by Joan Saunders | photos by Kathryn Alvarez Photography –
In August, we have a glut of goodness in the garden and at the farmers markets. You can’t go wrong with the fresh produce and fruit available during the summer months! Take some time to get inspired by what’s around us and enjoy the colours, the flavours and the fabulous bounty that we’re so lucky to have right here.
Raspberries are glorious picked from the garden, eaten while still warm from the sun. However, if you want to try something new, I highly recommend this Pistachio Raspberry Roll. The cake batter is sprinkled with lovely green pistachios, then you lace raspberries throughout a filling made with cream cheese, white chocolate and whipping cream. Yes: it’s a more sophisticated, but surprisingly easy to make, version of the classic jelly roll.
The secret to making this type of cake is to train it into a spiral. You do this by rolling it up in a clean kitchen towel while it’s still warm. This creates the look that you want, without the worry of the dreaded cracking.
What I love about it is that it’s not sweet, but rather the mild tartness of the raspberries shine in a filling made without any added sugar. As well, the colours and flavours of the raspberries and pistachios work so beautifully together. It’s a slightly messy, very delicious, all-grown-up summertime indulgence.
Pistachio Raspberry Roll
For cake roll:
½ cup shelled pistachios,
plus another 2 tbsp, chopped
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated
⅔ cup sugar
2 tbsp hot water
⅔ cup flour
small ½ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp almond extract
3 tbsp icing sugar (approximately)
For white chocolate cream filling:
6 oz/200 g white chocolate, roughly chopped into ½ inch chunks
5 tbsp unsalted butter, soft (but not oily)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup whipping cream
½ tsp almond extract
2½ cups fresh raspberries
To make cake roll: preheat oven to 400°. Butter a jelly roll pan (10×15 inch); line with parchment paper.
Place ½ cup pistachios in small bowl of food processor; grind until fine but not oily. If there are some medium-sized pieces in the mix, don’t fret: they won’t affect the cake. Set aside.
Place egg yolks and sugar in bowl and, with whisk attachment of mixer, beat for about 4 minutes, until thick and creamy. Transfer mix to larger bowl; add hot water by dribbling it down side of bowl. Sprinkle ground pistachios over mixture; gently fold them in to combine. If it’s not well mixed yet, no worries.
Sift flour, salt, baking powder into a separate bowl, then sift again into egg yolk and pistachio mixture. Fold carefully to combine.
Beat egg whites in clean bowl with whisk attachment of electric mixer. Beat to soft peaks, then fold into pistachio mixture, one third at a time, along with almond extract.
Scrape batter into prepared pan; spread it out. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched in centre. Remove from oven.
Sift half the icing sugar evenly over clean kitchen towel. Invert warm cake carefully onto towel, then peel off parchment paper. Sprinkle more of the icing sugar on cake. While cake is still warm, starting from one of the shorter ends, roll up cake with towel still inside. Then leave on cooling rack to come to room temperature. Don’t worry if there are some cracks; this might happen.
To make filling: melt white chocolate chunks in heatproof bowl over simmering water, making sure base of bowl isn’t touching water. Stir once in a while, until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.
Place butter in bowl of electric mixer using paddle attachment. Beat on medium high speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth, then add cream cheese. Beat well to combine, then add melted chocolate. Beat mixture until smooth, then add almond extract and whipping cream. Beat on medium-high speed until cream has thickened.
Unroll cake gently. Spread about ¾ of filling on cake evenly over surface. Place 2 cups of raspberries on top of cream filling, then roll up cake as previously, but without the towel. It might be a bit messy; don’t worry. Transfer cake to long platter. Spread remaining cream filling on top of cake or, if you prefer, over top and sides. Top with remaining raspberries; sprinkle with leftover pistachios.
Adapted/amalgamated from:
Sweet, Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh, Random House
My mom’s jelly roll recipe; trial and error
