Green Tea Roll Cake with Cherry Mousse Filling

Finally, a sunny spring weekend in Seattle.  I guess we had some sun two weeks ago, but I was in California (where it rained).  I was pretty busy enjoying the weather, and didn't spend too much time in the kitchen (at this point, I'm so vitamin-D starved from the long Seattle winter that it was kind of mandatory for my health).

Cat walking.  A required sunny weekend activity.

Beach walking.  Another essential task for sunny days.

Luckily, this roll cake was simple and quick.  A roll cake is just a sponge cake baked thin and then rolled around some tasty filling.  I had a lot of matcha left over from my last green tea cake, so I decided to use some up by making a green tea sponge cake.

Then, because the blooming cherry trees are making me hungry for Rainier cherries, I decided to fill with a cherry mousse and make some cherry syrup for the side.

I didn't love the sponge cake.  It doesn't contain butter or oil, so it's a bit dry for me.  My husband, however, liked this about the cake.  In his words "you don't feel gross after eating it."  The green tea and cherry flavors worked nicely together.  Unfortunately, it's not yet cherry season, so I used frozen cherries.  In my opinion, these were not as tasty as they should have been.  Use fresh cherries if you can!

I recommend this recipe for weekends when you want some cake, but don't have too much time for baking because the sun is out and the mountains are too alluring to ignore.

Green Tea Roll Cake
Adapted from Oggi's Matcha Cake Roll recipe.

Ingredients
94 g (1 cup) cake flour
2 ½ tbsp matcha powder
1 tsp baking powder
5 eggs, separated
190 g (1 cup) sugar
2 ½ tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
2. Line a 11"x17" jelly roll pan with parchment paper (I just used a cookie sheet).
3. Sift together flour, matcha, and baking powder, set aside.
4. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, set aside.
5. In another bowl beat egg yolks until very light. Add sugar gradually and beat until light. Add flour mixture, stir on low speed. Add milk and vanilla, and continue stirring until mixed. Fold in beaten egg whites.
6. Spread mixture on jelly roll pan. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the middle springs back when you press on it.
7. Trim edges. Using paper as guide, roll cake from short side, leave on a rack to cool completely.

Cherry Mousse
Adapted from Eat the Love.  This made more than enough to cover the cake - you'll have some left over.

Ingredients
2 cups frozen cherries (thawed and drained – reserve liquid)
½ oz (2 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
pink food coloring (if desired)

Method

1. Puree the cherries in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Place 4 tablespoons of drained cherry liquid into a small pot and heat up until it starts to boil (watch it carefully, since it’s such a small amount, it’ll boil fast).
3. Pour the cherry juice into a medium metal mixing bowl. Add the gelatin and stir until it dissolves.
4. Add the cherry puree into the gelatin and place the bowl over a larger bowl full of ice and water. Stir until the puree starts to thicken a little.
5. Combine the sugar, vanilla, food coloring, and heavy cream in a medium bowl.  Beat until soft peaks start to form. Gently fold in the cherry puree.

Cherry Syrup

Ingredients
2 cups frozen cherries (thawed)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Puree the cherries in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Combine cherries, water, and sugar in a saucepan.  Heat on high until the mixture boils.  Reduce to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Assembly

1. Unroll your cake and remove the parchment paper from the bottom.
2. Spread the mousse evenly over the cake.  Re-roll.
3. Refrigerate for two hours before serving.  Serve with cherry syrup on the side.