Japanese Roll Cake
(Dojima Roll)
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Large eggs Separated
- 85g (3/4cup) Cake flour Alternatively, you can use 60g pastry flour
- 2g (1/2tsp) Cornstarch
- 50ml (3tbsp+1tsp) Oil I use light-tasting olive oil
- 45ml (3tbsp) Whole milk I use Fairlife
- 75g (6tbsp) Granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract Or bean paste
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
Chantilly Cream
- 250g (1cup+2tbsp) Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
Simple Syrup
- 30g (2tbsp+1tsp) Granulated Sugar
- 30g (2tbsp) Water
Instructions
Roll Cake
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees and line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Separate egg whites from yolks, leaving yolks in a small bowl and whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl).
- Heat 50ml oil to 176 degrees F (80C), then pour into a medium sized glass bowl.
- Immediately sift the flour and cornstarch mixture into the hot oil and mix with a whisk until smooth.
- Pour the warm milk into the flour/oil mixture and mix until combined. It will look thick and separated. That's okay!
- Add 1tsp vanilla extract and 1tsp honey to the egg yolks, mix well, then pour the egg yolk mixture into the flour and milk mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Drop 1/4tsp cream of tartar into the egg whites and whip to firm peaks. About 7 minutes. Do not let it go to stiff peaks! It will be much harder to fold into a smooth batter afterwards. Dump the 75g sugar into the whites 1/3 at a time, starting when the egg whites begin to foam.
- Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk/flour mixture. Mix with a whisk to help break up the meringue until completely smooth. No need to be gentle. You want this to be as cohesive as possible. Once you've got it, dump this new egg yolk mixture into the rest of the meringue.
- Use a large balloon whisk to incorporate the batter until you have no more remaining lumps of meringue. Then, switch to a spatula and continue folding until the batter reaches a super-fast, ribbon-like consistency.
- Hold the bowl about a foot above the 9x13in parchment-lined pan and pour it in. (The distance helps eliminate excess air bubbles.) Smooth it out with either a bench scraper or by gently shaking the pan, so it reaches all four of the corners, then drop it lightly on the counter to break up any large bubbles. You can also carefully smack the bottom of the pan with your palm.
- Put it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven), taking it out when the top is lightly browned and springs back when touched. Immediately grab two ends of the parchment paper and remove the cake from the pan, setting it on a cooling rack. Undo the parchment from the sides.
Chantilly Cream
- While the cake is in the oven, pour 250g of cold heavy cream into a medium bowl. Add 1tsp vanilla and 30g (2tbsp) granulated sugar, and whip to stiff peaks. You want the cream to be nice and thick to hold its shape in the roll cake. Leave in the fridge until ready to assemble.
Simple Syrup
- Warm equal parts 30g sugar and 30g water into a small bowl and heat for 30seconds in the microwave. Stir with a pastry brush until all the sugar has melted.
Assembly
- Lay a tea towel over the freshly baked cake and immediately invert the cake so the tea towel is on the bottom and the parchment paper is on top. Peel away the parchment paper.
- Take a serrated bread knife and cut off all four sides of the cake. Just the harder crispier parts. (This will help contribute to a much cleaner roll), then take your serrated knife and, very gently, cut long vertical notches in the cake. (This will also help contribute to a cleaner roll) But be careful not to cut all the way through the cake! The notches should be shallow.
- Dab the simple syrup all over the cake.
- Spread the Chantilly cream in an even layer across the cake using an offset spatula or palette knife, letting it thin out slightly towards the edges. This is to prevent the cream from oozing out while the cake is being rolled. (I like to add more cream near the beginning of the cake to give it that cute "teardrop" shape when cut.)
- Lift the tea towel to get a good grip on the cake, then begin to roll it up in the towel. Peek into one end to make sure the cake is sitting seam-side down, then place it in the fridge and let it set for 1-2 hours.
- Enjoy! :)
Servings: 6