Half-success

Sometimes I just get sick of baking and baking and baking.  Like last week, when I had to make six ube macapuno cakes over three days.  It may not sound much but for a one-woman team like me, it does get pretty tiring.

For this week, however, I had only one cake lined up. Last Tuesday, my sister in-law asked me to make this mocha chiffon birthday cake for her boss.  It was a small cake and it was a breeze to make.

I know it's crazy...but now that I'm not baking anything, I have been getting the constant urge to bake something. So instead of taking a needed break,  I took the opportunity to try this thing that I've been wanting to try for a long time....make my usual ube cake into a roll.

I would call this attempt a half-success because, although the taste was as delicious as always, it was a long way from perfection.  First of all, my cake cracked a bit when I unrolled it (after it cooled down).  I was thinking of giving up at that point but I had already made my frosting and I didn't want to waste it. (I'm glad I did proceed cause the frosting held the cake together despite the cracks.) Secondly, I think I filled up the cake with too much frosting, hence, I could not roll the cake tightly. It was just like one big roll.  Maybe it would have been better if I started rolling from the short rather than the long end?

See what I mean?

Anyway, perfection or not, and for the benefit of those interested, I will describe in brief how I made this cake roll:

1. I made up HALF the ube cake recipe found here.  Used 4 eggs.
2.  I used a jelly roll pan measuring 10" by 14", greased it and lined the bottom with baking paper.
3.  Baked the cake for about 25 minutes.  As soon as I took it out of the oven, I dusted the cake surface with icing/powdered sugar then inverted it into a sheet of baking paper. Peeled off the baking paper that was now on top of the cake. Then I rolled it and allowed it to cool down completely.
4.  I unrolled the cooled cake and  cut off about an inch wide strip from both short ends. I then crumbled the strips to use as cake topping later.
5. Filled the cake with frosting, rolled the cake once again, then covered the surface with frosting and cake crumbs.  Used the rest of the frosting to pipe rosettes on the cake roll top.  Finished off the cake with macapuno balls.

Whether I did the right things or not, I really cannot say for sure.  Please do not trust me on this one.  If you do decide to make a cake roll yourself, please let me know how it went.  I'd be happy to compare notes and learn from you!