Ube Cake Roll

This Ube Cake Roll is very soft, moist, fluffy, loaded with ube flavor, and frosted with delicious buttercream icing. It seems challenging to make and I would say yes, a little bit... but  I made the steps user-friendly. If you have made my Mocha Cake Roll before, then this would be easy for you. I made this Ube Roll before and decorated it differently by cutting the edges of the roll (before frosting), then crumble them and spread it around the frosted cake. If you'd like, you can check my previous blog here. This time, I made it simple with white frosting, tinted the extra frosting with purple and decorated with some pearl sprinkles. 

I said earlier, loaded with ube flavor because this is just not food color, ube jam or halaya was added on the cake batter together with ube extract. The brand I use, not only adds color but adds flavor as well so do not skip that. You can use homemade Ube Jam or store-bought can also be used since you will only be using a small amount. I suggest to get one instead but you can use my recipe for a homemade Ube Jam if desired. 
I always get the question if all-purpose flour can be used instead. Yes, but there's a process. Please see my recipe list below on how to substitute. Enjoy!

Ube Roll Recipe

Ingredients:
Dry: 

• ​1 cup cake flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet:

• 4 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp ube extract
• 1/4 cup ube jam

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​Cake Flour Substitute: 

• ​Measure 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and replace with 2 tbsp cornstarch. Sift flour 5 times. ​

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Meringue:

• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup sugar

 ​​Buttercream Frosting:

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar

• 12 tbsp softened butter​ ​

Miscellaneous:

• Powdered sugar for dusting​​

Video

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 15" x 10" jelly roll pan with parchment paper. You can also use a 13" x 9" pan. (Cake will be a little thick and short but will be fine). 
• In a bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. 
• Add cream of tartar and beat until foamy.
• Gradually add 1/4 cup of sugar while beating in high speed until still stiff. Set aside.  
• In another bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients (egg yolks, oil, milk, ube extract, and ube jam). Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  
• Pour-in the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture. Continue mixing until light & fluffy.
• Using a spatula, gently fold in the egg whites mixture into the batter mixture.
• Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes or until  toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Always check before the set time.)​ Remove from oven. ​​
• Turn the warm cake out on a towel lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar​ ​

• Now that the parchment paper is on top, slowly peel off the parchment paper. 
• Roll the still warm cake with the towel and leave on a wire rack (with the towel on it) to cool completely. 
• **Note** Do not roll the towel inside the cake. You just use the towel to hold the cake and to roll it.  
• Remove the towel and unroll the cake.
• Spread with a thin layer of buttercream frosting (procedure below) and re-roll the cake, frost the outside of the roll and decorate as desired. Extra frosting can be tinted with a purple food color and pipe using 2D tip as pictured above. 
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing. 
• Serve & Enjoy! ​

Buttercream Frosting:

• Beat the egg whites until frothy.
• Add the salt and 1 tbsp sugar.
• Beat at  medium speed until soft peak. Set aside.
• In a sauce pan, combine water and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to a boil over moderate heat (no need to stir).
• Boil for 3 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and slowly pour hot syrup into whites, beating constantly until meringue is cool to the touch. 
• ***NOTE*** Before proceeding, make sure meringue has cooled down.
• Add softened butter (1 tbsp at a time), beating well after each addition until mixture is smooth.
• ***Mixture may look curdled before all of the butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.

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Tips:​

• Make sure eggs are at room temperature. Take them out in the fridge 30 minutes before using. Room temperature eggs whip up to a greater volume. But take note that it’s easiest to separate whites from yolks cleanly when they are cold, this should be done when starting the recipe. Then let stand at room temperature while preparing the other ingredients.
• It is critical that the meringue for the frosting has totally cooled down before adding the butter. Hold the bottom of the mixing bowl to check it is cold enough. If not, you can rest it and when ready, re-whip before adding the butter. If butter is added too soon, it will melt and your frosting will become runny and will be hard to come together. You'll end up wasting your frosting ingredients. 
• If cake flour is not available, please see my recipe above how it can be substituted and make sure to follow the process. 
• ​If you are not really good at spreading the frosting, you can hide the flaws by using cake crumbs to cover them. To get some extra crumbs, cut the edges of the rolled cake (without frosting) and pulse in food processor or manually crumble them. 
• Cream of tartar is essential on this recipe. Do not omit because it helps stabilize the egg whites when making meringue. Lemon juice or white vinegar can be used as a substitute if cream of tartar is not available. 

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