4th of July Cake Roll
There’s no prettier cake to celebrate America’s independence than this 4th of July Cake Roll! It’s a delicious red, white and blue confection that will wow anyone who is lucky enough to be served a piece of this!
It’s fun to make, also!ย Sometimes cake rolls can be a challenge, but I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be perfect (you can see that mine isn’t)…it’s about effort, fun holiday colors, and celebrating with friends and family!
So, give this beauty a try!
There are a number of steps (none of which are difficult) to making this cake.ย Begin by preparing a jelly roll pan by brushing vegetable oil on it, lining it with parchment, brushing the parchment with oil and dusting with flour.ย Don’t let this exhaust you…it only takes a minute to do this!
To make the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together in a small bowl.ย ย
In a larger bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla together.ย Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and divide the batter into two bowls.ย Tint each half with either red or blue gel coloring.
Alternate line of colored batter in your jelly roll pan.ย It doesn’t have to be perfect…you can see that mine is a little uneven and I dribbled some blue batter into the red batter.ย It really doesn’t matter!
Bake the cake for about 15 minutes or until it springs back when lightly pressed.
Let it sit for a few minutes then dust with confectioners’ sugar and place a clean cloth over the cake.ย Flip the cake over onto a wire rack and peel the parchment off.ย Roll up the cake and dish towel together and let it sit until it’s completely cooled, about 1 & 1/2 hours.
Once the cake is cooled, make the frosting by beating butter and salt in a large bowl.ย Add the marshmallow cream and vanilla for 2-3 more minutes.ย Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and then the milk.
Carefully unroll the cake (it’s okay if it cracks a bit by try to keep it together if possible).ย Spread half of the frosting over the cake and then reroll the cake (without the dish towel!) and trim the edges.
Cover the cake with the remaining frosting, using a small offset spatula to spread it.
Decorate the cake as you prefer.
Slice it into individual portions and enjoy!
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4th of July Cake Roll
Makes: 10 slices
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours & 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
- 1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red gel food coloring
- 1 tsp royal blue gel food coloring
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
For the Frosting:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 & 1/2 cups)
- Pinch of salt
- 3 cups marshmallow cream (2 jars)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Brush an 11-by-17-inch jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper; brush the paper with oil and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Make the Cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, milk, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, whisking until incorporated. Transfer half of the batter (about 1 & 1/2 cups) to a separate bowl. Tint one batch red and the other batch blue with the food coloring.
Spread the red and blue batters across the width of the prepared pan in alternating stripes, making each stripe about 2 inches wide (don’t worry if the stripes aren’t perfectly straight). Bake until the top springs back when pressed, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool about 3 minutes in the pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and spread a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) on top. Place a cooling rack on the towel, then invert the cake onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Roll up the cake and towel together, starting at a short end. Let cool completely on the rack, about 1 & 1/2 hours.
Make the Frosting:
Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the marshmallow cream and vanilla; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 more minutes. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar, then beat in the milk (the frosting should be spreadable).
Gently unroll the cake (don’t worry if the ends are still curled up). Spread with half of the frosting all the way to the edges. Reroll the cake (without the towel) and trim the ends. Cover with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top as desired.
Recipe by Food Network Magazine
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