Description
This Candy Cane Roll is a festive and colorful dessert perfect for the holiday season. Featuring a light peppermint-flavored sponge cake with red and white stripes baked in a spiral roll, it is filled and frosted with a creamy peppermint cream cheese frosting studded with crushed candy canes for a delightful crunch.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- Cooking spray
- 3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 9 large egg whites
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 drops red gel food coloring (or more as needed)
Frosting
- 2 1/2 cups (283 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small drop red gel food coloring
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Pan: Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Grease an 18" x 13" baking sheet with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt until combined.
- Beat Egg Whites: In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until they start to thicken. Slowly add the granulated sugar and increase the speed to high. Continue beating until glossy and stiff peaks form. Then, beat in the peppermint extract.
- Fold Dry Ingredients: Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg white mixture until just combined, taking care not to deflate the batter.
- Divide and Color Batter: Transfer a little more than half of the batter (about 350 g) into a medium bowl for the red batter, leaving about 250 g for the white. Add the red gel food coloring to the medium bowl and gently fold to combine. Add more coloring as needed until the desired bright red shade is reached.
- Pipe Batter Stripes: Divide the red and white batters into two piping bags fitted with 5/8” to 1/2” round tips. Starting from a corner of the prepared baking sheet, pipe diagonal white lines about 1 inch apart. Then pipe red batter between each white line completely filling the gaps. Hold the piping bag just above the tip and angle the tip upwards at the end of each line to prevent drips.
- Bake Cake: Bake the cake on the lower rack for 15 minutes or until it starts to pull away from the sides and pressing gently in the center leaves no indent. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Roll Cake While Warm: Lightly dust a clean kitchen towel with flour using a small sieve. Turn the warm cake onto the towel and carefully peel away the parchment paper. Using the towel, gently and tightly roll the cake starting at the short end into a spiral. Let the rolled cake cool completely for about 1 hour.
- Make Frosting: Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the peppermint extract and kosher salt, beating until combined. Add a small drop of red gel food coloring and beat until the frosting is a light pink color. Fold in the crushed candy canes until just combined.
- Unroll and Frost Cake: Carefully unroll the cooled cake and remove the kitchen towel. Place the cake on a cutting board or serving platter. Spread the peppermint cream cheese frosting evenly all over the surface of the cake.
- Roll and Serve: Gently roll the frosted cake back into a spiral. Use a pastry brush to dust off any excess flour from the towel onto the cake surface.
- Make Ahead Option: The filled cake can be prepared one day in advance and stored refrigerated, tightly wrapped, to maintain freshness until serving.
Notes
- Use a small sieve to dust the kitchen towel with flour to prevent the cake from sticking during rolling.
- If you don’t have gel food coloring, use a concentrated liquid food coloring but start with less to avoid thinning the batter.
- Ensure the egg whites reach stiff peaks for a light and airy sponge texture.
- Be gentle when folding the flour mixture into the egg whites to keep the batter airy.
- The red batter may be slightly looser; handle piping carefully to keep neat stripes.
- If desired, substitute crushed peppermint candies for the candy canes in frosting.
- Allow the rolled cake to cool completely before frosting to prevent melting the cream cheese.
- Make ahead and store properly to maintain texture and flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/10th of cake)
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg
