Rolled Spice Cake with Orange Whipped Cream & Chocolate Ganache Topping
A soft sponge flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, with a gently orange flavored whipped topping filling and a simple chocolate ganache filling.
Servings Prep Time
12Slices 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
12minutes 3hours
Servings Prep Time
12Slices 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
12minutes 3hours
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Cake
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius) with a rack in the center position. Lightly grease a half sheet pan (roughly 18-inch long x 13-inch wide) with baking spray, line with parchment paper, then lightly grease the paper with baking spray. Set aside.
  3. Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the hot water. (It is VERY important that the water is very hot, boiling even, so that the spices “bloom” and release their flavor.)
  4. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk over high speed until light and foamy. Slowly sprinkle in 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar and continue whisking over medium-high speed until the egg whites have reached medium peaks. Note: If the whisk attachment is lifted up, the tip of the peak should tip over but still hold. Carefully transfer to a large, clean mixing bowl and set aside until ready to use.
  5. Wipe the stand mixer bowl clean (don’t worry if there is still some residue) and combine the egg yolks, the remaining 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, and spice mix. Using the whisk attachment, beat over high speed until ribbony and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add about a third of the egg whites to the beaten yolk mixture, and gently combine together using the whisk attachment. Only use the mixer for the first addition! Gently fold in the remaining beaten egg whites, in two separate batches, with a large spatula. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites by over mixing.
  6. Sprinkle roughly a quarter of the cake flour onto the sponge batter, and fold in gently with a spatula. Repeat until all of the flour has been incorporated and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients have been incorporated evenly. Transfer the batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula (the batter should fill the entire pan).
  7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden in color. As the cake is baking, lay a clean kitchen linen (the long edge of the linen facing you) on your countertop and using a fine-meshed sieve, dust with confectioner’s sugar.
  8. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, loosen the edges of the cake from the pan with a knife if necessary. Carefully and quickly invert the sheet pan (long edge of the pan facing you) in one quick motion and cake onto the sugar-dusted linen. Very carefully peel off the parchment paper and discard. While the cake is still warm, roll the cake and linen, narrow end to narrow end, into a tight spiral. The linen should be rolled with the cake, so that the cake does not touch itself as it is rolled. Cool on a wire rack, in the linen, until the cake is room temperature.
  9. Filling
  10. While the cake is cooling, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and orange extract on medium-high speed until medium to stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
  11. Slowly and gently unroll the cake. Spread whipped cream evenly on top, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the cake. Gently roll the cake back up, without the parchment/towel this time. Place on a wire rack set on a baking sheet (to catch the extra ganache). Set aside on the counter or in the refrigerator as you prepare the ganache.
  12. Topping
  13. Place chopped chocolate and corn syrup, if using, in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot.) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted.
  14. Pour ganache all over cake roll. Feel free to spoon up any dripped ganache and spoon over the cake again. Refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.
  15. Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes

This is really good! I love spice cake, but the recipe I have is kind of dry, but the flavor is amazing. So I found a couple of recipes online that I modified to get the flavors I wanted. The original recipe suggests an orange frosting, so the addition of orange extract to the whipped topping seemed like a really good idea. And it was! I initially tried to use 1 tsp, but ran out, and the 2nd time I estimated that it was ~1/2 tsp, so that’s what I used. I think it could use a little more orange flavor, but not a lot, so I have 3/4 tsp in the recipe, which is what I’ll be testing next time.

I was kind of hoping that the cake would be just a bit more moist, but everyone love it, so I’ll leave it for now, don’t want it to moist or it will disintegrate!  A work in progress.  A very tasty work in progress!  I hope you enjoy as much as my family has!