (optional)
  19. Let the chocolate settle for few minutes and slice the cake.

Notes

If you can't find the batter bits, you can use Christmas edible confetti instead. They will not bleed while baking the cake.

7.6.8

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Roxana Yawgel http://atreatsaffair.com/ All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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Roxana

Christmas vanilla roll cake recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my Christmas cake too moist? ›

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet.

What is hidden in Christmas cake? ›

A coin was hidden inside a small cake, whoever found it was crowned as mock king. Hiding small tokens in a cake is another tradition that has existed throughout the ages. The Christmas Sixpence, which is hidden inside a Christmas pudding or cake as a token of good fortune, being a recent example of this tradition.

How to use ready to roll icing on a Christmas cake? ›

To cover in ready-to-roll icing start by dusting the work surface and rolling pin again with icing sugar. Take some ready-to-roll icing, which has been kneaded to make it more pliable and dust that with icing sugar too. Repeat the same rolling process used for the marzipan until the icing is about 1/2cm thick.

What if Christmas cake is not fully cooked? ›

Our answer

If you have undercooked Christmas cake then you should cut off and discard the undercooked centre. The exterior pieces may be fine to eat or you could consider using the cooked parts of the cake to make Nigella's Christmas Puddini bonbons, using the cake instead of leftover Christmas pudding.

Is my Christmas cake undercooked? ›

The test of a skewer coming out clean applies to Christmas cake or rich fruit cakes, so if it passed that test it should be fine.

Can I use both butter and oil in cake? ›

If you're unsure, it's safest to use a 50/50 combination of butter and oil instead of replacing the butter completely. This way you'll get the added moisture from the oil without sacrificing the structural integrity that butter provides.

How to fix dry Christmas cake? ›

Soak your cake in milk

Soaking your cake in milk is one of the best ways to moisten a dry cake.

How often should you moisten a Christmas cake? ›

Method
  1. It is best to feed your cake, every fortnight from when it has been baked. ...
  2. Using a skewer, prick several holes into the top of your cake. ...
  3. Spoon over 1-2 tbsp of the alcohol/fruit juice of your choice ensuring that the whole cake is evenly covered.

What is the oldest Christmas cake? ›

That honor goes to a 4,176-year-old cake that was found in an Egyptian tomb, according to the Guinness organization. It is on display in a food museum in Switzerland.

What does a Christmas cake girl mean? ›

In the 1980s, a woman unmarried by 25 was dismissed as "Christmas cake" — thrown out on Dec. 26. These days the big number is 31, and women unmarried by that age are "New Year's Eve noodles," noodles being a typical New Year's Eve dish.

What is the difference between a fruit cake and a Christmas cake? ›

A Christmas cake usually has far more fruit in it than an ordinary fruit cake and also traditionally will have a layer of marzipan on the top, and that and the sides will then be covered with a layer of icing.

Can you put ready to roll icing straight on a cake? ›

Smooth over the top of the cake with the palm of your hand, then gently around the top edges of the cake. A cake turntable may help in smoothing the icing around the side of the cake. If you have any pleats, gently pull these out and smooth down with the palm of your hand, one at a time.

What type of icing is ready to roll? ›

Here in the UK Sugar Paste is often called Fontant Icing, Sugarpaste, or Rolled Icing and these are all exactly the same. Sugar Paste is a sweet tasting, soft, malleable icing which is easy to roll out – it has a lovely consistency, which is rather like Play-Doh.

Does Ready to Roll icing harden? ›

Our answer. Unfortunately rolled fondant icing (ready to roll icing) does dry out once it comes into contact with the air and will not store indefinitely once opened but we have a couple of tips to hopefully keep it usable for 3-4 weeks.

Can you overcook Christmas cake? ›

The top can overcook before the middle even gets started. * The cake pan could be overfull. A full cake pan takes a lot longer to cook, and you can very easily end up with a cake that is both under, and over cooked.

Is my fruit cake moist or undercooked? ›

Rich fruit cake can be cut and eaten as soon as it's absolutely cold. It is a moist cake. However, it shouldn't be wet or sticky, if it is it is probably undercooked.

How can I test a cake without a cake tester? ›

Look at your knife set and find the one with the thinnest blade. Then insert the blade into the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If batter or crumbs stick to the blade, let your cake bake a few minutes more and retest with a clean knife.

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