This red, white and blue Patriotic Cake Roll is filled and frosted with a sweet, creamy filling and is perfect for 4th of July or Memorial Day picnics!
OK. I’ll be the first to admit this is a less-than-stellar cake roll. This was my first time attempting a cake roll of any kind, and it turned out to be more like a “cake mosaic.” I’m sure it’s because I used a regular 9×13 baking pan instead of a longer 15×11 jelly roll pan. Even though I didn’t use all of the batter, I still ended up with a cake that was too thick to roll up without cracking. BUT, it’s still very pretty and the filling is delicious so I decided to share it with you anyway. 🙂
The frosting and filling are the same thing, and while I was mixing it, I couldn’t stop dipping in my spoon to “test” it over and over. I saw the recipe for a Red, White and Blue Cake Roll on Food Network, but I really didn’t want to make a cake from scratch and all the reviews complained that it was too dry. The frosting, however, sounded great, so I went the easy route and used a cake mix but made the filling. It was a fantastic combination.
Patriotic Cake Roll
Ingredients
For the cake roll
- 1 box white cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
- 1 tsp red gel food coloring
- 1 tsp blue gel food coloring
- powdered sugar for dusting
For the frosting
- 3 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups marshmallow cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 11-by-17-inch jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper; brush the paper with oil and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. (It's all about making it easy to transfer and roll!)
- Make the cake batter according to the instructions on the box. Divide equally into two bowls. Add the red and blue coloring to each bowl until desired colored is reached
- Pour the red and blue batters across the width of the prepared pan in alternating stripes, making each stripe about 2 inches wide. The stripes don't need to be perfectly straight. Bake until the top springs back when pressed, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool about 3 minutes in the pan
- Dust with powdered sugar and spread a clean kitchen towel (something flat and not fuzzy!) on top. Place a cooling rack on the towel, then flip the cake onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Roll up the cake and towel together, starting at a short end. Let cool completely on the rack, about 1 1/2 hours.
For the frosting
- Beat the butter and salt until creamy. Add the vanilla and marshmallow cream and beat on medium/high until fluffy (about 2 minutes.) Beat in the powdered sugar and then add the milk slowly. The frosting should be thick but easily spreadable.
Assembly
- Gently unroll the cake, peeling away the towel. Go slowly, and don't try to flatten it out-you want it to keep the rolled up shape.
- Spread half of the frosting on the unrolled cake, all the way to the edges. Roll it back up and trim off the edges for a cleaner cut.
- Cover with the other half of the frosting and top with red, white and blue sprinkles!
A few notes for a successful Patriotic Cake Roll:
- Use an actual jelly roll pan like this one (affiliates)
- Use good quality gel food coloring.
- Don’t use an “extra moist” cake mix-the cake will be too sticky to cleanly pull away from the towel
I fully intend to make this again, if only to prove to myself that I can handle a simple cake roll! 🙂 But, that will have to wait until I get myself a new pan. If you are looking for for red, white and blue recipes, check these out!
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