Why This Recipe Works

They're both beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, but many recipes we tried yielded cakes far too fragile to roll. We discovered that the secret to a flexible cake that wouldn't crack was to use plenty of eggs—our recipe calls for a whopping five. Whipping the eggs until they were thick before adding the dry ingredients enhanced their structure-building abilities. While the cake was still hot, we rolled it into a spiral on a confectioners' sugar—dusted towel and then allowed it to sit for 15 minutes before unrolling it and adding the filling. This early roll gave the cake memory so it stayed snug once rolled again with the jam. To avoid deflating the batter when transferring it to the prepared baking sheet, hold the mixer bowl as close to the bottom of the sheet as possible, using a rubber spatula to gently push the batter into the sheet. Make sure not to overbake the cake, which can cause cracking once rolled.

Before You Begin

You will need at least a 20 by 15-inch dish towel for this recipe. While raspberry jam is traditional, you can use the flavor of your choice. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour sheet. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl; set aside.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs at medium-high speed and gradually add granulated sugar and then vanilla, about 1 minute. Continue to whip mixture until very thick and voluminous, 4 to 8 minutes. Sift flour mixture over egg mixture; using rubber spatula, gently fold batter until just incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared sheet with rubber spatula and spread into even layer with offset spatula. Bake until cake is firm and springs back when touched, 12 to 17 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Lay dish towel on counter and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Immediately run thin knife around edge of baking sheet to loosen cake, then flip hot cake out onto towel, discarding parchment. Starting from short side, roll cake and towel snugly into log. Let cake cool, seam side down, for 15 minutes.

Gently unroll cake. Spread jam evenly over cake, leaving ½-inch border along edges. Reroll cake gently but snugly around jam, leaving towel behind as you roll. Trim ends of cake, transfer cake to platter, and let cake cool completely, about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.