Patriotic Cake Roll

Overhead shot of patriotic cake roll with two pieces sliced into so you can see the inside

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5 from 1 vote

A vanilla cake roll filled with red and blue filling for the 4th of July!

Prep Time45

Cook Time15

Chill Time2

Total Time3

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Dorothy Kern

Cost: $8

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (93g) all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar to aid in rolling

For the Filling:

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter , softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (as needed for consistency)
Red and Blue gel food coloring I used Americolor Gel, Navy Blue and Super Red
Powdered sugar for dusting
8 ounces Cool Whip (or 2-3 cups freshly whipped cream)
Sprinkles , for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a jelly roll (10x15”) pan with foil and spray with nonstick baking spray (the kind with flour) or grease and flour the foil. If using parchment paper, spray with cooking spray.
Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Set aside.
Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes, until frothy and dark yellow. Beat in sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until blended.
Spread in prepared pan. Batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan. Bake for 10-17 minutes. You know the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean and it springs back when touched.
While the cake is baking, set a clean kitchen towel out on a large work surface. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar (about 1/4 cup). As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil carefully.
Working at the short end, fold the edge of the towel over the cake. Roll tightly, rolling up the cake into the towel.
Let cool completely while rolled, at least one hour.
While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat the butter until it’s fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth, adding heavy cream for consistency.
Divide the frosting into two bowls. Tint one with blue and one with red food coloring. Place each color frosting in it’s own ziploc bag, for easy piping onto the cake.
When cake is cool, carefully unroll the towel. Snip the corner off the blue frosting and pipe evenly spaced stripes horizontally on the cake. Spread slightly with a knife or offset spatula. Repeat with the red. Gently but tightly, re-roll the cake and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill until it firms up a bit, at least thirty minutes to one hour. Cake can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to one month.
Before serving, top with Cool Whip or fresh whipped cream and sprinkles.

Notes

Instead of making your own frosting, use 2 cans of vanilla frosting.

Nutrition