Basic Chocolate “Roll” Cake

Here’s the cake to use when making a Swiss Roll or Jelly roll.

For the Cake:

6 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt (approx. 1/16 tsp.)
Icing sugar for dusting

Cut a piece of wax paper to fit the bottom of a 15 x 10 x 1” rimmed baking sheet; spray the bottom of the pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray; place the pre-cut piece of wax paper on the bottom of the pan & spray again with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Make the Cake:

Begin by separating the eggs, placing the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl; beat the egg whites at high speed, until soft peaks form when beaters are slowly lifted. Add ¼ cup of the sugar, 2 Tbsp. at a time, beating until the whites form stiff peaks when beaters are slowly lifted.

Place the egg yolks into a clean bowl & using the same beaters, beat the yolks at high speed, adding remaining ½ cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. at a time; beat the mixture until it is very thick, approximately 4 minutes. At low speed, beat in the cocoa, vanilla & salt just until combined.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the cocoa mixture into the egg whites until blended &  no streaks of egg white remain. Spread evenly in the prepared pan; an offset spatula works well for this task. Bake the cake for 15 minutes, or just until the surface springs back when gently touched with your fingertip.

Meanwhile, sift icing sugar in a rectangle approximately the same size as the cake, onto a clean linen or other non-fluffy cloth towel. Immediately turn the cake upside down onto the sugared towel, lift off the pan & peel the wax paper off the cake.

Starting at the short end, roll up the cake & towel together like a jelly roll and allow to cool completely.

At this point you may now fill the cake with your desired filling, reroll the cake quite tightly, chill until ready to serve. You may dust with additional icing sugar if you like.