Japanese Cotton Candy Cake Roll
Soft and fluffy, subtly sweet Japanese style cotton candy cake roll. Easy to use chiffon cake recipe that doesn’t crack easily while rolling.
Ingredients:
Dry Mix for Cake Base:
70 grams cake flour, cake flour (Note 2)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Mix for Cake Base
90 ml whole fat milk
20 ml vegetable oil (Note 3)
30 grams granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cotton candy extract
Meringue:
6 egg whites, room temperature
55 grams granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (Note 4)
Gel color in desired colors
Stabilized Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream (36% M.F.) (Note 5), chilled
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar to taste
1 teaspoon cotton candy extract
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
4 teaspoon water
Instructions:
Line a 8 X 12″ rectangular cake pan with toaster-sized silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 325 F.
In a small bowl, combine all the “wet” ingredients together with a whisk and set aside (this includes first portion of sugar).
In a large mixing bowl, sift in dry mix. Stir to combine.
Create a well in the center. Inside it, add all the “wet” ingredients.
Combine until just incorporated, do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake. Set this flour mixture aside.
In a clean and dry, non-plastic mixing bowl, whip egg whites on slow speed until frothy, add cream of tartar.
Increase speed to medium, once the whites become opaque and bubble size have tightened up, add the second portion of sugar a little bit at a time.
Increase speed to med-high, whip until soft peaks and add then add gel color. Continue whipping until stiff peaks (Note 6). This is now called the meringue.
Gently fold the meringue into the wet flour mixture in three additions.
Pour the batter into a cake pan.
Spread out the batter evenly with an angled spatula.
Tap the pan on the counter to release large air pockets.
Bake for 10-12 min. until a skewer pulls out clean and cake springs back in the center.
Let cool in pan for 5 min.
Place cooling rack over cake pan.
Flip cake over onto the rack, gently remove paper.
The side facing up will eventually become the top of the cake roll. Let it sit on cooling rack while making the cotton candy whipped cream.
Stabilized Cotton Candy Whipped Cream:
Place beaters, bowl and cream in fridge to chill. It’s important for these tools and ingredients to be completely chilled before whipping.
Place water in a heatproof cup and sprinkle gelatin on top to bloom. Wait 5 minutes.
Place cup in a small sauce pan filled with simmering water. Once gelatin becomes liquid, take it out of the water. Let cool on the counter.
Immediately start whipping the cream and sugar on medium speed.
Whip until the beater starts leaving tracks inside the cream, pour the cooled gelatin into the bowl slowly and steadily. Aim for the area in between the whisk and the bowl while continuing to whip.
Add extract.
Increase speed to medium-high. Stop beating once the cream turns stiff (Note 6). Do not over whip.
Use cream to assemble the cooled cake immediately.
Assembly:
Spread the cream onto the cake with a bit of extra on the side that is to be rolled first (Note 7).
Carefully roll up the cake from the short edge using the parchment paper to help push the cake onto itself.
Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to set before cutting.
Before serving, cut off sides for a cleaner presentation. Cotton candy cake roll can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for 2-3 days.
