A Vintage Recipe by Kelli Huggins

Jelly rolls always seemed fancy and difficult, so I’d never made one before. Then I came across a recipe for this cake in my great-grandmother’s 1930s recipe book. I wouldn’t describe any of the handwritten recipes within that book as particularly fussy, so I decided to try it. 

I have watched enough episodes of the Great British Bake Off to know what can go wrong: overbake your sponge and the cake will crack. Add too much filling and it will come squeezing out when you roll it. 

Those two caveats are key, but I would add one more: make sure you act fast when the cake comes out of the oven. Read all the directions beforehand so you can start rolling right away.

Don't let this scare you away because the recipe is actually pretty simple. You can use store-bought jam or jelly and get great results. It's an impressive looking dessert that you can make with a few ingredients and some easy steps. And you know what? Even if it cracks, it will still taste great and that’s what really matters. You can see in the pictures my roll cracked a tiny bit in the middle leading to some jam spreading, but no one at the table had any complaints.

I think the jelly roll makes a nice Fourth of July dessert-- it kind of resembles pinwheels and can be made with festive jelly colors. Experiment with the recipe to make it your own.

Jelly Roll

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cold water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of jelly or jam
Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Beat the eggs until they are light and gradually add the sugar and beat well. Add the water and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix the dry mixture into the wet.

Prepare a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper and add the batter smoothly on top. Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Watch the cake closely and remove when a toothpick just comes out clean in the center. Don't overbake.

Remove the cake from the oven and carefully lift the hot cake out of the pan using the edges of the parchment. Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar and tightly roll the cake from the narrow end so the bottom parchment forms a barrier in the spiral. Let the rolled cake cool completely before unrolling.

When cooled. Unroll the cake carefully and spread the jam in an even layer. You can use whatever flavor of jelly you prefer. I like raspberry or strawberry in this recipe. Gently roll the cake back. Trim the ends of the cake to reveal a clean spiral of jelly on both sides. Dust with powdered sugar to garnish.