This simple cake roll is made with a simple cake you can easily whip up in your mixer. You can fill it with whatever you like such as whipped cream, mousse, frosting, or even a curd.
grease a 9x13 baking pan, line with parchment, grease again, set aside
in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy and full-bodied, about 5 minutes, you want the eggs to drip off the whisk in a silky ribbon
while the eggs whisk sift the flour and salt together once
when the eggs are finished beating
working quickly sift about half of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold in with a metal spoon
repeat with the remaining flour making sure no floury streaks remain
then scrape into the prepared pan, level, and bake for 9-10 minutes or JUST until the cake is done-it will spring back when done
while the cake is baking lay a clean tea towel out on the table and sprinkle with powdered sugar (this keeps the cake from sticking)
when the cake is done immediately turn it over on the tea towel
grab the edge of the tea towel and start rolling it up, when you hit the cake keep on rolling, and keep rolling all the way to the end of the towel
lay on a cooling rack to cool for several hours
when ready to fill have fillings ready-- you only need about a cup and a half of filling so no worries there, you can use whipped cream, frosting, curd, mousse, jams, or jellies
unroll the cake gently and fill, remember to not overfill the cake roll or it will distort it and cause it to look weird, and the extra filling will just squish out as you roll it up or cut it
roll the cake back up and lay it seam side down on a serving tray
cover and refrigerate before serving
you can sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake or frosting it if you like, traditionally the ends are not frosted over so the swirls show up
Notes
Adapted from The Great British Baking Show Big Book of Amazing Cakes