Lemon Roulade Cake

Lemon roll cake that’s light, lemony, moist and delicious!

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Even though I just call this cake delicious, most people call it a lemon roll cake or lemon roulade cake. It’s moist, delicious, and full of lemon flavor. There are three components, lemon curd, lemon cake, and lemon whipped cream. Together they challenge any dessert as the best. Everything is made from scratch because it’s easy, and I can infuse the perfect amount of sweetness and tart lemon. Plus, it tastes so much better than store-bought.

You’ll want this on your dessert table

• Velvety smooth lemon curd
• Moist lemon cake
• Lemony whipped cream
• A fresh, tart, sweet and beautiful dessert that you can make ahead!

The extra curd

This recipe makes a lot more curd than you’ll need for this cake. But the best thing about it is that you can use what you need and freeze the rest for other things. It stays fresh in the freezer for a month. You can make so many desserts with this lemon curd, flavor butter, serve it along with scones and even add it to buttercreams! It’s so versatile that it has never made it a month in my freezer.

It’s all about the lemon

Sponge Cake:

• Eggs at room temperature –place on your counter at least an hour beforehand or see tips below
• Granulated sugar
• Pure vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Lemon zest –you’ll need a lot, so zest beforehand or be patient. Ha!

The Syrup:

• Water
• Sugar
• Lemon juice –fresh from the lemons you zest

The Pastry Cream:

• Whole milk
• Corn starch
• Granulated sugar
• Salt
• Egg yolks –See my tips on how to store the egg whites
• Heavy whipping cream
• Pure vanilla extract

Lemon Curd:

• Eggs
• Granulated sugar
• Lemon juice
• Butter –salted or unsalted
• Zest of 4 lemons –worth every minute of zesting

Lemon Whipped Cream:

• Heavy whipping cream
• Lemon curd

Ingredient Tips

While preparing your ingredients, there are quite a few tips I’d like to pass along to you. First, if you’ve ever zested citrus, you know that it’s slightly time-consuming, especially if you need a lot of it. So, while you’re zesting for this recipe or another, zest as many lemons as you can. Use what you need and freeze the rest in a flattened freezer baggie. You’ll always have zest on had saving time when you need it.

Speaking of citrus, if you prefer orange over lemon, simply substitute all of the lemon ingredients for orange. You’ll have a delicious orange roulade cake instead!

Thirdly, if you forget to pull your eggs out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before, put them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes. The water won’t be hot enough to cook the eggs, but it will be warm enough to help reduce the temperature of the eggs quickly.

Last but not least, you’ll need just the egg yolks for pastry cream. Instead of throwing away the whites, save them for cookies or egg white omelets. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to two days, or freeze them for up to three months!

How to make Lemon Roulade Cake

Make the Lemon Curd: 

• Combine the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
• Fill a medium saucepan up a third of the way up with water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and place the bowl on top.
• Cook the egg mixture for about 10 minutes. It’s ready when it has thickened to the consistency of whipped cream.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and add the butter.
• Whisk together until the butter has incorporated, and cover with plastic wrap to cool to room temperature.

Make the Pastry Cream: 

• Combine the milk, half of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until steaming hot.
• In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining sugar, cream, and cornstarch until smooth.
• Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture while constantly whisking together.
• Then, transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat while constantly whisking until thickened.
• Pass the cream through a strainer that has been set over a large bowl.
• Then, cover the cream by placing plastic wrap on the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and set aside to cool. 

Make the Cake:

• In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Whisk together until fluffy and doubled in volume –about 5 minutes on high speed.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.
• Next, add the flour mixture to the mixer and whisk until just combined.
• Line a half sheet (17.88 x 12.88 x 1.06 inches) with parchment paper, and spread the batter evenly into the pan.
• Bake on the center of a 350 °F, 175 °C preheated oven for 13 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick that has been inserted in the center comes out clean.
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to release it from the pan.
• Then, dust the top with confectioner’s sugar.
• Place a clean kitchen towel on top of the cake, and then place another pan of the same size on top of the towel.
• Carefully flip the pans over to release the cake, and peel the parchment paper off the cake.
• Dust a thin layer of confectioner’s sugar on top and roll the cake up along with the towel.
• Set aside to cool completely.

Make the Syrup: 

• In a small saucepan, whisk together all of the syrup ingredients and bring to a boil.
• As soon as the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat to cool.

Make the Whipped Cream: 

• In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream with 2-3 tablespoons of the chilled lemon curd.
• Whisk together until thickened, then taste and add more lemon curd if desired.
• Transfer the cream into a pastry bag that has been fitted with a large star tip.

Assemble the Cake:

• Unroll the cake onto a board and brush it lightly with the syrup.
• Spread a thin layer of the lemon curd over the top.
• Spread the pastry cream over the cake.
• Then, carefully roll the cake up and transfer it to a serving platter.
• Next, brush the top and sides of the cake with lemon syrup.
• Then, pipe whipped cream rosettes on top of the cake and garnish with either lemon slices or berries.
• Chill the cake in the refrigerator overnight or for 1-2 hours before serving.

Make Ahead Instructions

The entire cake can be assembled as a roll and frozen for up to a month. Be sure to wrap it with plastic wrap and then with foil so it doesn’t absorb freezer odors. When you’re ready to serve, thaw the roll cake overnight in the refrigerator, then decorate it with the whipped cream rosettes before serving.

The Lemon Curd recipe makes more than is needed for this cake. So, freeze the remaining lemon curd. It keeps fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaws quickly at room temperature.

The Pastry cream and the syrup can be made two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Whip the pastry cream using a mixer so that it is smooth before spreading over the cake.

Serving

I love this lemon roulade cake any time of year. It’s a bright spring treat but also adds a fresh dessert to a fall table. No matter when you serve it, everyone will ask for it again! Kali Orexi!

More Dessert Ideas:

• Strawberry Cake Roulade
• Ultra Moist Coconut Cake
• Politiko Thessalonikis
• Mango Cake
• Chocolate Zoumero Cake