Description
This festive Candy Cane Roll features a light peppermint-flavored sponge cake with striking red and white stripes, rolled with a creamy peppermint buttercream frosting studded with crushed candy canes. Perfect for holiday celebrations, this visually stunning dessert delivers a refreshing minty sweetness and delightful crunch.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- Cooking spray, for greasing
- 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
- Preheat and prepare pan: Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. 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 flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt until combined.
- Beat egg whites: In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until they begin to thicken. Slowly add the granulated sugar, increase speed to high, and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Then beat in the peppermint extract.
- Fold in dry ingredients: Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg white mixture until just combined.
- Divide and color batter: Transfer a little more than half the batter (about 350 g) into a medium bowl for the red batter and the rest (about 250 g) remains white. Add red gel food coloring to the medium bowl and gently fold until the desired red shade is reached.
- Pipe striped batter: Place both batters into separate piping bags fitted with round tips. Starting in a corner of the prepared baking sheet, pipe diagonal white lines about 1 inch apart. Then pipe the red batter between the white lines, filling the spaces completely. Hold the piping bag just above the tip and tilt the tip slightly upward at the end of each line to prevent dripping.
- Bake the cake: Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and springs back when gently pressed in the center, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Roll the cake: Lightly dust a clean kitchen towel with flour using a fine sieve. Invert the warm cake onto the towel, peel off the parchment, and starting from the short end, carefully roll the cake into a tight spiral using the towel. Allow it to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Prepare frosting: In the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add peppermint extract, kosher salt, and red gel food coloring and beat until light pink and combined. Fold in the crushed candy canes.
- Frost and roll cake: Unroll the cooled cake, remove the towel, and place it on a cutting board or serving platter. Spread the frosting evenly over the surface, then gently roll back into a spiral. Use a pastry brush to remove any excess flour from the surface.
- Make ahead and serve: The filled cake can be made up to one day ahead and stored refrigerated. Slice and serve chilled or at room temperature for best flavor.
Notes
- Using fresh egg whites at room temperature helps achieve maximum volume and loft in the meringue base.
- Be gentle when folding the dry ingredients into the egg whites to maintain airiness in the batter.
- When piping, keep the tip close to the parchment and steady your hand to create clean stripes and avoid drips.
- Lightly dusting the towel with flour prevents the cake from sticking when rolling, but brush off excess flour before frosting.
- Crushed candy canes can be substituted with peppermint candy pieces if desired.
- If red gel food coloring is unavailable, liquid food coloring can be used but add sparingly to avoid altering batter consistency.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting to prevent melting and sliding of the filling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/10 cake)
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 32 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
