Strawberries and Cream Angel Food Cake Roll
One last recipe before Easter, and I felt like a light, fresh, spring-themed dessert was in order. The strawberries here have been gorgeous the last week or so; they’re ruby-red, plump, and amazingly sweet. It seemed a shame to not use them in some way this weekend when thinking up dessert ideas.
When I was a kid, my favorite thing to eat during the summer was angel food cake. Yes, you could feed me chocolate and peanut butter all year round, but once the seasons changed so too did my taste buds. When it was time to spend my days sloshing down a slip n’ slide and my evenings barefoot in the cool grass catching lightning bugs, it was time for angel food cake.
My grandma always had an angel food cake on hand for dessert on Sundays during the summer. I loved getting a huge piece, topped with sliced strawberries, and a massive mound of whipped cream. Nothing could beat it on a warm summer day. This dessert is a riff on the classic angel food cake, strawberries, and whipped cream dessert. While it makes a beautiful presentation, it’s also very easy to make and not very time-consuming. That’s the best kind of dessert there is, right?!
Angel food cakes can sometimes be intimidating due to using a tube pan, precise cooling methods, unmolding, etc. This recipe takes all of the guesswork out of that by baking a thin angel food cake in a jelly roll pan. The bonus is that it only takes about 15 minutes to bake and cools relatively quickly. Believe it or not, this was my first time making a rolled cake. Now that I know how easy it is, I can’t wait to try all sorts of new combinations!
I made the filling by folding a ton of chopped fresh strawberries into sweetened whipped cream. This filling is unbelievably delicious. So light and naturally sweet. I ate spoonful after spoonful before I even got it onto the cake. It would certainly make for a perfect summertime treat to keep on hand anytime, whether you have a cake to fill or not.
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The combination of the light and spongy angel food cake with a strawberries and cream topping rolled right inside is fabulous. It tastes fresh, doesn’t weigh you down, and is everything wonderful about the fruits of spring. I think it would be a fabulous way to top off your Easter menu – it provides nice balance at the end of a sometimes heavy meal.
If you love strawberries and whipped cream, be sure to give my homemade strawberry shortcake a try, too!
What are you planning to make for dessert on Sunday?
One year ago: Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Strawberries and Cream Angel Food Cake Roll
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 9 egg whites
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- 1 cup (200 g) + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
For the Filling:
- 2 cups (476 ml) heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (432 g) diced strawberries
- Powdered sugar, for dusting top of cake (optional)
Instructions
- Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line a 15×10-inch baking pan with waxed paper; lightly coat paper with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add vanilla and cream of tartar to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Fold in flour, ¼ cup at a time.
- Carefully spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Dust a clean kitchen towel with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar. Turn the cake out onto the kitchen towel. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream on medium speed until it begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the strawberries. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Unroll cooled cake; spread filling to within ½-inch of edges (you will have some filling leftover). Roll up again. Place seam side down on a serving plate; sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Serve with any leftover strawberries and cream filling. Store leftovers, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.
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Is there any reason not to make the cake ahead of time and wrap it in saran wrap as you suggested to put in the frig overnight. Then make the whipped cream & strawberry filling & store overnight then assemble right before lunch? Will the whipped cream lose its fluff?? Have you tried making everything ahead of time & then assemble right before serving??
This is beautiful! I especially love the second photo :).
Have you ever tried frying angel food cake in a little bit of butter? It’s SO good! The outside gets a little crispy and caramelized while the inside is still soft and delicious. I tried it last year with my in-laws and then topped it with a homemade warm strawberry sauce. You won’t regret it.
Oooh I have not, but that sounds fantastic!
I used an angel food cake mix (the whole box) and baked it in a jelly roll pan. Turned out perfect. Just be sure to take it out of the dish cloth once it’s cooled or it tended to get a little sticky. Spread on the whipped cream and strawberries and roll it back up. I sliced up additional strawberries and added sugar to taste, stirring until the sugar was dissolved. I served this over the slices of cake roll and it was DELISH!! My two boys were fighting over the last piece and one of them doesn’t even like dessert that well.
Hi, Linda. I also used a whole box mix in a cookie sheet type pan (it’s about an 11×17 inch sized pan). It came out nicely after 15 min, but it was so thick, maybe 2 inches high or so. I ended up pushing it down a lot just so the roll wouldn’t be so big. Did you have this same problem as well or was it just me?
I didn’t have that problem. My cake was about an inch thick. My pan was the same size, 11×17 inch. Maybe different brands of cake mix make the difference. I believe I used Best Choice brand.
My husband asked for an angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries for his birthday cake, and I have been wondering where in the world I was going to find one. Now I don’t have to. This is perfect. Thanks!
Those look absolutely fantastic. I’ll definitely add those to my list!
I’ve made a number of jelly rolls in my life but I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out too long if you have a cream filling because it can spoil. I’ve had it spoil and that’s never a good thing.
And I’m assuming the piece on the plate is an end piece? I’ve always worried how the cake looks because the ends never look pretty, but when they get cut, they usually look perfectly filled out so I’m wondering why yours seems to have gaps in the cream. Was it because of the strawberries and you had a hard time rolling it? Or did it melt a bit? I’ve never used a filling that had stuff in it and now I’m thinking I never will…
This is just beautiful! The photos are stunning, and it looks delicious!
I made this yesterday and it turned out fantastic ! I used an angel food cake mix though as I did not know what to do with 9 egg yolks and didnt want to waste them. The mix worked just fine (probably tasted different than home made) It was an easy recipe to follow and simple to make. I have some sugar free strawberry syurp that I am going to try in the cake mix next time (this evening) and instead of vanilla in the whip cream I will substiute the strawberry syurp also. Will let you know how it turns out. May thicken up some of the syrup with corn starch to drizzle over the top when serving along with left over filling.
Hi, Debbie. I have the same issue with not knowing what to do with the yolks. So with the angel food cake mix, did you end up using the whole box? And for the baking pan (actually, anyone else who already made this can answer if they’d like), could I use a jelly roll pan or does it have to be a baking pan that comes up 1 to 2 inches up the sides?
Arlene, I used a cookie sheet type of pan, I think the sides only come up about a half inch or so. I used the whole cake mix but only poured about 2/3 of the batter in the large pan then used a smaller baking pan for the rest. It turned out just fine. I left the smaller one flat and used it for dessert that evening just putting whipped cream and strawberries on top. It turned out well.
Hi, Debbie. I ended up making it the day after my first comment because I was craving it too much haha. I somewhat wished I had waited for your response because I did use the whole mix in one cookie sheet pan since I figured an 11×17 pan was big enough. It cooked nicely after 15 min but it was so thick. I ended up pushing it down to flatten it a lot just so the roll wouldn’t be so big. It still tasted great after putting the strawberries and cream. Next time I’ll do what you did with 2/3 of the mix in the larger pan and the rest in a smaller one. Thanks!
Up Date: I made the second roll. I added the strawberry syurp to the whipped cream and it added a nice strawberry flavor. I messed up though and left the roll in the towel overnight in the fridge because it was too warm to add the filling. The cake broke in a couple of spots when I unrolled it but I was able to “patch” it back together with the filling and it still tasted amazing. This cake roll should be eaten within 2 days or the cake starts getting lightly soggy. It is best eaten fresh the same day. Overall a great cake roll !
My mom used to make a very similar roll-up when I was young. Thanks for the reminder. I love easy dessert recipes!
This recipe looks amazing. I make mine roulade with raspberries, but this gives me another great idea. Love your blog.
This is a beautiful dessert! A very unique take on a classic angel food cake or strawberry shortcake. Perfect for spring!
I had to restrain myself from licking the screen. This looks so delicious!
Angel Food is my boyfriend’s favorite. Looks like I have his birthday cake figured out :)
Made this for our Easter dessert. It was fun and easy to make. I Will be making this again! Thanks for the great recipe.
Made this for dessert for Easter Dinner. What a hit it was. Just finished sending the recipe on. Hard to believe that it was my first angel food cake from scratch at 57!
Thanks for giving me the confidence to try.
I made your dessert for Easter Dinner! It was fun to make and delicious to eat! And the best part…..it turned out as beautiful as the one you made! It was the perfect end to our dinner and our friends even had a second piece! Thanks for the great post!
I made this for our Easter Dessert today and it was amazing! Very simple to make and a perfect dessert. Not too sweet. Just the right combinations of everything. I loved it. Thanks so much for sharing!
is it ok to put wax paper in the oven? I thought you weren’t supposed to.
Hi Lauren, I have always heard the same thing, but every rolled cake recipe I found called for wax paper, so I just went with it and didn’t have any issues. If you are nervous, you could cut a piece of parchment to fit your pan and use that.
this looks DIVINE
Looks amazing! Quick question though, what could you use the 9 egg yolks that are leftover for? It would be a waste to throw them away. Thanks!
Ice cream! :) https://www.browneyedbaker.com/category/ice-cream-frozen-dessert-recipes
I would have never thought to make an angel food cake in a jelly roll pan. That’s such a fantastic idea and looks so incredibly gorgeous. Many thanks for passing along your epiphany.
I’ve been craving strawberries lately and this looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this. I love the fact that you only have to bake it for 15 minutes. You’re a genius!
This looks like heaven!!! Can not wait for the strawberry picking time.
What a totally gorgeous and scrumptious cake!! I hate that I can’t fit a swiss roll pan into my halogen oven otherwise I’d be out the door to get a punnet of strawberries for this.
I used a plain cookie sheet. Not sure how much it differs but.
I could live on strawberries and whipped cream – so good!! I can’t wait to try this :) I made my first rolled cake a few months ago and was surprised it wasn’t more difficult. Yours looks perfect!
Hi Michelle–
This looks incredible and I am definitely making it for Easter! I was wondering if I could make the cake a day ahead and leave it rolled in the towel until tomorrow morning to fill….
Thanks!!
Hi Nicole, You could make it a day ahead, but I wouldn’t leave it in the towel. I would keep it rolled in the towel until it was completely cool, then unroll, remove the towel, roll it up again and wrap very tightly in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
This look sooo good.. Gotta try this… Thank you.. :)
I was trolling the web trying to figure out what to do with all the strawberries I bought on sale…perfect! This looks outrageously delightful!
This looks fabulous! What a perfect spring treat – and Angel Food Cake with strawberries was my grandfather’s favorite dessert :)